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HISTORY OF ALL RELIGIONS: 


WITH ACCOUNTS OF THE 


CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS, 




OR 




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i t 


.m 




a 


THE FORMS OF WORSHIP 


PRACTISED BY THE SEVERAL NATIONS OP THE KNOWN WORLD, FROM 
THE EARLIEST RECORDS TO THE YEAR 1872. 


By WILLIAM BURDER, B.A. 

># 


WITH 


A FULL ACCOUNT, HISTORICAL, DOCTRINAL AND STATISTICAL, 


OF ALL THE 


REIHG-IOTJS denominations. 


m 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIAM W. HARDING, 

630 CHESTNUT STREET. 

1872 . 


I € ] ,\\© S ) 




























































Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 
WILLIAM W. HARDING, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 


Afy f- 


/ 




















































































TO THE READER. 


Religion, from the Latin, religo , to bind anew, literally means the binding 
back of souls to God, from whom they hare been separated by reason of sin. It 
is the struggle of the creature, conscious of its loss of the favor and fellowship 
of the Creator, to recover its forfeited relations to the Source of light, law, liberty 
and life. In a comprehensive sense, it includes a belief in the being and perfec¬ 
tions of God, in the revelation of His will to man, in man’s obligation to obey 
His commands, in a state of reward and punishment, and in man’s accountable¬ 
ness to God, and also true godliness or piety of life, with the practice of all moral 
duties. It therefore comprehends theology as a system of doctrines, or principles, 
as well as practical piety, for the practice of moral duties without a belief in a 
divine lawgiver, and without reference to His will or commands, is not religion. 

There is but one religion. It is, in the nature of things, impossible that there 
should be more than one. If any specific proposition or set of propositions with 
reference to our unseen relations be true, any other proposition or set of proposi¬ 
tions covering the same ground, must be false. If Christianity be true, it is not 
a religion, as it is sometimes called, but religion. If Judaism also be true, it is 
so, not as distinct from, but as coincident with, Christianity—the one religion to 
which it can bear only the relation borne by the part to the whole. If there be 
portions of truth in other religious systems, they are not portions of other relig¬ 
ions, but portions of the one religion, which somehow became incorporated with 
fables and falsities. 

The Bible is the basis of religion. It is the only infallible rule of faith and 
practice. And how marvelous, in this view, has been its preservation ! Many a 
volume that once bid fair for immortality, is now utterly forgotten. Of the 
unnumbered thousands that have been written since the dawn of literature, how 
few, even of those that once filled the trump of fame and were ranked among the 
chief productions of human genius, have escaped the ravages of the ages and the 
forgetfulness of man! Though the shelves of mighty libraries groan with the 
learned labors of the past, yet of the vast majority of the works therein 
deposited it may be said thatf “ like the bodies of Egyptian kings in their pyra¬ 
mids, they retain only a grim semblance of life, amidst neglect, darkness, and 
decay.” Not so the Bible. All along its course it has had to struggle against 
opposition, visible and latent, artful and violent. It has had to contend with the 
prevalence of error, the tyranny of passion, and the cruelty of persecution. To 
the labored arguments of Cefsus and Porphyry against it, we need only refer, as 
well as to the bitter opposition which, in modern times.it has had to encounter in 
the philosophy of Hobbes, the skeptic doubts of Boyle, the polished sarcasm of 
Bolingbroke, the subtlety of Hume, the learning of Gibbon, the mockery of Vol¬ 
taire, the vulgarity of Paine, the empty cavilling of Strauss, and the shallow 
sophistry of Renan. But from all these assaults God’s Word has been preserved. 

(hi) 















































































IV 


TO THE READER. 


The book at which kings, emperors, generals, philosophers, statesmen and legisla¬ 
tors have all aimed in vain, still holds its enemies in derision. It has flourished, 
while its adversaries have been blasted one after another, and never did the Old 
Book, the Book of our Redeemer’s gift and our fathers’ faith, bid so fair as at 
present to be the book of the whole family of mankind. It has spread open its 
page in almost every land—it is printed in Chinese camps, pondered in the red 
man’s wigwam, sought after in Benares, a school-book in Feejee, eagerly bought 
in Constantinople, loved in the kloofs of Kaffir-land, while the voices of the dead 
from Assyria to Egypt have been lifted up to bear it witness. No book has taken 
such a hold on the world. As has been truthfully and eloquently said, it is read 
on each Sabbath in all the ten thousand pulpits of our land, in all the temples of 
Christendom is its voice lifted up week by week, the sun never sets on its gleam- 
ing page; it goes equally to the plain man and the palace of the king. It goes 
into the literature of the scholar, and colors the talk of the street. The bark of 
the merchant cannot sail the sea without it, no ship of war goes to the conflict 
but the Bible is there. It enters men’s closets and mingles in all the grief and 
cheerfulness of life. The affianced maiden prays to God in Scripture for strength 
in her new duties, men are married by Scripture. The Bible attends to them in 
their sickness when the fever of the world is on them, the aching head finds a 
softer pillow when the Bible lies underneath. The mariner, escaping from ship¬ 
wreck, clutches this first of his treasures, and keeps it sacred to God. It goes with 
the pedlar in the crowded pack, cheers him at eventide, when he sits down dusty 
and fatigued, and brightens the freshness of his morning face. It blesses us when 
we are born, gives names to half Christendom, rejoices with us, has sympathy for 
our mourning, tempers our grief to final issues. It is the better part of our ser¬ 
mons, it lifts man above himself Our best of uttered prayers are in its storied 
speech, wherewith our fathers and the patriarchs prayed. The timid man, about 
awaking from this dream of life, looks through the glass of Scripture, and his eye 
grows bright; he does not fear to stand alone, to tread the unknown distant, to 
take the death angel by the hand, and bid farewell to wife, and babes, and home. 
Men rest on this their fears and hopes; it tells them of God, of His blessed Son, 
of earthly duties, and of heavenly rest. 

It is beyond question that the Bible is characterized by oneness. All the doc¬ 
trines which it inculcates agree with each other. They have a mutual depend¬ 
ence and connection, they give one another a reciprocal support and influence, 
they grow out of each other, and all hang together, alike deriving their ripeness, 
freshness, and flavor from the same parent stock. Let a diligent student take up 
a copy of the Scriptures with copious marginal references, and undertake to col¬ 
late their instructions upon any one doctrine or moral duty, and he will be sur¬ 
prised at the uniformity of their teaching. They never speak for, and against, 
the same doctrine, they never bear witness on both sides of any question, nor is 
there an instance in which they affirm and deny the same thing. That which in 
reality has any Scripture in its favor, has all Scripture in its favor. The early 
patriarch, who assembled his family around some rude altar, built at God’s com¬ 
mand, on the mountain, or in the valley, and there offered the firstlings of his 
flock—the Jew in Egypt, sprinkling his door-posts with the blood of the Paschal 
lamb, or in the wilderness, following the pillar of fire and cloud, his children 
settled in Canaan, thronging to a magnificent temple, with the blast of silver 
trumpets and the floating of ipcense, and the pomp of a splqndid priesthood— 










































































TO THE READER 


these were all, notwithstanding the striking differences in external circumstances; 
seeking the salvation of the soul through the same channel as ourselves, to whom 
the Gospel is preached in its beauty and fulness. Thus true is it, that the Bible 
is persuaded by unity. The sacred penmen, of both economies, all struck one 
grand key-note—Christ, and Him crucified. As in Beethoven’s matchless music, 
there runs one idea, worked out through all the changes of measure and of key— 
now almost hidden, now breaking out in rich, natural melody, whispered in the 
treble, murmured in the bass, dimly suggested in the prelude, but growing clearer 
and clearer as the work proceeds, winding gradually back until it ends in the key 
in which it began, and closes in triumphant harmony—so, throughout the whole 
Word of God, there runs one grand idea: man’s ruin by sin, and his redemption 
by grace, in a word, Jesus Christ, the Saviour. From the dim promise at the 
fall, to the “Lamb in the midst of the throne,” which the Apostle saw from the 
rocky and barren isle of Patmos, Jesus is set forth as the burden of the promises, 
the medium of blessings, and the object of saving faith. 

It is not necessary here to inquire how it has come to pass, that with a Bible 
thus owe, the Church should be so much divided. It is enough for our present 
purpose to know, that in the best and purest age, the Church was One. It was 
“one fold under one Shepherd.” It is true that, at the beginning, there were a 
great number of Churches, but each was distinguished by a name descriptive of 
its locality. There was a Church of Jerusalem, of Antioch, of Ephesus, of Smyrna, 
of Corinth, and of Rome, besides many others. There was not a church con¬ 
sisting of the followers and defenders in doctrine of Paul, and another of those of 
John, and another of those of Peter. There were then no such sects as Luther¬ 
ans, Calvinists, and Wesleyans, nor such names as Congregationalist, Presbyte¬ 
rian, Methodist, Episcopalian, or Baptist. Agreement in fundamentals was the 
only doctrinal unity then demanded, and the united band of Christ's disciples, 
assembled around the same, table, declared by their actions, “ we, being many, are 
one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread.” Christians 
was their grand distinctive name (Acts ix. 26.) Nor did any one of the Apostles, 
or their fellow-laborers, establish any sects in the Christian Church. The bare 
supposition of the contrary is absurd and revolting to every mind acquainted 
with the inspired record. So far, indeed, were they from forming sects, that they 
firmly resisted the introduction of different denominations. Thus, for example, 
when in the Corinthian Church (1 Cor. 1, 10,) there was an attempt to introduce 
different sects or religious denominations into the Church of Christ, ranged under 
different leaders, such as Paul, Apollos, Peter, Luther, Calvin, Zuingli, or Wesley, 
we find the Apostle saying, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions 
among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the 
same judgment“ (see also verses 11-17.) Thus evident is it, that the church is one. 
God, her God, is one, Christ, her Redeemer, is one, the Holy Spirit, her Sanctifier, 
is one, the Holy Scriptures, the rule of her faith, and worship, and obedience, are 
one, the faith of her true members is one precious faith, and their privileges, inter¬ 
ests, objects, and destination, are one. “There is,” says the Apostle, “one body 
and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one 
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, 
and in you all.” 

Looked at in the light of the truths just stated, the “ History of all Religious 



/ 


















































































TO THE HEADER, 


Denominations ” cannot pogsibly fail to interest and instruct the thoughtful mind. 
It will be especially useful as a book of reference, both because the statistical 
information which it contains in respect to the religious denominations in our 
country, is recent, and because it is presented in a compact form. It may also be 
hoped that the knowledge which it furnishes of th e differences prevailing among 
different branches of the Christian church, and the sad errors which obtain in 
many quarters, will aid in the promotion of that general charity which will at 
length cause all the teachers of Christianity to “see eye to eye,” and will stimu¬ 
late all who have received the truth as God has revealed it, to strive to extend its 
healing radiance to those who are yielding to perilous delusions, or sitting in the 
region and shadow of spiritual death. This is a great desideratum of the age. 
The lines of Cowper are applicable now, as well as when they were written:— 

“Were love, in these the world’s last doting years,' 

As frequent as the want of it appears, 

The churches warmed, they would no longer hold 


And e’en the dipped and sprinkled live in peace • 

Each heart would quit its prison in the breast. 

And flow in free communion with the rest.’’ 

The English work has been followed, almost entirely, in this volume, with the 
exception of the “ Brief View of Minor Sects,” added by Mr. Burder, which was 
superseded by the denominations there referred to being more fully described in 
the newly inserted portion of the volume, and the treatises on Calvinists and 
Arminians, which are theological rather than ecclesiastical distinctions, and are 
sufficiently treated under the doctrinal characteristics of various churches. The 
articles on the Religious Denominations in the United States, have been expressly 
written for this edition of the work, and will be recognized and appreciated at 
once as having been prepared with much care, accuracy, and ability. 


































































































ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


PAG* 

INTRODUCTION. 7 

AFRICAN TRIBES, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF.. 7 88 
ASSYRIANS, •• " « « « 

BABYLONIANS, CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF. 618 

BAPTISTS, AMERICAN. 490 

BAPTISTS, CAMPBELLITE OR DISCIPLES. 502 

BAPTISTS, MINOR DENOMINATIONS, WINEBRENNARIANS, DUNK- 
ARDS, SABBATARIANS OR SEVENTH-DAY BAPTISTS, SIX 

PRINCIPLE BAPTISTS. 606-607 

BAPTISTS OF ENGLAND AND CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 405 

BAPTISTS, ENGLISH. 408 

CARTHAGINIANS, RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CEREMONIES OF. 613 

CELTS, " “ “ •• ". 627 

CHINESE, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF. 678 

CHURCH OF ENGLAND, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES OF. 365 

CONGREGATIONALISTS. 544 

DRUIDS, RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CEREMONIES OF. 627 

ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS. 602-607 

EGYPTIANS, ANCIENT, RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CEREMONIES OF 608 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PROTESTANT. 608 

FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF. 673 

GREEK CHURCH, TENETS, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF. 139 

GREEKS, ANCIENT, RELIGIOUS BELIEF, CEREMONIES, AND 

CUSTOMS. 630 

HINDOOS, RELIGIOUS DOCTRINES, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS 

OF. 737 

INDIAN TRIBES, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF. 778 

JAPANESE. 700 

JEWS, HISTORY OF. 17 



































































































Vlll 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 


PAGE 

JEWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 531 

KIRK OF SCOTLAND, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES OF. ,399 

LAPLANDERS, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF. 775 

LUTHERANS, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES OF. 354 

LUTHERAN CHURCH, EVANGELICAL. 521 

MALAGASY, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF. 790 

MEDES, CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF. 6 22 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF AMERICA. 531 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (SOUTH). 543 

METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH. 541 

MOHAMMEDANS, THE HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF.. 85 

MORAVIAN. 553 

MORMONISM... 587 

PERSIANS, CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF.... 62 2 

POLYNESIANS, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF. 797 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 460 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ASSOCIATE. 476 

PRESBYTERIANS, CUMBERLAND. 550 

PRESBYTERIANS, ENGLISH. 494 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA, UNITED. 48 6 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, REFORMED. 432 

QUAKERS. 432 

REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA (LATE DUTCH). 473 

REFORMED CHURCH, ASSOCIATE. 430 

ROMANS, ANCIENT, RELIGIOUS BELIEF, CEREMONIES, AND 

CUSTOMS OF. 630 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, TENETS, CUSTOMS, CEREMONIES, 

&c., OF. 216 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 567 

SCANDINAVIANS, RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CEREMONIES OF. 627 

SCYTHIANS, “ “ “ “ “. 627 

SHAKERS. 577 

SWEDENBORGIANS (NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH). 563 

TARTARS, RELIGIOUS TENETS, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF 720 
THIBETIANS, " “ “ « “ “ 720 

TYRIANS, “ “ “ “ “ « 613 

UNITARIANS. 554 

UNIVERSALISM. 559 



































































































TO THE 


REV. C. M. BUTLER, D. D 


W. H. H. MARSH 


EDWIN H. NEVINS, D. D, 


W. CHANNING NEVIN, Esq, 


REV. J. L. GRACEY 


J. M. STURDEVANT, Jr, 


ALBERT L. RAWSON, Esq,, 


REV. ALFRED NEVIN, D. D 


JOSEPH OSGOOD 


DR. E. G. BROOKS 


WILLARD H. HINKLEY, 


S. MORAIS, 






































































































































































RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND 


CUSTOMS 


INTRODUCTION. 


It is a fact which we learn from history, that religion of some kind has 
existed , in every period of time , and among all nations. It can he traced 

kind eI T°» n ^ s< ay8 U P to i n f anc y of the world, and among the fathers of 
existed. the human race. The earliest account that has reached 

us, which is that of our sacred Scriptures, informs us of its existence 
even before the origin of nations, while as yet the inhabitants of the globe 
were one entire community. 


Some few notices appear in holy writ of the religious rites of the ante¬ 
diluvian world; as the offerings of Cain and Abel, the practice of prayer, 
or the profession of religion; mention is also made of the 
pious character of the descendants of Seth ; the brief but 
touching story of Enoch’s faith is given; and the family of Noah is par¬ 
ticularly introduced in connection with the religion of this period. 


In the antedilu¬ 
vian world. 


After the origin of nations, consequent on the dispersion at Babel, we 
learn something from the Bible of the fate of divine institutions among 
the separate portions of mankind, so far as these are 
brought into view in the sacred narrative. In confirmation 
of the Bible, the earliest fabulous accounts, as they are called, all refer 
to some kind of religion promulgated by the founders of nations, and 
held and practised by the latter. Profane history abounds in represent¬ 
ations of this nature ; and we learn from its pages how the Egyptians, 
Babylonians, Greeks, and other ancient nations, were accustomed to the 
observation of certain religious rites and ceremonies. Their notions and 
tenets also on this subject have been occasionally transmitted to us; and 
although these, in most instances, are extremely vague and absfird, they 


After the origin 
of nations. 




















































































INTRODUCTION 


Thus the universality of religion of 
is a matter of history : and the same im- 
us to an acquaintance with the 
creeds, forms, and observances of nations since, 
whether in their rude or civilized condition. All seem to have obeyed 
that law of the human mind, which bids it to seek repose in some sort of 
religion. 


evidently betray a common origin 

some sort, in the earliest ages, 

Through every partial guide introduces 
age since. 

6 varying 


Our knowledge of the different communities of men at the present 
time which, by means of improvements in navigation and facilities in 
And at the pre- travelling,.is nearly universal, confirms the same import- 
sent time an t truth. Scarcely a tribe, however unenlightened, is 

found, that possesses no kind of religious faith. Perhaps, strictly speak¬ 
ing, no one is found without the notion of God, and an invisible or future 
world; for although some two or three savage communities may have 
been reported by travellers to be thus destitute, there is reason to believe 
that further inquiry would show the fact to be otherwise. On the whole, 
it may be safely asserted to be a condition of mankind, which is essentially 
universal. 


If the representations above made are correct, religion may be sup¬ 
posed to be , in some sense , natural to the human species. This is an 
Hence religion inference which must readily suggest itself to every reflect- 

is in some sense . . , , . .. . , r , 

naturai to man. mg mind. It could not rationally be accounted lor, that 
in every period of the world, and among all nations and tribes of men, some 
notion of God and human accountableness, and certain modes of worship 
should prevail, without referring religion to a settled law or principle of 
our common nature. A want surely exists in the human mind, which 
can be supplied only by some kind of religion. It is a confirmation of 
This is con- the view here taken, that a survey of man as a rational 

firmed by a moral ... . 

survey of man. creature of God, must lead us to believe that, in some 
sense, religion is natural to him. “Whoever,” says a writer, “seriously 
reflects on the powers and capacities of the human mind, regarding them 
as the work of Him that doeth nothing in vain, and comparing them with 
those of the inferior creatures, will readily perceive that man alone was 
created to be religious. Of all the inhabitants of this earth, none else are 
capable of attaining any knowledge of their Creator, or of rendering him 
any worship or praise. Man alone possesses the capacity of distinguishing 
between truth and falsehood,—between moral good and evil,—and of 















































































INTRODUCTION 


of an invisible Observer, and with reference to the future season of retri 
bution.” 


But although religion may be said to be thus natural to man, it does 
not follow that the truth will always be chosen. The want before spoken 
But the right re- of is a general want, and it may seem to be satisfied, 
chosen. y though it should not be so in reality, with any and with 

every form of religion. We say with every form of religion ; for one 
people at least, viz., the Athenians, always imported the deities and 
superstitions of every nation with whom they became acquainted, and 
mingled them with their own creed. The tendencies of nature to some 
system of faith and worship are not a specific and unerring direction to 
any one system in particular. If they were such a direction, a perfect 
uniformity would have existed in the theology of all nations. 


It is interest¬ 
ing to know the 
causes of this di¬ 
versity. 






























































10 


INTRODUCTION. 


not believers in this phantom, as furnishing a solution of any pheno- 

it does not spring menon. We do not think that it is the cause of any thing 
from chance. j n existence, much less do we suppose that it can account 

for the variety and difference in the religion of mankind. If accident 
operated here, it might indeed give a diversity to this propensity of 
nature, or it might give to it a uniformity. It were just as likely to effect 
the one as the other, only it would not be apt to produce a uniformity in 
variety. It would be infinitely unapt to do this. Yet such seems to be 
literally the case in the religions of the human species. They uniformly 
differ from one another, and most of them essentially from the truth. It 
concerns those who believe in chance as the cause of any thing, or the 
cause of such a moral phenomenon, to make out the proof. There seems 
to us to be something extremely absurd in referring to contingency merely, 
as the cause of an effect, when, by the nature of the word, it neither is, 
nor can be known as such a cause. 

2. Does the above diversity arise from circumstances foreign or exter- 

Nor from eiter- nal to the mind, such as time, location, climate, or coun- 

nai circumstance3 - try t j t j s not unnatural to suppose that such circum¬ 
stances might modify, in a small degree, the religions of mankind; but 
they could not well produce such essential and irreconcilable differences 
as prevail. Religions exist in perfect diversity, or contrariety in situations 
where we might suppose they would be the same, or nearly the same, so 
far as the operation of these extraneous causes is concerned. At the same 
period, in the same climate, under the same government, among a people 
speaking the same language, there are often found the most dissimilar 
religions, creeds, and practices. What one class esteems as divine, another 
abhors as sacrilegious. Where there is little diversity in other respects 
such as the features of nature, the form of government, or the civil habits, 
there is often a wide difference in religion. A Mohammedan, whether in 
Asia or Africa, invokes the impostor ; and his credulity flourishes equally 
well on the table-lands of the one, as amid the deserts of the other. A Jew 
is found the same all the world over, and, in religion, owns no communion 
with his Christian neighbours. Creeds are believed and ceremonies are 
observed, both of the most opposite kinds, under the same physical and 
social circumstances. 

3. Does again the diversity spoken of proceed from any necessary 
tendencies of the human mind to difference or opposition ? It would be 

Nor from any more than could be expected from human nature, as we 
mind SS1 for differ- now find it, that mankind should think and act exactly 
® nce * alike on this subject. On no subject is there a perfect 

coincidence of views and practices. On this account some differences 
are to be looked for, at least, as mankind are at present situated. But in 
most things, especially those of a practical nature, those differences need 


















































































INTRODUCTION 


not be essential. They are not so necessary as that mankind cannot act 
together, and realize the important ends of civil society. Certain advan¬ 
tages as to information seem to bring most men into a reasonable measure 
of conformity to one another. It cannot be thought, therefore, that there 
is any more necessity in the mind itself for diversity in religion, than there 
is as to the other great interests of life. The mind is not changed in its 
attributes when it acts in respect to religion; and the diversity is not, in 
fact, to be traced to such a source. There is no irreversible fate here. 
Besides, we can hardly suppose, from the nature of the case itself, that 
there could be a necessary tendency in the mind to difference or opposition 
in the affair of religion, or the intercourse of the soul with God. None 
could seriously maintain that in such a concern he would have made 
mankind with any invincible tendency to difference, or with so strong a 
tendency as that it w r ould be next to miraculous that they should agree. 
On so vital a subject, he certainly would be apt to give them freedom of 
choice, either to agree or disagree. He would be most unapt to bind them 
to the dire necessity only of disagreeing. 

4. Does the diversity in question spring from the want of a divine 
revelation ? As believers in such a revelation, we must answer in the 

Nor from the negative. Abundant proof could be presented, were it 

want of a revela- * . . 

tion. necessary, that mankind are in possession of a revela¬ 

tion from God. That revelation is found in the Bible; but we shall 
here take for granted the authenticity and divine authority of that sacred 
book. Its claims to be considered as containing the revealed will of God 
have been too often admitted, to be denied at this day—a day when its 
prophecies are being so amply fulfilled, and its effects on the heart and 
life, W’herever received, are so decidedly excellent. Varying human faiths 
are not, then, owing to the want of a divine revelation—a revelation 
directing all men how they should believe, feel, and act in respect to God 
and invisible realities. Such is the nature of the revelation which is 
given to us in the Bible. Its truths are clearly announced; the object, 
mode, and obligations of religious worship, are distinctly pointed out. 
The only true religion, in its different dispensations, is communicated to us 
in full and satisfactory details. Had God left men without the light of 
his word, it might be expected that they would wander in darkness. If 
he had not informed them respecting the only divine system of religion, a 
reason might be found in that circumstance, for the almost endless diversity 
which exists in creeds, and in the objects and modes of worship. But, 
now, this cannot be the cause of that diversity, since a divine revelation is 
possessed, given to mankind in the first ages of the world, continued for 
a long period by tradition, and at length committed to writing, as its por¬ 
tions were completed from time to time. 

5. Passing by the aforenamed, as inadequate causes of the variety of 




























































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INTRODUCTION. 


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religious professions among men, is not the proper explanation to be 
But it arises found in the radical depravity of the human heart? Is 
from human depra ^ that the true cause? It seems to us that it can be 

resolved into no other. Of the depravity of the human heart we are not 
permitted to doubt, in view of the decisions of the Bible, and the results 
of observation. This existing and reigning in all men by nature, would 
readily dispose them to a diversity of religious views and practices, or 
rather to irreligion under various names. It would readily dispose them 
to depart from the true belief, and to cast off the restraints of the divine 
authority. They would be prone to invent many schemes and devices 
with a view to appease an upbraiding conscience, and to gratify that 
ceaseless love of novelty, which characterizes the human mind. Except 
in those in whom the effects of depravity are counteracted by divine grace, 
there would exist a continual propensity to depart from God and his insti¬ 
tutions—to lose sight of religious truth, and become involved in gross 
darkness and superstition. In such a state, the mind is prepared for 
every absurdity. 






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« Nations ignorant of God, contrive 
A wooden one.” 


Hence have arisen the altars and demons of heathen antiquity, their 
Hence have an- extravagant fictions, and abominable orgies. Hence we 
tkms th of heathen find among the Babylonians and Arabians the adoration 
worship. 0 f t jj e heavenly bodies, the earliest form of idolatry; 

among the Canaanites and Syrians, the worship of Baal, Tammuz, Magog 
and Astarte; among the Phoenicians, the immolation of children to Mo- \ ) 

loch; among the Egyptians, divine honours bestowed on animals, birds, 
insects, leeks, and onions ; among the Persians, religious reverence offered 
to fire; and among the polished Greeks, the recognition in their system 
of faith of thirty thousand gods. Hence, moreover, we find at the pre- 


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09 


sent time among most Pagan tribes, the deadliest superstitions, the most 
cruel and bloody rites, and the most shocking licentiousness and vice 
practised under the name of religion. From the darkened views and evil 
imaginings inspired by the depraved heart proceed all those fatal mistakes 
about God, the way of acceptance with him, and the realities of the future 
world; all those departures from a consistent belief and worship, which 
distinguish every nation, and every portion of the world, except where the 
Bible is strictly received as the rule of life. 

So obvious is it that the depravity of the heart has dictated the various 
false religions that prevail in the world, that even the infirmities remain¬ 
ing in pious persons have given rise to minor differences among the evan¬ 
gelical sects of Christians. Every wrong and perverted feeling of the 


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The corruptions heart is likely to engender a degree of deviation trom 

even of good men ° 

have occasioned the truth. Hence those unhappy, though not fatal, 


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separations which take place among persons who, on the 
whole, adhere to the same great fundamental principles. Christian integ- 
. f . y rity secures a substantial, though not literal, agreement in the truths and |'V 
observances of religion. If that integrity were perfect in this world, or 
more nearly perfect than it now is, there might literally be but one creed, 
and one mode of worship. 

- m . . 1 

An acquaintance with these different systems of religion , while it is 
calculated to furnish no small entertainment , will convey several highly 
The diversity of important reflections to the reader. We should not and 
pmne° nS important cannot well contemplate such a scene, without learning 
lessons. some useful lessons from it, especially as it is connected 

with glorious purposes, which God evidently intends to subserve. 

1. A view of these religions will present to us a melancholy account 

of the apostasy of the human species. It will evince the nature and the 

Presents a me- effects of that apostasy, and thus confirm the scriptural 
lane holy account . . T .... , . 

of the apostasy. narrative on the subject, it will exemplify the great fact 

of human degeneracy in a form and manner calculated to convince every 
candid reader, that original, deep, and wide-spread corruption, in which 
the fall of man consists, appears in dark lines, in the history of the 
various religions which mankind have embraced. Indeed, the most dis¬ 
gusting exhibitions of man’s apostasy are found in many of the religions 
which he has contrived, wivh a view to supersede the religion derived from 
heaven. The awful consequences of the apostasy will here be presented 
in a medium, in which they will appear in their undisguised and most 
hateful character. The lust, impurity, pride, ambition, revenge, malignity, 
rebellion, unbelief, selfishness, in which this primitive defection is mani¬ 
fested, constitute the leading features of those superstitions, to which mil¬ 
lions in every age have bowed. 

2. A view of these religions, so far as they are departures from the 
truth, will furnish a sad detail of the extent and power of Satan’s 




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Shows the ex- empire, in the world. Mankind having apostatized from 

tent and power , , . . , . . . . 

of Satan’s empire. God, have, in every nation, and in every period ot time, 
been successively brought under the dominion of Satan. They have 
been subject to his influence, obeyed his laws, and in their religious 
rites often directly paid him homage. In fine, they have been his slaves, 
and he has claimed them as his property. The wickedness in which 
he delights they have, in innumerable instances, practised. We may 
form some idea of the extent and power of Satan’s empire, from the fact, 
that all the nations of antiquity, except the Israelites, were idolaters by 
profession, and even the latter were, practically, idolaters, at times. That 




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14 


INTRODUCTION. 


system of religion was called Polytheism, as acknowledging a plurality 
of gods, who, according to the poet, were no other than the chiefs of the 
fallen spirits, that 

“ durst fix 

Their seats long after, next the seat of God, 

Their altars by his altar, gods adored, 

Among the nations round.” 

All these nations worshipped divinities or devils by various representa¬ 
tions, called idols. Forsaking the service of the only living and true God, 
they paid that homage which is due to him, to those beings that are infi¬ 
nitely unlike him in character. 

3. A view of the absurd religions which mankind have embraced 
shows the necessity of a divine revelation—that revelation with which 

Evinces the ne- the nations are favoured in the Holy Scriptures. This 

cessity of a divine , _ ,. . , . , 

revelation. exhibits to us the true system ot religion, and is the umpiri 

to which appeal must ever be made on this subject. “To the law and 
to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because 
there is no light in them.” The necessity of a divine revelation is appa¬ 
rent amidst diverse and opposing faiths, since nothing but such a revela¬ 
tion could enable men to know the truth. They would be lost in an 
endless labyrinth of conjectures. Reason alone could not be appealed to 
with a view to determine what is right and what is wrong in human belief. 
But a revelation from God, properly authenticated, as it must be, would 
prove an unerring guide. It would direct mankind to itself, and throw a 
clear light over all the field of moral and religious truth. Without such a 
revelation, so far as man on earth is concerned, it would be to him an 
endless scene of darkness, doubt, and perplexity. 

4. A knowledge of the opposing religious systems among mankind 
will evince the necessity not only of a divine revelation, but also of 

Evinces the ne- the direct influences of the Supreme Agent, in causing 

cessity of direct , • , ■ . . ... ... 

divine influence, mankind to harmonize in their views. As it is appa- 
in order to pro- , . . .. . . 

duee harmony. rent that their disagreement, on points so vital, proceeds 
from depravity of heart, it would seem that light alone is not suffi¬ 
cient to produce union, though it is important as an auxiliary, or means 
to this result. That wrong state of the heart must be rectified,—that 
depravity must be subdued, and this cannot be done except by the Spirit 
of God. He only can directly influence the spirit that is in man, and 
form it to truth and to rectitude. His operations, by removing the grounds 
of opposition and error, will restore harmony of views, as a natural con¬ 
sequence. Accordingly, divine influences are promised, and have been 
imparted, in a degree, hitherto to the children of men. Hence is found 
that measure of agreement, on all essential points, which characterizes all 
evangelical Christians, or those who submit to the Bible, in its plain and 


































































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INTRODUCTION 

simple communications. A view, then, of the various religions of the 
world will show the necessity of direct divine operations, in producing a 
uniformity of opinions on the subject of religion. 

5. An account of the clashing and absurd religions that have controlled 
such numbers of mankind, will impart an exalted idea of the mercy of 

Manifests the di- God in the promulgation of Christianity. As the only true 
promulgation" religion—the great centre of divine communications—the 

Christianity. point where all the rays of revelation meet, (the Jewish 

system being only preparatory to it, though very important in that view,) 
it will manifest God’s benevolent desire to guide and influence mankind 
aright, in respect both to their present and future welfare. When we 
learn the spirit and the requirements of Christianity ; when we become 
acquainted with its practical tendencies; how it prepares men in the 
temper of their minds, not only for a better world, but to enjoy greater 
happiness in this; how it elevates their understanding, and improves 
their social condition, we cannot but be impressed with a sense of the 
divine mercy, in the invaluable gift. Indeed, no finite mind can fully 
conceive the importance of the gospel, as the instrument in God’s hand 
of effecting the salvation of souls. But we might entertain something 
like an adequate conception of the temporal blessings conferred by this 
system on a fallen race. There has been, however, even among those 
who have largely participated in these blessings, a remarkable failure duly 
to appreciate the benignant influence of Christianity in this world. Very 
incorrect ideas on this subject are entertained among the mass of mankind 
in Christian lands. The error, however, is inexcusable. We believe the 
time is coming, when a very different, and much higher estimate of the 
gospel will be formed, in its effects not only on the spiritual, but on the 
temporal and social condition of man. It will be felt how much we are 
indebted to it for all the real blessings we enjoy in this life. 

6. A consideration of the kind we speak of, will furnish Christians with 
a powerful incentive to unite in diffusing a knowledge of Christianity. 

Affords a strong Judging from their own experience of its power, they 
ingtosprcad^Chris- can hut v ^ evv this religion as the only corrective of a false 
touity. faith an( j a wicked practice; and such indeed is the fact. 

It is the only religion which, by a moral influence, can displace others. 
It acknowledges no true religion except its own, and never tolerates 
any other. Indeed, in its principles, it is hostile to every other religion, 
and makes a war of extermination against all superstition, idolatry, false 
worship, unbelief, and vice. In early times, it extinguished the religion 
of pagan Rome, because it would have no competitor—because it would 
own no associate. And it has since extended itself only by displacing 
other religions, through a moral influence. The peaceful exertions of 
its friends and subjects have been the means of its triumphs hitherto, 






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16 


INTRODUCTION. 




and will doubtless continue so to be, if those triumphs are continued. 
Christians reading the sad story of the debasing superstitions and idola¬ 
tries that still spread over the world, must feel powerfully prompted to 
unite their energies in the wide and universal dissemination of their 
religion. And it is a pleasing reflection, constituting the great encourage¬ 
ment of their labours, that the divine light of Christianity will one day 
dispel all the deep moral darkness which still covers a large portion of the 
earth. That darkness will vanish, as fast as the Sun of righteousness 
shall arise upon the world, with healing in his wings. 


Finally; it is delightful to go forward in our contemplations to the time 
when there shall be one religion among men, and but one. That time 
There will, at is destined to arrive. The voice of prophecy has declared 
!^ ebu,onere it. “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house 
shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted 
above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.” And he who founded 
this religion said, in the days of his humanity, “And other sheep I have, 
which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and they shall hear 

my voice: and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” After all the 

conflicting views of mankind on the subject of religion ; after all the 

diversified forms of error, there shall come a period of blessed unani¬ 

mity, and of the universal prevalence of the truth. There will be but 
one religion, and that one the glorious gospel of our salvation. 


It is not, however, to be inferred that there may not be different evan¬ 
gelical denominations of Christians ; since we are by no means permitted 
to believe that there will ever be sinless perfection on earth. The exist¬ 
ence of these denominations, all “holding the head”—the same great 
distinguishing principles, and exercising a mutual liberality of feeling in 
respect to the less important parts of the system, is not inconsistent with 
unanimity in the sense here understood. In this case, one religion may 
be said to prevail, and only one, throughout the earth, and among all 
nations. It will be one in its essential peculiar features, and one in the 
spirit and in the practices which will characterize the human family. In 
different sections, in different divisions, supposing that all are not to co¬ 
alesce in one particular denomination, will the church universal move on 
in her bright career, each harmonizing essentially with the other, and 
all conspiring to advance the common object of the believer’s high calling 
in Christ Jesus. 







































































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PART I. 


HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OF THE JEWS. 


CHAPTER I. 


Their name. 


HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

An account of the religion of the Jews may, with great propriety, be 
preceded by a succinct history of that people. A recent interesting his¬ 
torian* has pronounced them, without reference to their religious belief, 
as “among the most remarkable people in the annals of mankind.” Con¬ 
templated in connection with their religion, and as a means of undei- 

The history of standing it more fully, their history claims our attention 

the Jews peculiar- , , - . ... 

ly instructive. more than that of any other nation. It instructs us m a 
different manner from that of any other, because it brings directly into 
view the divine dealings with them. 

The Jews, in the early periods of their history, are known under the 
more general name of Hebrews or Israelites, who constituted a commu¬ 
nity of which the Jews, as they were afterwards deno¬ 
minated, were only a part. The origin of their name, 
and the circumstances of their separation from the associated tribes, will 
appear in the course of our narrative. This distinguished race, commonly 

Descended from called the people of God, was derived from Abraham, 
Abraham. lineally descended in the tenth generation from Shem, the 

eldest son of Noah. His calling of God, w’hich took place 1921 years 
b. c., is a remarkable event in history, and deserves a brief notice. 

In obedience to the command of God, Abraham, who was a son of 
Terah, the head of a pastoral family, left Ur in Chaldea, his native coun- 

Abraham called try* an ^ dwelt with his father in Haran. Ur was a dis- 
out ot Chaldea. tr j c t to the north-east of that region which lies above the 

confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates, and became afterwards the seat 
of the great Babylonian monarchy. Haran was a city situated in the 
north-west part of Mesopotamia. The former place, from the significa- 
lion of the name, was supposed to be particularly infected with idolatry, 
and hence the reason of the command, connected with the purpose of 


* Rev. H. H. Milraan. 


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Into Canaan. 


HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


God to make Abraham the father of a great and peculiar nation. By the 
same command, after Terah’s death, he went into the land 
of Canaan, which God promised to his posterity. They 
were to be included within the boundaries of that country. 

The divine design, in thus setting apart one family from the rest of 
mankind, was to preserve the true religion in the world, the existence of 

God’s design which became endangered by the prevalence of poly- 
serv^the^rue reil- theism, and to prepare the way for the great work of re¬ 
gion, &c. demption by Jesus Christ. God promised to protect, bless, 

and multiply his posterity in an extraordinary manner, and made the sig¬ 
nificant and cheering declaration, applicable to the Saviour, who, according 
to the flesh, descended in the line of Abraham, that in his seed all the 
families of the earth should be blessed. 

Abraham having acquired a name by his wealth and piety, and having 
passed through various scenes of prosperity and trial, died at an ad- 

Leaves Isaac as vanced age, leaving behind him several sons, of whom 
the child of pro- b . , , u 

mise. Isaac only was the child oi promise, lshmael, by Hagar, 

the maid of Abraham’s wife, became the progenitor of a distinct tribe or 
nation. The Arabs, to this day, claim to be descended from the son of 

The sons of Hagar. Two sons were the progeny of Isaac, viz., Esau 
and Jacob. and Jacob, the former of whom sold his birth-right to 
Jacob, who also, by artifice, obtained his father’s blessing. Esau was the 

In the line of 
the 

Israelites descended. His twelve sons gave the names to the twelve 
tribes, of which the nation was composed. Jacob closed an eventful life 
1689 years b. c., in making a prophetic declaration of the future state 
of his descendants, and the period of the coming of the Messiah. He 
had previously been brought out of Canaan into Egypt, by means of his 
son Joseph, whom his brethren, through envy and malice, sold into that 
country. 

The different occurrences by which Joseph became minister to the king 
of Egypt speak the immediate interposition of divine providence, which 
was preparing for the accomplishment of the promises made to the patri¬ 
arch Abraham. Of these occurrences, which carry on the history of tin 
Hebrews for a period, the following summary is given. 

Joseph, who was much loved by his father, and hated by his brethren, 
upon a certain occasion which was presented, fell into the power of the 

Occurrences in latter, who sought to slay him. This horrid design, how- 
the life of Joseph. , • • , • n . 1 1 . , 

ever, being providentially prevented, they availed them¬ 
selves of the opportunity of selling him to a company of Ishmaelite slave- 
merchants, who carried him into Egypt, where he was bought by Poti- 


The Israelites ancestor of the Edomites or Idumeans. 
descended in the T , . . . T i 

line of Jacob. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, were 


pfoar, an officer of the court. Here, at length, he was wrongfully thrown 




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HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


19 


into prison, by a false accusation of Potiphar’s wife ; but being proved 
to be an interpreter of dreams, he was released from his confinement, 
and introduced to the notice of Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, who, on 
a certain occasion, wanted his services in this capacity. His success 
in interpreting the king’s dreams, and his subsequent conduct, procured 
for him the highest distinction ; and he became the administrator of 
the government. During the famine which he had predicted in inter¬ 
preting those dreams, and which reached the land of Canaan, all his 
brethren, except Benjamin, came to him to buy corn. Joseph know 
them , although they did not know him ; and, by an innocent contrivance, 
having brought them into Egypt the second time with their brother 
Benjamin, he declared to them that he was Joseph, whom they had 
persecuted and sold. Their surprise, mortification, and terror, were at 
first overwhelming; but. their distressing apprehensions were, in due 
The family of Ja- time, alleviated by his assurances of pardon and kind- 
vited into Egypt, ness ; and inviting his father, and the whole family into 
Egypt, he allotted them a portion of the territory. Here he protected 
them ; and under his auspices they became flourishing and happy. 

Joseph continued to rule over Egypt after the death of Jacob, who had 
sojourned in that country seventeen years. His own decease, which 
occurred 1635 years b. c., left the Israelites without a protector. In less 

The Israelites op t ^ an f° r ty y ears from this event, they found a cruel tyrant 
pressed in Egypt. and oppressor in another king who knew not Joseph. This 

king, perceiving that the Hebrews had become numerous and mighty, 
resolved to enfeeble them : and, therefore, condemned them to slavery, 
and ordered that every new-born son among them should be cast into the 
river. The object in view was defeated; for the people increased in an 
unexampled manner. 

The history of the Israelites now assumed a very marked character. 
Oppressed by the Egyptian monarch, they cried unto God for deliver¬ 
ance, and a divine deliverance they experienced. Moses, a Hebrew by 
birth, whose life was preserved in an extraordinary manner, notwithstand¬ 
ing the edict of the king, was selected as the instrument of saving his 
countrymen. He was in due time called to his work, and after a series 
Delivered from of miracles, which he performed by the divine assistance, 
that F Iand? da&e m he led the people out from before Pharaoh, into the region 
bordering on the promised land. The consequence to many of the Egyptians 
was their destruction; for Pharaoh and his army, pursuing the Israelites 
through the Red Sea, were overwhelmed with its waters. 

The people were no sooner delivered from the Egyptians, than they 
murmured against Moses, on account of the want of food; to satisfy them 
God sent first a great quantity of quails, and the next 
morning, manna, which fell regularly every day except on 


They murmur 
after their deliver¬ 
ance. 


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HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


20 


Sabbath-days, during the time in which they remained in the wilderness. 
Again, the people murmured for water, and Moses, by the Lord’s com¬ 
mand, caused a supply to issue from a rock. At this juncture the Ama- 
lekites attacked Israel, and were defeated by Joshua, who afterwards 
. , became their leader. The people soon after arrived at 

law at Sinai. Mount Sinai, from which God gave them his law. During, 
however, the absence of Moses in the mount, they were guilty of an act 
of idolatry, in consequence of which three thousand of them were put to 
death. 

In the course of the second year after the retreat from Egypt, Moses 
numbered the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upwards, and 
, there were found six hundred and three thousand five hun- 
bered the second d ret f anc i fifty men, able to go to war, besides the Levites. 
treat * About this time, twelve men were sent to spy the land of 

Canaan, who, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, reported unfavour¬ 
ably; a circumstance which caused the people to murmur. Upon this 
offence, God condemned all those who were twenty years and upwards 
when they came out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness, except Joshua 
and Caleb. As a punishment for their murmurs, the Israelites began to 
They wander 40 travel in the wilderness, 1489 years b. c. At this junc- 
deniess. n 16 W ture, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, revolting against Moses, 
were swallowed by the earth with two hundred and fifty of their asso¬ 
ciates. After wandering in the wilderness forty years, and frequently 
rebelling against God, this people were conducted by the hand of Moses 

Moses died on * n ^g^t of Canaan, when he died, without entering it him- 
MountNebo. self. His death occurred on Mount Nebo, in the land of 
Moab, after he had first taken a view of the promised resting-place of 
Israel. 

The successor of Moses was Joshua, who conducted the people at last 
into Canaan. Having led them to the banks of the Jordan, whose waters 
Joshua conduct- divided to afford them a passage, he brought them safely 
into Canaan. over it into their fair inheritance. He conquered thirty-one 
cities in the course of seven years. 

The people, though they had been highly favoured, were perpetually 
inclined to forsake the worship of Jehovah, and to pollute themselves with 
the abominations of the heathen, who dwelt among and around them. 
For these sins they were repeatedly brought into bondage and consequent 
distress. With a view to their deliverance at such times, certain leaders, 

Judges raised up ca Wed Judges, were divinely appointed, who directed the 
for them. people, with some intermission, during the space of three 

hundred and fifty years. Occasions arose in which these leaders per¬ 
formed the most meritorious services. They defeated the enemies of their 
country, and contributed much to establish the nation in its possessions. 































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


The people paid a high respect to these officers, and also to the priests, 
but they acknowledged no other king than God. 

As this state of things, so long continued, became irksome to the Israel¬ 
ites, and they desired a king, so as to be like the nations around them, a 
The community king was granted to them, but with the expressed disappro- 
becomes ^monar- ^ at ^ on °f their great spiritual Ruler. Saul, the son of Kish, 
chy * was the first king of Israel. Having been privately anointed 

b y Samuel, he was afterwards publicly proclaimed, 1079 years b. o. 
The nomination of Saul took place by divine instruction, but may be ad- 

Saui the first m * re d on the plainest principles of human policy. He 
kingofisraei. was selected from a tribe which could not well be an object 
of jealousy, like the great rival tribes of Judah and Ephraim, and he 
belonged to a part of the country which was most exposed to enemies, 
and which of course felt most interested in repelling them. Besides, 
nature had marked him out as no common man. He possessed a tall and 
striking person—an eminent distinction in the East—and he proved him¬ 
self, at times, capable of lofty aims. His reign was prosperous at first; 
he gained important victories over his enemies, particularly the Ammo¬ 
nites, Philistines, and Amalekites; but his evil propensities, at length, 
obtaining the mastery over him, he spent the last part of his life in a most 
unhappy manner, and met with signal disasters and ill success in the 
„ . . management of his kingdom. He perished miserably. 

Perishes misera- a ° _ _ r J 

b 'y- Being at war with the Philistines, his army was routed, 

three of his sons were slain, and he himself having received a wound, 
and fearing to fall into the hands of his enemies, took a sword and fell 
upon it. 

He was succeeded by David, who had been previously anointed king. 
This prince reigned at first only over the tribe of Judah : but after the 
, death of Ishbosheth, a son of Saul, who had assumed the 

David succeeds 

Saul. government of the tribes, he reigned over the whole of 

Israel. He spent a very active and perilous life, and among the people 
whom he conquered were the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, 
and the Syrians. By his wise and vigorous administration he raised his 
people to the highest pitch of national prosperity and happiness. He had, 
towards the latter part of his reign, some domestic troubles, and was in 
danger from an insurrection of his subjects, a portion of whom had at¬ 
tached themselves to his ambitious son Absalom; but he lived to see his 
enemies destroyed—and he left a rich and flourishing realm to his suc- 
nis character, cessor. David, though he greatly erred in some instances, 
was a man of distinguished talents, bravery, and piety. As a composer 
of sacred poetry for the use of the church, he will be remembered and 
admired to the end of the world. 

The wise and rich Solcmcn was his son and successor. From the ac- 








































































22 


HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


cession of this prince to the throne of the Israelites, a period of profound 
,. , peace and prosperity was enjoyed by that people through* 

Solomon king of r r 1 . rcti 

Israel. 0 ut his reign. The most important undertaking ot bolomon 

was the building and dedication of the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. 

This temple was completed in seven years. It was a most 

Builds the tem- 1 ,. £ rru 1 f 

pie. magnificent, sumptuous, and costly edifice. 1 he value oi 

the materials, and the perfection of the workmanship, rank it among the 
most celebrated structures of antiquity. It was not very large, being little 
more than ninety feet in length, thirty in breadth, and forty-five in height; 
but was finely proportioned, and, together with a grand porch, was splen¬ 
didly ornamented. 

As soon as Solomon had finished this noble structure, he employed his 
artificers upon three other buildings, two for himself, and a third for 
, . Pharaoh’s daughter. He was occupied almost thirteen 

And other struc- ° A 

‘ures. years in erecting them ; so that he finished three famous 

edifices, with all their costly furniture, utensils, and ornaments, within the 
space of twenty years. To supply all these, and his other vast expenses, 

_ ... he built a navy upon the coast of the Red Sea, and put it 

wealth. under the care of some expert Tyrian sailors, who, with his 

own men, went with it to Ophir, which was probably situated on some 
part of the eastern coast of Africa, and in about three years brought back 
an immense weight of gold and silver, besides several kinds of precious 
stones, spices, ebony, and other rarities. Besides these, there was the 
traffic of the Mediterranean, carried on through the Tyrian merchants, and 
the inland commerce of Egypt, Arabia, and Assyria, all of which were 
highly important. From these various sources it was, that the precious 
metals, and all other valuable commodities, were in such abundance that, 
in the figurative language of the sacred historian, “ silver was in Jerusalem 
as stones, and cedar trees as sycamores.” 

Besides the works already mentioned, Solomon built some fortresses in 
Lebanon, probably to secure a free communication between his kingdom 

Builds the cities and that of Syria. He built two cities, as stations, to pro¬ 
of Tadmor ana , . . , * 

tect his inland commerce ; these were Tadmor and Baalath, 


Baalalh. 


the one the celebrated Palmyra, and the other Baalbec. These, and many 
others, which time forbids us to particularize, were the works by which his 
peaceful reign was distinguished. No wars occurred, except in the in¬ 
stance of bringing under his yoke the remainder of the Canaanites, and 
making them tributary. 

Solomon exceeded in wisdom all who went before him ; but in his old 
age he took many wives and concubines out of the idolatrous nations 
His character, around him, who corrupted his heart. The Lord, there¬ 
fore, declared by the prophet Abijah, that he would divide the kingdom 
after his death, and give ten tribes to Jeroboam, one of his domestics. As 






































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


23 


an immediate punishment of his effeminacy and idolatry, the Lord stirred 
up certain adversaries against him ; and though the principal evil threat¬ 
ened against Israel was not to occur in his day, yet he had the mortifica¬ 
tion of knowing that it would be inflicted under the administration of his 
son, and that his own conduct was the procuring cause. We cannot but 
think that he repented of his awful defection from duty, though nothing is 
recorded in the Bible on this subject; and it is certain that all ought to be 
profited by the memorials which he has left of his wisdom, and by his 
sound religious maxims. He died after a reign of forty years, and with 
him expired the glory and the power of the Hebrew monarchy. 

Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, began to reign over the Israelites 975 
years b. c. Having refused to lighten the yoke his father had imposed 
_ , . on his subjects, ten tribes revolted, and followed Jeroboam, 

Rehoboam sue- J / 

ceeds Solomon. as had been denounced by the prophet. The tribes of 
Judah and Benjamin alone remained faithful to Rehoboam. Thus the 
_ , national union was dissolved, and the Hebrew kingdom 

union dissolved, never recovered this fatal blow. From this time Judah and 
Israel are separate kingdoms. Although Rehoboam, at first, thought of 
having recourse to arms to compel, if possible, the revolted portion of his 
people to submission, he thought better of the subject, and turned his at¬ 
tention wholly to the fortifying of his own dominions. 

The kingdom of the Ten Tribes , or the Israelites, was governed by a 
succession of vicious and idolatrous monarchs; and wars and feuds, trea¬ 
chery and murder, marked their history in a shocking 
of the ten tribes, manner. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, of the tribe of 
Ephraim, was their first king. It is emphatically said of him in Scrip¬ 
ture, that he made Israel to sin. To prevent his subjects from going to 
Jerusalem to sacrifice, which place he feared might become 

OcUhsos Israel to 

sin. again the centre of the national union, he set up two golden 

calves, the one in Bethel and the other in Dan, which the people wor¬ 
shipped. Concerning these calves it has been observed, that they were 
not, strictly speaking, idols, but were speciously contrived as symbolical 
representations, probably preserving some resemblance to the cherubim, 
of which the ox was one of the four constituent parts. Still, they were 
set up in no less flagrant violation of the law, than if they had been the 
deities of Egypt, to which they bore a great likeness. For this conduct 
God declared that his whole house should be cut off. In a conflict with 
Defeated in war Abijah, the king of Judah, Jeroboam was totally defeated, 
Jndah 6 kins ° f with the loss of five hundred thousand men. The disaster 
preyed on his mind, and he never after recovered his power or enterprise. 

He was succeeded by Nadab, his son, who had for his successors Baasha, 
Elah, and Zimri. The wickedness of these kings is the most remarkable 
circumstance in their reigns. Zimri enjoyed the crown only seven days. 




































































24 


HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


Ahab 

Israel. 


king of 


5 




The beautiful city Tirzah, in which he was besieged by 

Several other J . 

wicked kings sue- Omri, being taken, he burned himself to death in his pa- 

ceed; as Nadab, ’ & 

Baasha, Eiah, &c. ] ace . Omri then occupied the throne ; he built Samaria, or 
transferred the royal residence to that place, which thenceforth became the 
capital of his kingdom, and was so long the hated rival of Jerusalem. 

The apostasy of the ten tribes, and the wickedness of their kings, did 
not reach their height till the accession of Ahab, the son of Omri, b. c. 919 
This prince married Jezebel, the fierce and cruel daughter of 
the king of Sidon. Under her influence the Sidonian wor¬ 
ship of Baal, the sun, was introduced; his temples were openly built and con¬ 
secrated ; and this cruel and persecuting idolatry threatened- 

Establishes ldo- t ... J 

latry. to exterminate the ancient religion. The prophets were 

put to death, one hundred only having escaped by lying concealed in a 
The prophets re- cave ; yet these intrepid defenders of the God of their 
the n wic a k ed ness "of fathers still arose to remonstrate against these impious inno- 
his wife! d Jezebe1 ’ vations; till, at length, Elijah, the greatest of the whole, 
took up the contest, and defied and triumphed over the cruelty both of the 
king and his blood-thirsty consort. They each perished miserably ; their 
death happening by God’s avenging on them the blood of Naboth, whom 
they had killed, because he refused, as the law of Moses enjoined him, 
to sell them the fee of the inheritance of his father. Ahab was slain in 
battle by a random shot, as had been foretold by Micaiah the prophet; 
Jezebel perished at Jehu’s command, by being precipitated from a window, 
according to the prophecies of Elijah. 

Ahaziah, Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Jehoash, were the successors, 
in turn, of Ahab; but they heard and saw, unconcerned, the miracles of 
. * « . Elijah and Elisha, whom God made use of in endeavours 

zfah ed Jehofam" to Israelites to repentance. It is unnecessary to 

of h a’sinhiar k chl.- not ^ ce eac h ^s 6 kings in the separate acts of his reign, 
racter. Of Jehu it may be observed, that he was a captain under 

Jehoram ; was anointed king by the prophet Elisha ; and, though a wicked 
man, was the instrument of executing the Lord’s vengeance upon his im¬ 
pious contemporaries. He killed Jehoram and the seventy sons of Ahab; 
and after having slain all the priests of Baal, he destroyed the images and 
the house of their god. Concerning Jehoash it must be remarked that he 
was successful as a warrior. He defeated Benhadad, king of Syria, in 
three battles. In a war against Amaziah, king of Judah, he took him pri¬ 
soner, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, plundered the temple and the 
king’s palace, and carried away the spoil to Samaria. 

The kingdom of Israel now began to recover its strength, after having 
been brought low, under its latter kings, by the power of Syria. Jeroboam 
Israel recovers II., an able prince, had succeeded Jehoash, b. c 822, and 

its strength under . , . 

Jeroboam. pursuing his lather s successes, re-established the whole 



































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


25 





frontier, from Hamath to the Dead Sea; even Damascus, the Syrian capi¬ 
tal, surrendered to his forces. But the kingdom, which was to remain in 
the line of Jehu to the fourth generation, at the death of Jeroboam fell into 
a state of anar- a frightful state of anarchy. At length, after eleven years 
chy follows. 0 f tumult, his son Zachariah obtained the sceptre, but was 

speedily put to death by Shallum ; Shallum in his turn, by Menahem; Mena- 

Zachariah and hem, a sanguinary prince, reigned ten years, during which 
others succeed. the fatal power of the great Assyrian empire was rapidly 

advancing to universal conquest. Pul, the monarch who ruled at Nineveh, 
was now pushing his victories over Syria, and began to threaten the inde¬ 
pendence of Israel. Menahem only delayed the final servitude by sub¬ 
mission and tribute, which he wrung from his people by heavy exactions. 
This prince was succeeded by his son, Pekahiah, who, in ten years after, 
was put to death by a new usurper, Pekah, the son of Remaliah. 

The dissensions between Israel and Judah, which had all along existed, 
now arose to a great height. Pekah was the last able or powerful king 

Pekah the last oI " *he ten tribes. In conjunction with Rezin, king of Syria, 
able king of Israel. he ma de war against Judah. In one of the engagements 

Judah lost one hundred and twenty thousand men, and many more were 
carried into captivity. These latter, however, were soon restored to their 
homes. The kingdom of Israel was now fast hastening to its end. Pekah 
was assassinated; another period of anarchy lasted for several years, till 
at length the sceptre fell into the feeble hands of Hoshea, who had insti¬ 
gated the murder of Pekah. A new and still more ambitious monarch, 
Shalmaneser, now wielded the power of Assyria. Hoshea attempted to 
avert the final subjugation of his kingdom by the payment of a tribute, 
a . but being detected in a secret correspondence with the 

The kingdom oi ° 1 

Israel yields to the king of Egypt, called So, the Assyrian marched into the 

Assyrian power, 0 J 

and exists no more, kingdom, besieged Samaria, which, after an obstinate resist¬ 
ance of three years, surrendered,—and thus terminated for ever the inde¬ 
pendent kingdom of Israel. 

Pul and Tiglath-Pileser had already swept away a great part of the 
population from Syria, and the Transjordanic tribes: and Shalmaneser. 

after the capture of Samaria, carried off vast numbers of 

It is not known ... . . 

what became of the remaining tribes to a mountainous region between 

the ten tribes, of 0 . . 

whom the most Assyria and Media. From this period, history Joses sight 
way of the ten tribes as a distinct people. A few remained m 

their native country, and became intermixed with strangers. The descend¬ 
ants of these mingled races were afterwards known by the name of Sama¬ 
ritans. What became of those who were carried away, is a matter of 
conjecture to this day. Some suppose that they were totally lost and 
absorot d in the nations among whom they settled. The learned Prideaux 
is of this opinion. Others find reason to believe that they still exist in 


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26 


HISTORY OF TIIE JEWS. 


some unknown and inaccessible regicjis, where they await the final resto¬ 
ration of the twelve tribes to their native land. Others even trace the 
Jewish features, language, and religion, in different tribes, such as the 
Afghans of India, or, with still more improbability, the aborigines of 
America. 

To return to the period when the nation of Israel was separated into 
two great communities, we have to observe, that Rehoboam, whose sceptre 
Rchoboam. king was confined to the tribes of Judah and Beniamin, had 

of Judah, fall into . . . . . r , 

idolatry scarce continued three years in the service of the true God, 

before he fell into the idolatry of the bordering nations. For this enor¬ 
mity, God stirred up a potent adversary against him, Shishak, king of 
Egypt, who took many of his fenced cities, and plundered the treasures 
of the temple, and palace of Solomon. 

Concerning the kings of Judah after this time, it may be remarked in 
general, that several of them were good and pious men, and adhered to 

The people of Ju- wors ^ip °f Jehovah. Others of them imitated the 
ddh called Jews, profligate kings of Israel. The people whom they go¬ 
verned, and who have survived to the present time, are called Jews, in 
distinction from Israelites, the name once applied to the whole twelve 
tribes. 

The successor of Rehoboam was Abijah, who assumed the government 
b. c. 958, and reigned three years. His reign was signalized by his vic- 
Abijah, the sue- tory over Jeroboam, as already related. Asa, his son, next 

cessor of Rehobo- J 

»m. ascended the throne, who proved to be a prudent and reli¬ 

gious prince. The first ten years of his reign were blessed with peace. 
At the expiration of that time, he saw his kingdom attacked by a prodi¬ 
gious number of Cushites, with Zerah, the Ethiopian, at their head. 

Asa repelled the Asa ’ re ty in g on God of armies, repelled them with 
Cushites. success. He pursued the wise policy of establishing the 

national religion in all its splendour and influence, and he had the pleasure 
of seeing multitudes flock to him from several of the revolted tribes, whom 
his zeal drew away from the king of Israel. 

After a reign of forty-one years, Asa was succeeded, b. c. 918, by his 
son, Jehoshaphat. This prince is honourably spoken of in Scripture, for 
Jehoehaphat is pi et y an d justice. In the third year of his reign, he 

king sent some of the principal officers of his court, with a 

competent number of priests and Levites, with copies of the Pentateuch, 
to instruct his people, throughout his kingdom, in the true religion. At 
lhe same time, he fortified all the considerable places of the land, and 
put garrisons in them, as well as in those which his father had taken from 
The nation is the kings of Israel. His kingdom was in a high state of 

prospered. . . . . . 0 o 1 

Jchoram and prosperity ; both the Philistines and Arabs were reduced 

Ahaziah kings. 



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HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


27 




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ceeded by his son, Jehoram, and his grandson, Ahaziah, who had for his 
successor the princess Athaliah, in whose reign the affairs of Judah altered 
for the worse. Jehoram having married Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, was 
seduced into the idolatry of that wicked family, which drew upon him 
the vengeance of heaven. Jehoram and Ahaziah, with the greater part 
(£ of the royal family, were slain about the same time with those of Israel, 
by Jehu, who imagined them to be friends and allies of the house of Ahab. 

^The kingdom Athaliah showed herself a worthy descendant of that 
niiah. wicked stock, and the most bloody scenes defiled the royal 

palace of Jerusalem. She seized the vacant throne, massacred all the 
seed royal, excepting one child, Joash, who was secreted in the temple 
by his father’s sister, the wife of the high-priest. Athaliah maintained 
her oppressive government for six years, during which the temple was 
plundered, and the worship of Baal established. She met with a deserved 
fate. 

Joash succeeded Athaliah. He reigned with justice as long as Jehoiada 
the high-priest lived. After his death, having fallen into idolatry, Zecha- 
T . , , riah, the son of Jehoiada, reproved him for this sin, and 

Athaliah. was stoned by the king’s order. God then raised against 

him the king of Syria, who plundered Jerusalem. His own servants 
also conspired against him, and slew him in his bed, in the fortieth year 
Amaziah reigned of his reign. The first act of Amaziah, the son and suc- 

at first with sue- _ , . .... , , ~ 

cess. cessor of Joash, was to do justice on the murderers of 

his father; but with merciful conformity to the law, unusual in such 
times, he did not involve the children in the treason of their fathers. 
This prince wa’s prospered in the early part of his reign, but his success 
in war filled his heart with pride and vanity. His subjects 

Falls by a con- r J f 

spiracy. having become disaffected towards him, he fell a victim 

to a conspiracy within the walls of his palace: he fled to Lachish, but was 
slain there. His son Azariah, or Uzziah, assumed the 

Azariah his sue- . 

cessor. royal power, 809 b. c., and commenced a long, religious, 

and, therefore, prosperous reign of fifty-one years. He made successful 
wars ao-ainst the Philistines and Arabians. Intoxicated, however, with 
prosperity, he went into the temple to burn incense upon the altar, and the 
Lord struck him with leprosy, for his presumption. Jotham 
jotham king. tQO k t j ie re j ns 0 f government, during the lifetime of his 

father Uzziah, and proved to be a wise and pious prince. 

The son and successor of Jotham was Ahaz, whose impieties made his 
reign peculiarly unfortunate and inglorious. He was scarcely seated on 
his throne, when his kingdom was invaded by the joint forces of Pekah, 
king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria. In his extremity, he had re¬ 
course to the king of Assyria, whose assistance he purchased with all the 
geld and silver he could find in the temple and city, and with the pro- 








































































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HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


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mise of a yearly tribute. Delivered, by the assistance of Tiglath-pileser, 

Ahaz established from his enemies, he forgot his danger, and, instead of 
the p Synan wor- adoring . j e h 0 vah, shut up his temple, while he reared 

others in every corner of Jerusalem, and, throughout the land, offered 
sacrifices to the Syrian gods. Tn this manner, he finished his impious 
Hezekiah re- reign, and was succeeded by his son Hezekiah. The first 
no™ 011 the na act of the new king was to restore all the branches of the 
worship of God, which were entirely neglected in the former reign. 

While thus employed, he was blessed with success equal to his piety. 

Finding himself strong enough to assert his independence, he refused to 
pay the tribute which the Assyrians had exacted from his predecessor; 
and taking the field against the Philistines, his arms were attended with 
such success, that, in a short time, he regained all that had been lost dur¬ 
ing the unfortunate reign of Ahaz. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, 
upon the refusal of Hezekiah to comply with the stipulation of Ahaz, 
invaded his country with a large army. They had just returned from 
Ethiopia, flushed with victory, and breathing destruction against the whole 
kingdom ; but Hezekiah trusted in God, and thus was released from dan- 
T , .. ger. Before Sennacherib had committed any act of hos- 

Sennacherib. tility against Judah, the best part of his army was smitten 
by an angel in one night. This dreadful judgment alarmed the proud 
Assyrian monarch, and caused him to retire, with the utmost confusion, 
into his capital, where he was soon after assassinated by his two sons. 
Hezekiah died in peace, in the twenty-ninth year of his reign. 

He was succeeded by his son Manasseh, a king to whose crimes and 
irreligion the Jews mainly attribute the dreadful evils which shortly aftei 
, consigned them to ruin and slavery. Abandoned of God for 
ceeds Hezekiah. a time, he was allowed to fall into the hands of Esar-had- 
don, the new sovereign of Assyria. In the dungeons of Babylon he learned 
wisdom and piety. Upon his sincere repentance, he was permitted to 
regain not only his liberty, but his kingdom. His son Amon, who suc- 

T /■: ! 

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ceeded, following the early career of his father, fell a victim to a conspi- 
After Amon, Jo- racy among his own officers. His successor, Josiah, proved 
thr!'ne < andreforms to be one of the most pious of all the princes of Judah, and 
the people. quite reformed the Jewish nation, a circumstance which, for 

a time, suspended the judgments of heaven against that people. Ho 
reigned thirty-one years in profound peace. He afterwards engaged in 
battle with the king of Egypt, in the valley of Megiddo, where he received 
a wound which occasioned his death. 

The Egyptian king, who was Pharaoh-Necho, on his return to Egypt 
took Jehoahaz, a son of Josiah, prisoner, whom the people had elected king 
of Judah, and placing his elder brother on the throne, whose name he 
changed from Eliakim into Jehoiakim, compelled him to pay a hundred 


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HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

talents of silver, and one talent of gold, as an acknowledgment of vassal- 

Jehoiakim kin-, a £ e * Jehoiakim,although warned by the writings of several 
and does wickedly, prophets to conduct himself uprightly, added every wicked¬ 
ness which invention could suggest, to the horrible abominations of his 

Nebuchadnezzar ancestors - At last God gave him and his city into the hands 
took Jerusalem. 0 f Nebuchadnezzar, who was just returned from the con¬ 
quest of Egypt. This event happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s 
reign. Jerusalem was pillaged, and all the most beautiful youths of the 
palace were sent captives to Babylon. Jehoiakim was at first put into 
bonds, and intended to be sent away also, but upon his submission and pro¬ 
mise to pay a yearly tribute, the victor left him as kind of viceroy over 
his kingdom. But, whilst Nebuchadnezzar was employed in other con¬ 
quests, the king of Judah renounced his subjection, and refused to pay 
the tribute. The Babylonian monarch, exasperated at this conduct, sent 
an army into Judea, which laid waste the whole kingdom. This army 
carried away three thousand and twenty prisoners, took, and murdered 
the king, and dragged his carcass out of the city gates, w r here they left it 
unburied. 

His son Jehoiachin was made king; but, not gaining the approbation of 
the king of Babylon, was, after a reign of three months, with his wives, 

Jehoiachin is mother, and the chief officers of the realm, led captive to 
hIu) g Babyio C n arried Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, who placed on the throne the 
nineteenth and last king of Judah, Zedekiah, another son of Josiah. But 

Zedekiah the last P r i nce > contrary to the advice of the prophet Jeremiah, 

kin-of Judah. rebe-lling against his benefactor, was, in the eleventh year 

of his reign, conquered by the king of Babylon. The king, in an attempt 
to break through the besieging forces, was seized, his children slain before 
his face, his eyes put out ; and thus the last of the royal house of David, 
blind and childless, was led away into a foreign prison. Jerusalem was 

m , destroyed, the temple demolished, and the people were car- 

The people car- J 1 r r 

ried away captive, r j ec | captive to Babylon, where they continued seventy years. 

and remained in ‘ J J 00 

captivity 70 years. j n fulfilment of prophecy. 

From the books of Ezekiel and Daniel, we learn what the captives 
endured on their way to Babylon ; and it seems from the event, that adver¬ 
sity had a favourable influence on numbers of this people. It brought 
them to repentance, and engaged them in the worship and ordinances of 
their religion. Having remained in captivity during the appointed period, 
they were permitted by Cyrus, the Persian king, who had 

Restored by Cy- J 1 J J & 

rus. conquered Babylon, to return to their native land, 530 

years b. c. This was accomplished under the direction of Zerubbabel and 
Joshua, their leaders. They soon began the rebuilding of the temple, but 
their enemies prevented them from making any progress. 
Several years afterwards they commenced the work anew, 
3 


Rebuild the tem 
pie. 





























































30 


HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


and completed it in the space of four years, 516 b. c. Upon this event 
they celebrated the first passover. 

The Jews, in their dependent state, continued to enjoy a degree of pros¬ 
perity under the sovereigns of Persia, after the time of Cyrus. His suc¬ 
cessors, down to the era of Alexander, had, in general, treated them with 
much kindness. Darius, son of Cyrus, favoured the Jews during his long 
Favoured by the reign. Xerxes confirmed their privileges. Under Arta- 
feuceessors of Cy- xerxeg t jj G y were s tjH more favoured, through the influence 

of his queen,Esther,a Jewess. From this prince, who is styled in Scripture 
Ahasuerus, Ezra, a man of priestly descent, obtained very liberal presents 
among the Jews remaining in Babylonia, to be applied to the service of the 
temple, and authority to re-establish the government according to the divine 
constitution, 480 b. c. Several years afterwards, under the same prince, 

. T Nehemiah,his cup-bearer, obtained leave to go to Jerusalem 
rusaiem rebuilt. and rebuild its walls. He and Joiada, the high-priest, re¬ 
formed many abuses respecting tithes, the observation of the Sabbath, and 
the marrying of strange wives. 

The Jewish people being again settled by Nehemiah, were governed by 
their high-priests, and the council of the elders called the Sanhedrin. 
Under Alexander the Great they continued to enjoy these immunities and 
privileges, and he even exempted them from paying tribute every seventh 
year. His death proved a calamity to the Jews. From this time, 323 b. c., 
Judea mvaded Judea was successively invaded and subdued by the Egyp- 

by the Egyptians, . . ~ . . . , . . , , . 

See. tians and Syrians, and the innabitants were reduced to bond¬ 

age. Under the priesthood of Onias I., Ptolemy, governor of Egypt, taking 
advantage of the circumstance that the Jews would not fight on the Sab¬ 
bath, captured Jerusalem on that day, and carried off 100,000 persons, 
whom, however, he afterwards treated kindly. When Eleazer was high- 
priest, he sent to Ptolemy Philadelphus six men of every tribe to translate 
the sacred Scriptures into Greek This translation is the celebrated one 
called the Septuagint , 277 b. c. 

In 170 b. c., Jason, the brother of the high-priest, on false reports of the 
death of Antiochus Epiphanes, who at this time held the Jews in subjec- 
Antiochus, who tion, raised great disturbances in Jerusalem, with a view to 

held the Jews in , 

subjection, pun- secure the high-priesthood. Antiochus, irritated by the 
•ion. frequent revolts of the Jews, marched to Jerusalem, slew 

80,000 people, took 40,000 captives, and then entered the temple and 
) plundered the treasures. This prince having commanded the Jews to 
observe the rites of the heathen, and to eat of the sacrifices, some of the 
more conscientious among them chose rather to suffer death, among whom 
were a mother and her seven sons, who expired in dreadful tortures. The 
same year the king’s commissioner, who had been intrusted with this 
iniquitous business, was killed by Matathias and his five sons, who there- 












































































HISTORY OF TIIE JEWS. 


31 


ci 




upon fled into the wilderness. This was the commencement of that noble 
resistance which was made against the Syrian power, under the Maccabees, 
and which terminated in the independence of the nation. 

Judas Maccabaeus, the bravest of the sons of Matathias, having been 
chosen by the Jews for their prince and governor, made war against Antio- 
The Maccabees chus, and defeated several of his generals. The monarch, 
power. >nun hearing of the defeat of his troops in Judea, took an oath 
that he would destroy the whole nation. As he hastened to Jerusalem, he 
fell from his chariot, and died miserably. In a battle with a general of one 
of his successors, Judas was killed. He was succeeded by his brother, 
Jonathan, who, after many signal services rendered to his country, was 
basely murdered by Tryphon, an officer of the young Antiochus, who 
uspired at the same time to the crown of Syria. Jonathan was succeeded 
by Simon his brother, who subdued the cities of Gaza and Joppa, and 
cleared Judea of many of the Syrians. He was murdered in the midst of 
his conquests by his son-in-law, Ptolemy Physcon. 

John Hyrcanus, son of Simon Maccabaeus, uniting in his person the 
offices of high-priest and generalissimo of the army, subdued the enemies 
John Hyrcanus of his country, ceased to pay homage to the kings of Syria, 
try. firmly established his government, and is celebrated for his 

many valuable qualities. He not only delivered his nation from the oppres¬ 
sion of Syria, but he made some conquests both in Arabia and Phoenicia, 
turned his victorious arms against the Samaritans, and subdued Idumea. 
At the time of his death he had raised the Jewish nation to a very consi¬ 
derable degree of wealth, prosperity, and happiness. He reigned twenty- 
eight years. His sons assumed the title, as well as the power of kings ; 
and the high-priesthood remained in his family, though not in the person 
of the monarch. His descendants are distinguished in the history of the 
Jewish nation by the appellation of the Asmonean dynasty , which con¬ 
tinued about 120 years. His son Aristobulus was his immediate successor. 
This prince caused himself to be crowned king of Judah, and was the first 
His son Aris- who assumed that title after the Babylonish captivity. It 
that lu was he ca»ed is recorded that he caused his brother Antigonus to be killed 
Uvify afler the caP ’ on suspicion of disloyalty ; that his mother, claiming a right 
to the sovereignty by virtue of the will of Hyrcanus, was barbarously 
starved to death; that his other brothers were kept in close confinement. 
He was fortunate in war; but his successes were soon interrupted by sick¬ 
ness ; and the deep remorse he felt on account of the treatment of his 
mother, produced a vomiting of blood, which speedily closed his wicked 
life and reign. 

Alexander Jannaeus, brother to the late king, succeeded ; he considerably 
Alexander Jan- extended the kingdom of Judea, by the conquest of all 
Iturea and some parts of Syria ; but the many services which 



na-uB his succes 
tor. 







































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 









he rendered his country were quite overlooked, in consequence of his 
cruelty to his subjects. Although he left two sons, he was immediately 

Alexandra and succeeded by his wife Alexandra, who gave the throne to 
others succeed e i dest son ^ named Hyrcanus, a very weak and indolent 

prince. His younger brother, Aristobulus, at first disturbed his succes¬ 
sion; but he was finally established on his throne by Pompey, who carried 
Aristobulus and his family captives to Rome. Alexander, one of the sons 
of Aristobulus, escaping from that city, disturbed the peace of Judea, until 
he was surprised and slain by the Scipios, two captains under Pompey. 
Antigonus, a son of Alexander, assisted by the Parthians, dethroned 
Hyrcanus, and cut off his ears ; but this cruelty was revenged, Antigonus 
being soon after slain by Mark Antony. His brother, Aristobulus, who 
was retained prisoner with the Parthians, returned to Palestine, where he 
lived contented under the government of Herod, who had been nominated 
as the successor of Antigonus by the Romans. 

Herod I. was an Ascalonite, and was surnamed the Great. Created 
king of Judea (37 b. c.) by Antony, he was afterwards confirmed in the 

Herod i. reigns, regal possession by Augustus. His reign was splendid, but 

His wickedness, distinguished by a singular degree of profligacy. Some 
time after his establishment on the throne, in order to please Mariamne, 
the daughter of Hyrcanus, whom he had married, he appointed her 
brother, Aristobulus, high-priest; but perceiving that he was much beloved 
by the Jews, he caused him to be drowned while bathing. After the battle 
of Actium, he went to Rhodes to meet Augustus, between whom there 
existed a peculiar friendship. Upon his return, he condemned to death 
his wife, Mariamne, and her mother, Alexandra. From this hour his life 
was a continual scene of misery and ferocity. At the instigation of his 
third son, he sentenced to death Aristobulus and Alexander, his children 
by Mariamne, and the next year Antipater himself experienced the same 
fate. In his reign, the sceptre being, as prophesied, departed from Judah, 
Jesus Christ was born, according to the vulgar era, a. m. 4004, but really 

Jesus Christ is f° ur y ears socmer. His birth greatly troubled Herod and 
born - the principal Jews, who became apprehensive of new wars. 

After ascertaining the place of his nativity, Herod determined on his death, 
and supposed he had effected it; but, by the providence of God, the child 
was removed out of his reach. By this time, Judea was fast sinking into 
a Roman province, an,d Her-od, instead of being head of the Hebrew reli¬ 
gious public, became more and more on a level with the other vassal kings 
of Rome. He died of a most loathsome and painful disease, or complica¬ 
tion of diseases, which we are authorized to believe was the direct judg¬ 
ment of God upon him, for his enormous wickedness. 

Herod was succeeded by his eldest son, Archelaus, who had the title of 
king, but possessed only a tetrarchy, or fourth part of the kingdom of 






















































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


33 


a Roman province. 
Herod Antipas 


Arclieiaus sue- Judea. The rest of the country was divided into three 

ceeds Herod the 

Great. more tetrarchies, which were those of Galilee and J3$rea, 

that of Iturea, and that of Abilene. Archelaus governed with great injus¬ 
tice and cruelty, and on this account was condemned, after a solemn hear¬ 
ing before Augustus. He was banished to Vienne, in Gaul, his estates 
Judea reduced to confiscated, and Judea reduced in form to a Roman pro¬ 
vince. His successor in the government of this country 
was Herod II., named Antipas, who married his brother 
Philip’s wife. This was the incestuous marriage on account of which 
John the Baptist reproved Herod, as mentioned in the New Testament. 
It was in the time of this Herod that our Saviour’s crucifixion, resurrec¬ 
tion, and ascension, occurred. Herod II. enjoyed only the tetrarchy of 
Galilee and Perea. He was succeeded by Herod Agrippa, the son of 
Herod A°ri P pa Aristobulus, grandson of Herod the Great. Caligula, the 
on the throne. Roman emperor, invested him with the tetrarchy of his 
uncle Philip, and conferred on him the title of king. The other tetrar¬ 
chies fell to his possession shortly afterwards. It was this Herod who 
caused the apostle James to be martyred, the apostle Peter to be impri¬ 
soned, and was himself smitten by an angel and devoured by worms. His 
son, Agrippa Minor, succeeded, and was the last king of the Jews. He, 
of course, received his title and authority from the Roman emperors. 
Suspicion attached to him of having lived in incest with his sister Bere¬ 
nice ; in other respects he bore a good character, being equitable in his 
administration, of a generous disposition, and paying a strict attention to 
the externals of religion. It was before this Agrippa that Paul pleaded in 
defence of the gospel. 

All things, however, tended to a rupture between the Romans and the 
Jews, their subjects. From the time of Herod Agrippa, Judea had been 
The Jews arm the theatre of many cruelties, rapines, and oppressions, 
mans. St the R °" arising from contentions between the Jewish priests; the 
robberies of numerous bands of banditti, which infested the country; but 
more than all, from the rapacious and flagitious conduct of the Roman 
governors. The last of these governors was Gessius Florus, whom his- 
tory represents as a monster of cruelty and wickedness, and whom the 
Jews regarded rather as a bloody executioner sent to torture, than as a 
magistrate to govern them. During the government of Felix, his prede¬ 
cessor, a dispute arising betwsen the Jews and Syrians, about the city of 
Cesarea, their respective claims were referred to the Emperor Nero, at 
Rome. The decision being made in favour of the Syrians, the Jews 
immediately took up arms to avenge their cause. Florus, regarding the 
growing insurrection with inhuman pleasure, took only inefficient means to 
Vespasian quell it. In this state of things, Nero gave orders to 
marches against y es p as j arij hig general, to march into Judea with a powerful 




















































































JEWS. 


the 


HISTORY 


army. Accordingly, accompanied by his son Titus, at the head ot GO,000 
well-disciplined troops, he passed into Galilee, the conquest of which 
country was not long after achieved. While Vespasian was thus spread¬ 
ing the victories of the Roman arms, and was preparing more effectually 
to curb the still unbroken spirit of the Jews, the intelligence of his elec¬ 
tion to the imperial throne induced him to depart for Rome ; but he left the 
best of his troops with his son, ordering him to besiege Jerusalem, and 
utterly to destroy it. 

Titus prosecuted the enterprise with diligence, and besieging the city 
he took it within a few months, after the most obstinate resistance of 
which history perhaps gives an account. Twice during 

Titus prosecutes J 1 1 ° ° 

the enterprise. the siege he offered them very favourable terms, but they 
were so infatuated that they not only refused his offers, but insulted his 
messenger, Flavius Josephus, in the most wanton and virulent manner. 
After this conduct there remained no more mercy for the Jews. Titus 
caused the hands of those who had voluntarily sought shelter in the Roman 
camp to be cut off, and sent them back to the city, and others he crucified 
in the sight of their countrymen. Famine, in the mean time, was per¬ 
forming its dreadful work within the walls ; and pestilence, its attendant, 
raged beyond control. Thousands died daily, and were carried out of the 
gates to be buried at .the public expense; until, being unable to hurry the 
wretched victims to the grave so fast as they fell, they filled whole houses 
with them and shut them up. When Titus entered the city, he gave it 
up to be plundered by the soldiers, and most of the inhabitants were put 
to the sword. In pursuance of this general order, the city was destroyed 

Jerusalem is de- to * ts foundations, and even the ruins of the temple were 
stroyed. demolished. Josephus says, that the number of the pri¬ 

soners taken during the whole time of the war was ninety-seven thousand, 
and the number killed in the city during the same period amounted to one* 
million. The Jews, who remained in the country, now paid tribute to the 
Romans, and were entirely subject to their laws. 

After this event Jerusalem was partially rebuilt, and in 118 a. c. the 
inhabitants again attempted to rebel, but were speedily overcome. Adrian, 
the emperor, incensed at the conduct of this stubborn 
people, resolved to level the city with the earth, that is to 
say those new buildings which had been erected by the Jews, and to sow 
salt in the ground on which the place had stood. Thus was fulfilled a 
prophecy of our Saviour, who foretold that neither in the city nor in the 
temple should one stone be left upon another. This, therefore, may be 
called the final destruction of Jerusalem, which took place forty-seven years 
after that effected by Titus. Adrian, however, saw fit, from some cause, 
to build the city over anew, to which he gave the name ^Elia Capitolina. 
It was a short-lived change, for when the Empress Helena, the mother of 


Is partially 
built. 


re- 
























































































OS 


1I1ST0R\ OF THE JEWS. 




If 


Constantine the Great, visited the city, she found it in a forlorn and ruin¬ 
ous state. 

The national existence of the Jews may be considered as having termi¬ 
nated with the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. They were no longer 
The Jews exist one people, or in a situation to preserve their institutions as 

tion, but are seat- a body. Though numbers remained in their native land, 
tered over the . . . 

earth. yet vast multitudes were dispersed over the race of the 

earth, on which they have ever since been wanderers. The reader of the 
Bible will see in these events a remarkable fulfilment of the predictions of 
the ancient prophets, and of our Saviour; and he will also learn the evil 
and danger of despising divine admonitions, and abusing religious privi¬ 
leges. When we meet with one of the descendants of Abraham, (and in 
what place are they not to be met with ?) we see a miracle—a living con¬ 
firmation of the divine veracity—a proof that the Bible is true, and an in¬ 
dubitable testimony that there is a God who judgeth in the earth. 

It is not our design, neither is it compatible with the brevity of this 
sketch, to trace continuously the history of the Jews, in their wide disper- 

Jn the history slons J or i n the various countries in which they have existed, 
of the Jews, it re- s i nce the great event above recorded. All the purpose that 
scribe their comii- remains to be answered, in regard to this division of our 
dern times. subject, is to furnish the reader with a brief account of the 

condition of this remarkable people, in later times, chiefly within the last 
and present centuries. Their residences and numbers, as recently ascer¬ 
tained, will also be given. Abating the circumstance, that the state of most 
nations has ameliorated since the era of their dispersion, it will be naturally 
inferred that such as their condition now is, such it has substantially been 
for centuries. They have, in most instances, reaped the fruits of the com- 

They have suf mon i m P rovement » and those persecutions to which they 

fered less from per- are known to have been exposed in past ages, have, in some 
secution than for- 1 ... 

meriy. measure at least, ceased with the spirit which gave birth to 

these and other instances of bigoted and revengeful feelings. Still it is not 
to be denied that the Jews, from certain peculiarities in their character and 
manner of life, seem likely to be the last people who, throughout the world, 
will enjoy the happiness of perfect equality in rights and privileges with 
the rest of their fellow-men. 

The Jews, though widely scattered over the earth, and constituting a 
portion of almost every nation, present the singular phenomenon of a peo- 
The Jews have pie subsisting for ages, without their civil and religious 
mica?existence 1 ! 0 * policy, and thus surviving even their political existence. 
Unlike other conquered nations, they have never mingled with their con¬ 
querors, and lost their separate name and character, but they invariably 
constitute a distinct people in every country in which they live. This fact 
enables us to point out their present state with a degree of accuracy, and 




















































































O' 










m 




P 


M MS 



7 


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p 






36 



HISTORY 


abolished. 


affords a strong reason for doing it; since, doubtless, important designs are 
to be answered by the providence of God in preserving this people in so 
extraordinary a manner. 

In our brief account of their more modern history, we have to remark, 
that, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, Poland and the adjacent pro¬ 
vinces, had for some time, been the head-quarters of the Jews. 

Poland the head- ’ . 

quarters of the j n tp a t kino-dom they formed the only middle order between 
a?es the nobles and the serfs. Almost every branch of traffic was 

in their hands. They were the corn-merchants, shop-keepers, and inn¬ 
keepers; in some towns they formed the greater part of the population, 
and in some villages almost the whole. In the west of Europe, in the mean 
time, those great changes were slowly preparing, which, before the dose 
of the century, were to disorganize the whole frame-work of society. The 
new opinions not merely altered the political condition of the Jews, as well 
as that of almost all orders of men ; but they penetrated into the very sanc¬ 
tuary of Judaism, and threatened to shake the dominion of the rabbins, as 
they had that of the Christian priesthood, to its basis. The Jews were 
hated as the religious ancestors of the Christians, and it became the accus¬ 
tomed mode of warfare to wound Christianity through the sides of Judaism. 
The legislation of Frederick the Great almost, as it were, throws us back 
into the middle ages. In 1750, appeared an edict for the general regula¬ 
tion of the Jews in the Prussian dominions. It limited the number of the 
The jews in ^ ews in the kingdom, divided them into those who held an 
t^many taxesTand ordinary, or an extraordinary protection from the crown, 
disabilities. The ordinary protection descended to one child, the extra¬ 

ordinary was limited to the life of the bearer. Foreign Jews were pro¬ 
hibited from settling in Prussia; exceptions were obtained only at an 
exorbitant price. Widows who married foreign Jews must leave the king¬ 
dom. The protected Jews were liable to enormous and especial burdens. 
They paid, besides the common taxes of the kingdom, for their patent of 
protection, for every election of an elder in their community, and for every 
marriage. But though thus heavily taxed, they were excluded from all 
civil functions, and from many of the most profitable branches of trade, from 
agriculture, from breweries and distilleries, from manufactures, from inn¬ 
keeping, from victualling, from physic and surgery. 

Nor in more enlightened countries was the public mind prepared for 
any essential innovations in the relative condition of the Jews. In Eng¬ 
land, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, their cause was brought 
forward under the unpopular auspices of Toland the Freethinker. In 
In England, in 1753, a more important measure was attempted. A bill 
Iaw S 18 at h oSrX was int ™duced into parliament for the naturalization of all 
STeJewsweSloon Jews wll ° had resided three years in the kingdom, with¬ 
out being absent more than three months at a time. It 


r 

Vft 





























































































NIIIIIQ 



m 




HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


excluded them from all civil offices, but in other respects bestowed all the 
privileges of British subjects. The bill passed both houses, and received 
the royal assent. But the old jealousies only slumbered, they were not 
extinguished. So much clamour was raised by various classes of the 
people, that the ministry, and the houses of parliament, found it necessary 
to repeal the obnoxious statutes. 

In Italy, till the French revolution, the Jews enjoyed their quiet freedom.. 

Their state more ^ ome they were confined to their Ghetto, and still con- 

Sifthe French a re- stra ^ ne( ^ to listen to periodical sermons. In the maritime 
volution. towns they continued to prosper. 

In Germany, among the first measures which Joseph II., when he 
ascended the throne in 1780, saw fit to adopt, was a plan for the ameliora. 
tion of the condition of the Jews. In Vienna, they had been barely 
tolerated since their expulsion by Leopold the First. After a period they 
were permitted to return. Under Maria Theresa the Jews were suffered 
to reside in Vienna, and enjoyed a certain sort of protection. In the other 
provinces of the empire they had lived unmolested, unless, perhaps, by 
some vexatious local regulations, or popular commotions in the different 
cities. Joseph II. published his edict of toleration, by which he opened 
in Germany they to the Jews the schools, and the universities of the empire, 

were tolerated by . . 

Joseph ii. and gave them the privilege of taking degrees as doctors in 

medicine, philosophy, and the civil law. He conferred upon them other 
important privileges, which it is not necessary here to name. Still, though 
they were governed by the same laws with the Christians, they were liable 
to a toleration-tax, and certain other contributions. 

That terrible epoch, the Revolution, found some Jews in France; after 
their final expulsion, a few Portuguese fugitives had been permitted to take 
up their abode in Bordeaux and Bayonne. There were a certain number 
in the old papal dominions in Avignon. The conquest of the city of Metz, 
and afterwards of Alsace, included some considerable communities under 
the dominion of France. The Jews of this latter province presented a 

4 

remarkable petition in 1780 to the king in council. They complained of 
great oppressions, particularly of a capitation-tax, which in addition to the 
royal patent of protection, the lords of the soil exacted, for the right of 
residence within their domains, from which not even the aged, nor infirm, 
. „ , . nor children, nor even the Rabbins and officers of the svna- 

In France their J 

grievances were (rogue, were exempt. The appeal to the equity of Louis 
redressed m part 00 1 u J 

by Louis xvi. XVI. was not in vain—the capitation-tax was abolished in 
1784; and in 1788, a commission was appointed to devise means for re¬ 
modelling, on principles of justice, all laws relating to the Jews. This 
plan, however, was anticipated or set aside by the revolutionary tribunals, 
who were more rapid in their movements than the cautious justice of the 
sovereign. In 1790, this class of people, who had watched their oppor- 


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HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


tunity, sent in a petition, claiming equal rights as citizens. The measure 
^ f was not passed without considerable discussion ; but Mira- 

lution they were beau and Rabaut St. Etienne declared themselves their 

acknowledged as _ . . r r 

free citizens. advocates, and the Jews were recognised as tree citizens ol 
the great republic. 

In the year 180G, Napoleon summoned a grand Sanhedrin of the Jews 
to assemble at Paris. We are more inclined to look for motives of policy 

in isos, Napo- in the acts of this extraordinary man, than of vanity or phi- 
SamiedrUtl 1011611 a lanthropy; nor does it seem unlikely that in this singular 
transaction he contemplated remotely, if not immediately, both commercial 
and military objects. He might hope to turn to his own advantage, by a 
cheap sacrifice to the national vanity, the wide extended and rapid corre¬ 
spondence of the Jews throughout the world, which notoriously outstripped 
his own couriers, and the secret ramifications of their trade, which not 
only commanded the supply of the precious metals, but much of the internal 
traffic of Europe, and probably made great inroads on the Continental 

Twelve ques System. It must, however, be acknowledged, that the 
tions submitted to twelve questions submitted to the Sanhedrin seem to refer 

the Sanhedrin, a 

with the answers, to the Jews strictly as subjects and citizens of the empire. 
They were briefly as follows:—I. Is polygamy allowed among the Jews ? 
II. Is divorce recognised by the Jewish Law ? III. Can Jews inter¬ 
marry with Christians? IV. Will the French people be esteemed by the 
Jews as strangers or as brethren ? V. In what relation, according to the 
Jewish Law, would the Jews stand towards the French ? VI. Do Jews 
born in France consider it their native country? Are they bound to obey 
the laws and customs of the land ? VII. Who elect the Rabbins ? VIII. 
What are the legal powers of the Rabbins ? IX. Is the election and 
authority of the Rabbins grounded on law or custom ? X. Is there any 
kind of business in which Jews may not be engaged ? XI. Is usury to 
their brethren forbidden by the Law ? XII. Is it permitted or forbidden 
to practise usury with strangers ?—The answers of the deputies were clear 
and precise : as they throw much light on the opinions of the more en¬ 
lightened Jews, they are subjoined with as much conciseness as possible, 
though we suspect that they are not universally recognised as the authori¬ 
tative sentence of the nation. I. Polygamy is forbidden, according to a 
decree of the Synod of Worms, in 1030. II. Divorce is allowed, but in 
this respect the Jews recognise the authority of the civil law of the land 
in which they live. III. Intermarriages with Christians are not forbidden, 
though difficulties arise from the different forms of marriage. IV. The 
Jews of France recognise in the fullest sense the French people as their 
brethren. V. The relation of the Jew to the Frenchman is the same as 
of Jew to Jew. The only distinction is in their religion. VI. The Jews 
acknowledged France as their country, when oppressed,—how much more 






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r\ 11 \ 




































































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


39 


—. 


must they when admitted to civil rights? VII. The election of the Rab¬ 
bins is neither defined nor uniform. It usually rests with the heads of each 
family in the community. VIII. The Rabbins have no judicial power; 
the Sanhedrin is the only legal tribunal. The Jews of France and Italy 
being subject to the equal laws of the land, whatever power they might 
otherwise exercise is annulled. IX. The election and powers of the Rab¬ 
bins rest solely on usage. X. All business is permitted to the Jews. The 
Talmud enjoins that every Jew be taught some trade. XI. XII. The 
Mosaic institute forbids unlawful interest; but this was the law of an agri¬ 
cultural people. The Talmud allows interest to be taken from brethren 
and strangers ; it forbids usury. 

The laws of France relating to the Jews have remained unaltered: in 
Italy, excepting in the Tuscan dominions, they have become again subject 
The condition of to the ancient regulations. In Germany, some hostility is 

the Jews improv- , J J 

ingin Germany at yet lurking in the popular feeling, not so much from reli- 

present, particu- . . - . , . . . 

lariy in Prussia. gious animosity as Irom commercial jealousy, in the great 

; gy trading towns, Hamburgh, Bremen, Lubeck, and particularly Frankfort, 
where they are still liable to an oppressive tax for the right of residence. 
Nor did the ancient nobility behold, without sentiments of animosity, theii 
proud patrimonial estates falling, during the great political changes, into 
the hands of the more prosperous Israelites. Nevertheless, their condition, 
both political and intellectual, has been rapidly improving. Before the fall 
of Napoleon, besides many of the smaller states, the grand-duke of Baden, 
in 1809, the king of Prussia, in 1812, the duke of Mecklenburgh-Schwerin, 
in 1812, the king of Bavaria, in 1813, issued ordinances admitting the 
Jews to civil rights, exempting them from particular imposts, and opening 
to them all trades and professions. The act for the federative constitution 
of Germany, passed at the congress of Vienna, in 1815, pledges the diet to 
turn its attention to the amelioration of the civil state of the Jews through¬ 
out the empire. The king of Prussia had, before this, given security that 
he would nobly redeem his pledge ; he had long paid great attention to the 
encouragement of education among the Jews ; and in his rapidly improving 
dominions, the Jews are said to be by no means the last in the career of 
advancement. Nor has his benevolence been wasted on an ungrateful 
race: they are reported to be attached with patriotic zeal to their native 
land; many Jews are stated to have fallen in the Prussian ranks at 
Waterloo. 

The policy of the Russian government seems to have been to endea¬ 
vour to overthrow the Rabbinical authority, and to relieve the crowded 
They are re- Polish provinces by transferring the Jews to less densely 
Rus ’ peopled parts of their dominions, where it was hoped they 
might be induced or compelled to become an agricultural race. A ukase 
of the Emperor Alexander, in 1803-4, prohibited the practice of small 


strained 
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*10 


HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 


trades to the Jews of Poland, and proposed to transport numbers of them 
to agricultural settlements. He transferred, likewise, the management 
of the revenue of the communities from the Rabbins, who were accused 
of malversation, to the elders. A recent decree of the Emperor Nicholas 
appears to be aimed partly at the Rabbins, who are to be immediately 
excluded by the police from any town they may enter, and at the petty 
traffickers, who are entirely prohibited in the Russian dominions; though 
the higher order of merchants, such as bill-brokers and contractors, are 
admitted, on receiving an express permission from government: artisans 
and handicraftsmen are encouraged, though they are subject to rigorous 
police regulations, and must be attached to some guild or fraternity. They 
cannot move without a passport. 

It only remains to give the best estimate we can afford of the number 
of the Jews now dispersed throughout the four quarters of the world. 

Numbers of the Such statements must of necessity be extremely loose and 
pamof the V worid. imperfect. Even in Europe it would be difficult to approxi¬ 
mate closely to the truth ; how much more so in Africa and Asia, where 
our data depend on no statistic returns, and where the habits of the people 
are probably less stationary ! 

It is calculated that there exist between four and five millions* of this 
people, descended in a direct line from, and maintaining the same laws 
with, their forefathers, who, above 3000 years ago, retreated from Egypt 
under the guidance of their inspired lawgiver. 

In Africa, we know little more of their numbers than that they are 
found along the whole coast, from Morocco to Egypt; they travel with the 
caravans into the interior: nor is there probably a region undiscovered by 
Christian enterprise, which has not been visited by the Jewish trafficker. 
In Morocco, they are said to be held in low estimation, and treated with 
great indignity by the Moors. 

In Egypt, 150 families alone inhabit that great city, Alexandria, which 
has so often flowed with torrents of Jewish blood, and where, in the splen¬ 
did days of the Macedonian city, their still recruited wealth excited the 
rapacious jealousy of the hostile populace or oppressive government. 

In Cairo, the number of Jews is stated at 2000, including, it should 
seem, sixty Karaite families. The Falashes, or Jewish tribe named by 
Bruce, inhabit the borders of Abyssinia; and it is probable that in that 
singular kingdom, many Jews either dwell or make their periodical 
visits.! 

* A statement has just been published from the Weimar Geographical Ephemerides, 
which gives the whole number of Jews at little more than three millions. We should con¬ 
ceive the Asiatic, and perhaps the Russian, stated too low; but we subjoin their numbers. 

t I* 1 the Weimar statement, the Jews of Africa stand as follows: Morocco and Fez 
300,000; Tunis, 130,000; Algiers 30,000; Gabes or Habesh, 20,000; Tripoli, 12 000; 
Egypt, 12,000. Total, 504,000 


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In Asia,* the Jews still, most likely, might be found in considerable 
numbers on the verge of the continent; in China, where we are not aware 
that their communities have ceased to exist, and on the coast of Malabar, 
in Cochin, where two distinct races, called black and white Jews, were 
visited by Dr. Buchanan. The traditions of the latter averred that they 
had found their way to that region after the fall of Jerusalem, but the date 
they assigned for their migration singularly coincided with that of a per¬ 
secution in Persia, about a. c. 508, from whence, it is probable, they found 
their way to India. The origin of the black Jews is more obscure ; it is 
not impossible that they may have been converts of the more civilized 
whites; or, perhaps, they are descendants of black slaves. The Malabar 
Jews were about 1000 ; they possessed a copy of the Old Testament. 
Many are found in other parts of the East Indies. 

In Bokhara reside 2000 families of Jews ; in Balkh, 150. 

In Persia, they have deeply partaken of the desolation which has fallen 
on the fair provinces of that land ; their numbers were variously stated to 
Mr. Woolff, at 2974 and 3590 families. Their chief communities are at 
Shiraz and Ispahan, Kashaan and Yazd. They are subject to the heaviest 
exactions, and to the capricious despotism of the governors. “ I have 
travelled far,” said a Jew to Mr. Woolff; “the Jews are everywhere 
princes in comparison with those in the land of Persia. Heavy is our 
captivity, heavy is our burden, heavy is our slavery ; anxiously we wait 
for redemption.” 

In Mesopotamia and Assyria, the ancient seats of the Babylonian Jews 
are still occupied by 5270 families, exclusive of those in Bagdad and Bas- 
sora. The latter are described as a fine race, both in form and intellect; 
in the provinces they are broken in mind and body by the heavy exactions 
of the pashas, and by long ages of sluggish ignorance. At Bagdad, the 
ancient title of Prince of the Captivity, so long, according to the accounts 
of the Jews, entirely suppressed, was borne by an ancient Jew named 
Isaac. Pie paid dear for his honour; he was suddenly summoned to Con¬ 
stantinople and imprisoned. 

At Damascus, there are seven synagogues and four colleges. 

In Arabia, whether or not entirely expelled by Mohammed, or having 
returned to their ancient dwellings in later periods, the Beni-Khaibr still 
retain their Jewish descent and faith. In Yemen reside 2658 families, 
18,000 souls. 

In Palestine, of late years, their numbers have greatly increased; it is 
said, but we are inclined to doubt the numbers, that 10,000 inhabit Safet 
and Jerusalem. They are partly Karaites. Some very pathetic hymns 

• Asia:—Asiatic Turkey, 330,000; Arabia, 200,000; Hindustan, 100,000; China, 
60,000; Turkistan, 40,000 ; Province of Iran, 35,000 ; Russia in Asia, 3000. Total, 
708,000.— Weimar St ulcment. 


% J 













































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS 


of this interesting Israelitish race have been published in the Journals of 
Mr. WoolfF, which must have a singularly affecting sound when heard 
from children of Israel, bewailing, upon the very ruins of Jerusalem, the 
fallen city, and the suffering people. 

In the Turkish dominions, not including the Barbary states, the Israelites 
are calculated at 800,000. In Asia Minor they are numerous, in general 
unenlightened, rapacious, warred on, and at war with mankind. 

In Constantinople, they are described as the most fierce and fanatical 
ra-ce which inhabit the city. Hated by and hating the Greeks with the 
unmitigated animosity of ages, they lend themselves to every atrocity for 
which the government may demand unrelenting executioners. They were 
employed in the barbarous murder and maltreatment of the body of the 
Patriarch; on the other hand, the old rumours of their crucifying Christian 
children are still revived : the body of a youth was found pierced with 
many wounds; the murder was, with one voice, charged upon the Jews. 
Their numbers are stated at 40,000. 

At Adrianople reside 800 families, with thirteen synagogues. 

In Salonichi, 30,000 possess thirty synagogues ; and in this city, the 
ancient Thessalonica, the most learned of the Eastern Rabbins are reported 
to teach in their schools, with great diligence, the old Talmudic learning. 

In the Crimea, the Karaites still possess their wild and picturesque 
mountain fortress, so beautifully described by Dr. Clarke, with its cemetery 
reposing under its ancient and peaceful grove, and the simple manners of 
its industrious and blameless people, who are proverbial elsewhere, as in 
this settlement, for their honesty. Their numbers amount to about 1200. 

In the Russian Asiatic dominions, about Caucasus and in Georgia, their 
numbers are considerable. In Georgia some of them are serfs attached to 
the soil; some, among the wild tribes about Caucasus, are bold and 
marauding horsemen like their Tartar compatriots. 

But the ancient kingdom of Poland, with the adjacent provinces of 
Moravia, Moldavia, and Wallachia, is still the great seat of the modem 
Je wish population. Three millions have been stated to exist in these 
regions ; but probably this is a great exaggeration. In Poland, they form 
the intermediate class between the haughty nobles and the miserable 
agricultural villeins of that kingdom.* The rapid increase of their popu¬ 
lation, beyond all possible maintenance by trade, embarrasses the govern¬ 
ment. They cannot ascend or descend; they may not become possessors, 
they are averse to becoming cultivators of the soil; they swarm in all the 
towns. In some districts, as in Volhynia, they are described by Bishop 


A Jewish free corps served under Kosciusko during the insurrection in Poland, 





















































































HISTORY OF THE JEWS 


attention, under the sanction of the government, has been paid to their 
education, and a great .institution established for this purpose at Warsaw. 

The number of Jews in the Austrian dominions is estimated, including 
Gallicia, at 650,000. In the Prussian dominions at 135,000. In the rest 
of Germany, 138,000. The Emperor of Austria has afforded to Europe 
the novel sight of a Jew created a baron, and invested with a patent of 
nobility. 

In Denmark and Sweden the Jews are in considerable numbers; those 
resident in Copenhagen were stated, in 1819, at 1,491. They enjoy free¬ 
dom of trade and the protection of the government. 

The Netherlands contain 80,000. 

In France, now deprived of the German and Italian provinces of the 
empire, the Israelites are reckoned at about 40 or 50,000. 

In Spain, the iron edict of Ferdinand and Isabella still excludes the 
Israelite. At the extremity of the land, in Gibraltar, 3 or 4,000 are found 
under the equitable protection of Great Britain. 

In Portugal they have been tolerated since the time of the late king, 
John VI., who remunerated their services in introducing large cargoes of 
corn during a famine, by the recognition of their right to inhabit Lisbon.* 

In Italy their numbers are considerable. It is said that many have taken 
refuge in Tuscany from the sterner government of Sardinia ; where, under 
the French dominion, among a Jewish population of 5,543, there were 182 
landed proprietors, 402 children attended the public schools: 7,000 is 
given as their number in the Austrian territories in Italy. 

In Great Britain, the number of Jews is variously stated from 12 to 
25,000. They are entitled to every privilege of British subjects, except 
certain corporate offices and seats in parliament, from which they are 
excluded by the recent act, which requires an oath to be taken on the faith 
of a Christian. In the city of London they were prevented by municipal 
regulations from taking out their freedom; a restriction which subjected 
them to occasional embarrassment and vexation. By recent acts of parlia¬ 
ment, however, all disabilities have been removed. 

The Jews in the United States, in 1871, are estimated at 250,000. The few 
in the former dominions of Spain and Portugal, are descendants of those who, 


ae:—In Russia and Poland, 608,800; Austria, 453,524; European Turkey, 
States of the German Confederation, 138,000; Prussia, 134,000; Netherlands, 
Prance, 60,000; Italy, 36,000; Great Britain, 12,000; Cracow, 7300 ; Ionian 
); Denmark, 6000; Switzerland, 1970; Sweden, 450. Total number of Jews 
, 1,918,053; or a proportion of about a 113th part of the population, calculated 
lions.— Weimar Statement. 























































































FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES 


nam a prosperous community is settled under tne protection 01 tne uutcn; 
they were originally established at Cayenne: there are some in Jamaica. 
In the United States, their principal settlements are at New York, Phila¬ 
delphia, and Charleston. 

Such, according to the best authorities to which we have access, is the 
number and distribution of the children of Israel; they are still found in 
every quarter of the world, under every climate, in every region, under 
every form of government, wearing the indelible national stamp on their 
features, united by the close moral affinity of habits and feelings, and, at 
least the mass of the community, treasuring in their hearts the same reli¬ 
ance on their national privileges, the same trust in the promises of their 
God, and the same conscientious attachment to the institutions of their 
* at hers. 


CHAPTER II 


RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES OF THE JEWS. 

The religious customs of the Jews of modern times are not all of equal 
authority; neither are they observed by all alike ; for this reason they are 
Three classes of divided into three classes. The first contains the injunc- 
moderTjews! 0 the tions of the written law , viz. those included in the Penta¬ 
teuch, or five books of Moses. The second class relates to the oral 
law, or that which was delivered by word of mouth. It comprehends 
those comments which the rabbins and doctors made in their days upon 
the Pentateuch, and an infinite variety of ordinances. These were col¬ 
lected into one large volume, called the Talmud. The third class includes 
such things as custom has sanctioned in different times and places, or which 
have been lately introduced among them. These are properly termed 
customs. Of these three classes the first and second are received by all 
Jews, wheresoever dispersed ; but in regard to the third, they differ greatly 
from each other; because sojourning in various parts of the world, many 
of them have adopted the names, and fallen into the manners of the nations 
among whom they dwell. In this respect the greatest difference lies 
between the Eastern, German, and Italian Jews. 


SECTION I.-FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES 


We shall here transcribe the thirteen articles of the Jewish creed, which 
contain all that they believe, according to what rabbi Moses, or Maimonides, 























































































0 


1 


«7 


Articles of be- -^8TP^ an » ^ as said of it, in his commentaries on the 
ief - Misna, in the discourse Sanhedrin, chap. Helee; which the 

Jews have received without any opposition, and from which they are never 
permitted to swerve. 

I. I believe with a strong and lively faith, that there is one God, the 
Creator of all things, and first principle of all beings, who is self-sufficient 
and independent, and without whom no created being can subsist. 

II. I believe, &c., that God is one and indivisible, but of an unity pecu¬ 
liar to himself alone: that he has been, is, and shall for ever be, the only 
God, blessed for evermore. 

III. I believe, &c., that God is an incorporeal being; he has no bodily 
quality of any kind whatever, which either is possible, or can any ways be 
imagined. 

IY. I believe, &c., that God is eternal, and all beings, except himself, 
had once a beginning; for God is the beginning and end of all things. 

V. I believe, &c., that none but God is the object of divine adora¬ 
tion ; and no created being ought to be worshipped as a mediator or inter¬ 
cessor. 

VI. I believe, &c., that whatever is written in the books of the prophets 
is true ; for there have been, and still may be, prophets qualified to receive 
the inspirations of the Supreme Being. 

VII. I believe, &c., in the truth of the prophecies of our master Moses, 
(peace be with him ;) for Moses was a prophet superior to all others ; and 
God Almighty honoured him with a peculiar gift of prophecy which was 
never granted to any of the rest. 

VIII. I believe, &c., that the law left by Moses (peace be with him) 
was the pure dictate of God himself; and consequently, the explication of 
those commandments, which were handed down by tradition, came entirely 
from the mouth of God, who delivered it to our master Moses, as we have 
it at the present day. 

IX. I believe, &c., that this law is unchangeable, and that God will 
never give another; nor can there be the least addition to, or diminution 
from it. 

X. I believe, &c., that God perfectly knows the most secret thoughts, 
and governs all the actions of mankind. 

XI. I believe, &c., that God will reward those who observe this law, 
and will severely punish such as are guilty of the least violation of it. 
Eternal life is the best and greatest ieward, and damnation of the soul 
the most severe punishment. 

XII. I believe, &c., that a Messiah shall come more deserving than all 


the kings that have ever lived. Although he thinks proper to delay his 
coming, no one ought on that account to question the truth of it, or set an 
appointed time for it, much less produce Scripture for the proof of it; since 


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1 

















































46 


FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES. 


Israel will never have any king to rule over it but one that shall be of the 
line of David and Solomon. 

XIII. I believe, &c., that God will raise the dead, and although I know 
not when, yet it will be when he sees most convenient.—Hallowed be his 
name for ever and ever. Amen. 

There are other articles besides these fundamental ones, which, though 
not universally received, are not absolutely rejected. 

The Jews go to prayers three times every day in their synagogues, 
and when they enter, they bow towards the Hechal, or Ark, repeating 
„ . some verses from the Psalms, in an humble tone. The 

Prayers and 

thanksgivings. first f our hours after sun-rise are appointed for the morning 
service, which is called Shachrith : the second service is in the afternoon, 
and called Mincha : the third, at the close of the evening, which they 
call Arbith. But in several places, on such days as are not festivals, the 
afternoon and evening prayers, for convenience sake, are said together, at 
sun-set. 

The prayers which they use at present may be called a supplement to 
their ancient sacrifices ; and for this reason they have given the title, oi 
name, of small temples to their synagogues. And as two sacrifices were 
offered every day in the temple of Jerusalem, one in the morning, and the 
other in the evening, so they have morning and evening service in their 
synagogues, to correspond with those two sacrifices. 

Besides these, there was another sacrifice offered up on holidays, for the 
solemnity of the festival; and for this reason they add a new prayer on 
feast-days, called Musaph, that is, addition. 

They must not eat, drink, or do any kind of thing, or salute even a 
friend, till they have been at morning prayers :—they are obliged, however, 
to wash their hands before they enter the synagogue. 

At their first entrance into the synagogue, having put on a devout and 
humble demeanour, they cover themselves with a white embroidered 
. . linen cloth, of an oblong figure, called theTALlTH.and then 

Divine service. .... . 

pronounce the benediction contained in Numbers, chapter x.: 
“Blessed be thou,” &c. Some Jews only cover their heads with the 
Taled, but others bring it close about their necks, that no object may divert 
their thoughts, and that their attention to the prayers may in no ways be 
interrupted. 

In the next place they put on the armlets and forehead-pieces, called 
Thphilin, or Phylacteries; —meaning that which is worn during the time 
of prayer. 

The Tephilim are made as follows:—they take two slips of parchment, 
and write on them with great accuracy, and with ink made for that parti¬ 
cular purpose, these four passages, in square letters, from Exodus, 
xiii. 1—3, 5—0,8—10. 11—13. 




















































FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES. 47 


These two slips of parchment are rolled up together, and wrapped in a 
piece of black calf-skin :—after which, the latter is fixed upon a thick 
square piece of the same skin, leaving a sl.p thereof fastened to it, of about 
a finger’s breadth, and nearly a cubit and a half long. One of these 
Tepliilim is placed on the bending of the left arm; and after they have 
made a small knot in the slip, they wind it round the arm in a spiral line, 
till the end thereof reaches the end of the middle finger; as for the head 
Tephii.a, they write the four passages before mentioned, upon four distinct 
pieces of vellum, which, when stitched together, make a square : upon 
this they write the letter Scin, and over it they put a square piece of hard 
calf-skin, as thick as the other, from which proceed two slips of the same 
length and breadth as the former. They put this square piece upon the 
middle of their forehead. The slips going round their heads, form a knot 
behind, in the shape of the letter Daleth, and then hang down before 
upon the breast. The forehead-pieces are usually put on in the morning 
only, with the Taled. Some, indeed, wear them at their noon prayers 
too: but there are very few who wear even the Taled at those prayers, 
excepting the Reader. 

David Levi says, that “all Jews, every morning, during the reading of 
the Shema, and while saying the nineteen prayers, must have on the Phy¬ 
lacteries ; because it is a sign of their acknowledging the Almighty to be 
the Creator of all things, and that he has power to do as he pleases. On 
the Sabbath and other festivals, we do not put on the Phylacteries, because 
the due observation of these days is a sufficient sign of itself, as expressed 
in Exodus, chapter xxxi. verse 13.” 

God is said to enter the synagogue as soon as the door is opened, and 
when ten are assembled together, and each of them thirteen years and a 
day old, at least, (for otherwise certain prayers cannot be sung alter a solemn 
manner,) then he is said to be in the midst of them, and the Chazan, or 
Reader, goes up to the table, or altar, or stands before the Ark, and begins 
to sing prayers aloud, in which the rest of the congregation join, but in a 
softer and less audible voice. 

The form and mode of prayer is not uniform among the Jewish nations. 
The Germans sing in a louder tone than the rest. The Eastern and Spa¬ 
nish Jews sing much after the same manner as the Turks; and the Italians 
soft and slow. Their prayers are longer or shorter, according as the days 
are, or are not, festival. In this particular, too, the several nations differ 
greatly. 

The Jews, in their prayers, rely on two things, viz., on the mercy and 
goodness of God, and on the innocence and piety of their forefathers. For 
which reason, they mention Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and some others, both 
patriarchs and prophets. “Do thou, O God,” say they, “vouchsafe to hear 
us. and grant us such and such a favour, through the merits of all those 




V 


























































49 


FUNDAMENTAL 


DOCTRINES. 


just and holy men who have sprung up in every generation among the 
Israelites.” 

In regard to their posture during divine service, they are to stand with¬ 
out leaning, as much as possibly they can : their heads are to be covered, 
and their bodies girt with a belt, to separate the heart from the lower parts, 
which are impure. Their hands and faces are to be carefully washed 
before they presume to enter into the synagogue. They must not touch 
any thing while they are at their prayers, which is foul and nasty, and 
their minds must be prepared, at least an hour, for their prayers, before 
they repeat them. 

The person who prays must turn towards Jerusalem, join his feet 
straight, lay his hands on his heart, and fix his eyes on the ground. 
He must avoid gaping, spitting, blowing his nose, with the utmost pre¬ 
caution. 

They may pray aloud, when at home, for the edification and improve¬ 
ment of their servants and family; but at the synagogue it is sufficient to 
say their prayers as softly as they please, if they do hut move their lips ; 
for it is requisite that the congregation should be 'well satisfied that they 
do pray. 

When they depart from the synagogue, they must never turn their 
backs upon the Hechal, which contains the sacred books of the law. 
They must go out slowly, in conformity to those words in Job, the 14th 
chapter, and 16th verse, “Thou hast counted my steps.” They must 
refrain likewise from casting their eyes upon any beautiful objects that 
may raise their inordinate affections. Whenever they pass the gate of the 
synagogue, they are obliged to put up an ejaculatory prayer. 

Even when upon a journey, let a Jew be ever so far from the place 
where he set out, he must say a prayer with his face turned that way, 
and repeat some passages out of the Scriptures which relate to travellers. 

The rabbins have divided the five books of Moses into forty-eight or 
fifty-two lessons, called Parushioth, or divisions ; and one of them is read 
every week in their synagogues: so that in the compass 

The Pentateuch. r J ° . 1 

ot a year, whether it consists of twelve or thirteen months, 
they read the whole hook through. On Mondays and Thursdays, after 
having said their penitential prayers, they take the Sepher Tora, or book 
of the law , out of the Ark before mentioned, and while that verse of the 
34th Psalm, “O praise the Lord with me,” &c., and some others are 
repeating, they place it on the desk; where, being opened and unrolled, 
they desire three persons to read the beginning of the Parascia, which 
means section or chapter , in the same place with them. And the whole 
congregation repeat some words of it, which are preceded and followed 
with a blessing. After this, the Reader gives them his benediction, and 
they all promise either to bestow something on the poor, or to contribute 

































































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F ~ ■ - 7 ^ 


CUSTOMS AND LAWS. 


towards the necessities of the synagogue. Then the Sefer Tora is held 
up wide open, and the Reader, showing the writing thereof, says to the 
congregation, according to Deuteronomy, chapter iv. verse 44, “This is 
the law which Moses set before,” &c. The Portuguese Jews perform this 
ceremony first of all. After this declaration, the book is rolled up and 
covered, and then shut up in the ark. Besides this, no day must pass 
without reading some portion of the law at home. 

This manner of reading the five books of Moses in the synagogue, and 
inviting a greater or smaller number of the congregation to read it with 
them, was ordered by Esdras, and is observed on all fasts and festivals. 

As some men, out of a zeal for religion, are fond of being employed in 
certain ceremonies, such as taking the book out of the ark, and laying it 
up again, &c., &c., that indulgence is generally granted to such as are 
most generous and free of their money. Whatever is so collected, is dis¬ 
tributed either among the poor, or employed towards furnishing the neces¬ 
saries of the synagogue. 

An epitome of the tenets, ordinances, and traditions of all the rabbins up 
to the time of Rabbi Juda, about 120 years after the destruction of Jeru¬ 
salem, called the Mishna, was divided into six parts; the 

The Ghemara or _ 1 

Talmud. first treats of agriculture ; the second of festivals ; the third 

of marriages, and every thing relating to women; the fourth of law-suits, 
and of the disputes which arise from loss or interest, and of all manner of 
civil affairs; the fifth, of sacrifices; and the sixth, of things clean and 
unclean. This being very concise, occasioned various disputes ; a circum¬ 
stance w r hich prompted two rabbins of Babylon to the compilation of all 
the interpretations, controversies, and additions which had been written 
upon the Mishna, together with other supplementary matter. Thus they 
placed the Mishna as the text, and the rest as an exposition; the whole 
forming the book called the Talmud Babli, the Talmud of Babylon, or 
Ghemara, which signifies the book of completion. 




SEC. II.-CUSTOMS AND LAWS OF THE ANCIENT JEWS. 

Soon after the Jews, or the children of Israel , were delivered from 
Egyptian slavery, Moses, their leader, delivered them a body of laws 
Customs and which he declared to them he received from God, whom h& 
dmft Jews ? 6 an " had conversed with, face to face, on Mount Sinai. These 
laws consisted of precepts which related both to the worship of God, and 
their duty to each other: but such was their attachment to their former 
customs and religion, that while Moses was absent in procuring the divine 
law, the people made a golden calf which they danced round, and wor¬ 
shipped as the true God. This was done in imitation of what they had 
seen in Egypt. 




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CUSTOMS AND LAWS 


Circumcision. 


Sacrifices. 


The most distinguishing of all the Jewish ceremonies, before their recep¬ 
tion of the Mosaic law , was that of circumcision. This, from the time 
of Abraham, was always performed on the eighth day after 
the birth of the child, in order to distinguish them from the 
surrounding tribes, who made it a fixed rule to circumcise their children 
in the thirteenth year. 

By the Mosaic law, the seventh day of the week was to be kept sacred ; 
but this was no more than the revival of an ancient institution, as appears 
from Genesis, chap. ii. Sacrifices were enjoined, and a dis- 
Sabbath. tinction was made between clean and unclean animals. 

This distinction seems to have been rather political than religious ; for had 
swine’s flesh been eaten in the wilderness, or even in the land of Canaan, 
it might have been prejudicial to their health. Another reason has been 
assigned for this prohibition; namely, to make a clistinctio ?2 between them 
and all other nations in the universe. 

At the celebration of their grand solemnities and sacrifices, persons were 
to bring the victim to the priest, who laid his hand upon its head, and 
then read over to the congregation aloud all the sins which 
the parties confessed. The victim was then slain, and when 
all the blood was extracted from the body, the fat was burned to ashes, and 
the other parts remained the property of the priests. During the time the 
children of Israel remained in the wilderness they had no temple, because 
they had no fixed place of residence ; but, to supply that deficiency, Moses 
and Aaron made an Ark or Tabernacle, which was carried by the Levites 
from place to place. 

Of all the ceremonies imposed on the Jews, none serves more to point 
out the notion of an atonement for sin, than that of the “Scape-Goat.” 
This ceremony was performed once in every year, and in the following 
manner:— 

The goat was taken to the Tabernacle, and, in the hearing of all the 
people, the priest read a list of the sins which had been confessed. The 
people acknowledged their guilt. Then taking the scroll, the priest fixed 
it upon the goat, which was immediately conducted to the wilderness, and 
never more heard of. This being over, the messengers returned and then 
the people received absolution. The law delivered by Moses to the Jews 
contained not only directions for the manner in which sacrifices were to 
be offered, and, indeed, the whole service, first of the tabernacle and then 
of the temple,—but, likewise, a system of moral precepts. The distinc¬ 
tions of persons, according to the different ranks in life, were pointed out. 
Women were not permitted to wear the same habit as the men. Yoiincr 
persons were commanded to stand up in a reverent manner before the 
aged, and to treat them with every mark of respect. The same justice 
was to be done to strangers as to free-born subjects. No stranger was to 


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be chosen king over them; for, as they were surrounded by heathen 
nations, a stranger, having the civil power in his hands, might have led 
them into idolatry. They were commanded not to abhor, nor to treat 
with contempt, the Edomites ; because they were the descendants of Esau, 
the elder brother of Jacob: nor were they to treat the Egyptians with 
(;■: cruelty. 

Slavery was permitted by the law of Moses, but slaves or bondmen 
were not to be treated with cruelty; and the reason assigned was, that the 
children of Israel had themselves been slaves in the land of Egypt. Every 
widow and orphan were to he considered as objects of compassion ; and 
those who treated them with cruelty were to be considered as objects of 
the Divine displeasure. Nay, it was further threatened in this law, that 
those who oppressed the widow and the fatherless should die an ignomini¬ 
ous death; that their widows should be exposed to want, and their children 
subjected to hardships. 

The duty of charity was strongly inculcated by the Mosaic economy ; 
for whatever was left of the fruits of the earth in the field, they were not 
to go back to gather; it was for the poor and needy ; the slaves were to 
enjoy it, and so were the widows and fatherless. The tribe of Levi, to 
whom the priesthood was confined by law, were not to have any local 
inheritance, but they were to dwell in the presence of their brethren, and 
one-tenth part of the fruits of the. earth was to be set aside for their sub 
sistence. These Levites, however, were commanded to relieve the widow 
and the fatherless. 

In every city, town, or village, some of the most respectable of the inha¬ 
bitants, or elders of the people, were to be appointed judges; and in the 
administration of justice they were strictly commanded to 
act impartially. No respect was to be paid to the characters 
or rank of persons; and a dreadful curse was pronounced against such as 
should take bribes. These judges sat in the gates of the cities; which prac¬ 
tice still prevails in many of the Eastern nations. The origin of this custom 
is of great antiquity ; but the end and design of it has never been properly 
accounted for, which is the more surprising, because the custom itself is 
very emblematical and expressive. 

There was, however, an appeal from these inferior courts, whether 
relatino- to matters of a civil or a criminal nature: and this appeal was 
very solemn. The party who thought himself injured, entered his appeal 
before the supreme judge or the king, who called to his assistance the 
whole body of priests and Levites; and the majority of votes determined 
the affair. If either of the contending parties refused to abide by the final 
decision, he was condemned to suffer death ; for not to acknowledge such 
a solemn judgment, was to deny the authority of God himself, who had 
delegated his authority to the judges, priests, and Levites. 



Judges. 


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The person who spoke disrespectfully of a judge, was considered as a 
blasphemer; and if he was found guilty by the evidence of two or three 
witnesses, then he was to be put to death; for to revile a judge was to 
revile God, he being considered as his representative on earth. 

The Jewish slavery was two-fold, and arose from a variety of circum¬ 
stances. When men were reduced to poverty, it was in the power of their 
creditors to sell them: but they were not to be treated as 
strangers ; they were to be treated in the same manner as we 
do hired servants; and when the year of jubilee took place, they, and their 
wives, with their children, were to be set at liberty, and they were to return 
to the possessions of their ancestors. These persons who were purchased, or 
in other words, taken into a state of servitude, were not to be sold by their 
masters, nor were they to be treated with any sort of severity. When a 
servant was discharged, his master was to give him as much corn, wine, 
oil, and other necessaries, as he and his wife and children could carry home 
to their houses. 

In the patriarchal age, the power of masters over their servants was 
unlimited, for they had a right to put them to death whenever they pleased; 
but after the children of Israel had returned from Egypt, this power was 
confined within proper bounds. Such as engaged for a limited time were 
to have leave to go out at the expiration of it; and if a man was married 
when he entered into servitude, his wife and children were to be set at 
liberty; but if his master gave him a wife, both she and the children were 
to remain the property of the master. This circumstance, however, seldom 
took place, for the law had provided a remedy. 

It frequently happened, that when the term of servitude expired, the 
servant, having no prospect of procuring a subsistence, and, at the same 
time, unwilling to part with his wife and children, told his master that he 
would serve him during the remainder of his life. In such cases the 
master took him before the elders, or judges, and in their presence an awl 
was bored through his ear and fixed to a post in the gate of the city ; sig¬ 
nifying that he and his wife and children were to serve the master till 
death. 

It was the same with women servants, who w r ere bound by the same 
obligations. With respect to strangers, they were, at all times, permitted 
to redeem themselves, and this wms to be done in an equitable manner 
before the judges. All the arrears due to them were to be paid ; and if the 
time of their servitude was not expired, then they were to make a proper 
deduction, so that the master should not receive the least injury. 

When a master struck his servant, and the w r ound proved mortal, so 
that the servant died within a day or two, then the crime was to be con¬ 
sidered as capital, and the master was to suffer death for it; but if he lived 
beyond that time, then the master was to be discharged, because the slave 


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OF THE ANCIENT JEWS 


was his property. When a master struck out the eye or the tooth of his 
servant, then he was obliged to let him go free ; because, in such an in¬ 
stance, the master exceeded the bounds prescribed by the law. 

It was in the power of parents to sell their daughters; a practice which 
has been followed in the Eastern nations from the most early ages. When 
Power of a fa a master seduced a female slave, he was not permitted to 
ther - sell her, because he had not acted towards her consistently 

with the nature of moral obligation. If the master betrothed the young 
woman to his son, she was to be treated as a free-born subject; but if the 
young man took another wife, then he was to deliver up every thing 
belonging to the slave, and she was to be free to act in what manner she 
pleased. It is singular, that when a slave ran away from his master, he 
was not to be reclaimed by him, but was to remain with the person where 
he chose to settle. 

The power that fathers had over their children was great. If a son 
refused to obey his father or mother, or treated them with indignity, they 
were to chastise him ; and if no reformation took place in his conduct, then 
he was to be taken before the elders, or judges of the city, who, upon 
hearing such evidence as served to prove his guilt, delivered him over 
to the common executioners, who immediately stoned him to death. None 
of the children of Israel were permitted to sell their daughters as common 
prostitutes, because purity was enjoined by the Mosaic law. It was the 
custom of the surrounding nations to boil kids in the milk of their dam; 
but by the Mosaic law this was forbidden, as an unnatural practice, so that 
it was utterly prohibited for any person to seethe a kid in its mother’s 
milk. 

Many of the heathen nations lived in an incestuous manner; but this 
practice was not tolerated under the law of Moses. The degrees of con- 
sanguinity were so strictly attended to, that no person was 
marriage. ° to break through them ; and a table of those degrees has 
always been affixed to the English translation of the Bible. A man was 
not to marry two sisters, lest it should create family dissensions. 

If a man died without having children, and if he had a brother alive 
unmarried, then the bachelor was to espouse the widow; that by descend¬ 
ants the name of the family might be kept up ; but the first-born child 
was to succeed to the name and estate of the first husband. 

As nothing was more odious among the Jews, than for men or women to 
live unmarried, so if the brother-in-law refused to marry the sister-in-law, 
to preserve the name of his family, the widow was to go before the judges 
in the gate of the city, and there exhibit her complaint. This being done, 
the brother-in-law was called before the judges, and examined concerning 
the nature of his objections; and when it was found that he absolutely 




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CUSTOMS AND LAWS 


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mated to her ; the judges then were to tell her to act according as the law 
of Moses directed ; and she, stooping down, unloosened the shoe from off 
his right foot, and, spitting in his face, declared her abhorrence of the man 
who refused to perpetuate the name of his family, and the name of his 
brother; and from that time forward he was called u The man whose shoe 
was loosed in Israel .” 

A woman was not to marry into any tribe but that to which her father 
belonged; this seems to have been done to keep up the grand distinctions 
among the twelve tribes, especially that of Judah; from whom the Mes¬ 
siah was to be descended. 

Moses permitted a man to put away his wife, and both parties were 
allowed to marry again. But if a husband divorced his wife, and she mar- 
q\Jried a second husband, who afterwards died, then the first husband was not 
to take the woman again. This was done to discourage divorces. 

Every man was exempted from going to war, and from all public busi¬ 
ness, during the first year of his marriage; and the reason was, that there 
might not be too many young widows or fatherless children among them. 
The law of Moses allowed a man to make a vow, and to give for the ser¬ 
vice of the tabernacle any part of his goods or money, but so as not to 
injure his family. 

It is evident, from several passages in the Old Testament, that women 
were permitted to make vows, on condition of obtaining the consent of their 
fathers and husbands. If the fathers or husbands were present when the 
vow was made, and did not object to it, then the woman was bound to the 
performance. On the other hand, if either the father or husband objected 
to the vow, then it could not stand good, and the priests were commanded 
to see that it was not performed. But all the widows, and such women as 
had been divorced, and lived single, were obliged to perform their vows, 
otherwise they were to be treated as persons guilty of sacrilege. 

In military affairs, the law of Moses was well calculated to promote the 
interests of the commonwealth, and was altogether suitable to the genius, 
times, and circumstances of the people. Every family was 
obliged to return to the chiefs of the tribes a list of all the 
males upwards of twenty years of age, fit to carry arms. When the return 
was made, the males of each tribe were called together, and the following 
questions were asked them, one by one : “ Has any man built a house, and 
has not had time to dedicate it ? Has any man planted a vineyard, and 
not yet eaten of the fruit of it ? Has any man betrothed a wife, and not 
yet married her? Is any man fearful or faint-hearted to go against the 
enemy ? Then let all those return home, and attend to their domestic 
duties.” 

According to the Jewish law, when they attacked a city they were to 
offer terms of peace to the inhabitants, upon condition of surrendering them- 


Military law. 














































































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THE ANCIENT JEWS. 


selves up prisoners of war, and submitting to the will of the conqueror; 
which was, that they should pay a certain tribute. But if the citizens 
refused to accept of the proffered terms, then the place was to be attacked, 
and if taken, all the males were to be put to the sword. The women and 
children were to be sold as slaves; the cattle, and all the goods were to be 
taken and distributed equally among the soldiers, after which the city was 
to be reduced to ashes. 

They were permitted to eat the fruits of the trees which they found in 
the land of an enemy; and the trees were to be cut down in order to raise 
bulwarks against the next city which they should have occasion to besiege. 

A1 the lands taken by conquest were to be divided, by lot, among the 
soldiers, but each was to have his share, according to the rank he bore in 
the army. The Levites, also, had their share, although, being obliged to 
attend the service of the tabernacle, they were exempted from every duty 
of a civil or military nature. This exemption was appointed to exist 
throughout all generations; although we meet with many deviations from 
it in the latter times of their history, particularly after they returned from 
the Babylonish captivity. 

If a man died without leaving a son, then the inheritance was to pass to 
his daughter; and if there was no daughter, then it was to go to the bro¬ 
thers ; and if there were no brethren, then it was to ascend upwards to the 
brothers of the grandfather, and to all the collateral branches, according to W ), \. ^ 

their consanguinity. 

As polygamy was permitted among the Jews, great care was taken that 
no abuses should happen, in consequence of partiality in favour of the 
children of the second or third wife, in preference to those 
Poi> 0 amy. fi rgt . was or dered, that although the first wife 

should be despised, or even hated by her husband, yet her first-born son 
should succeed to the inheritance; and the judges were under the most 
solemn obligations to see this part of the law properly executed. Provi¬ 
sion, however, was made for the rest of the children, and amongst them 
the personal estate was divided without any partial respect; but if there 
was no personal estate, then two-thirds of the real estate were given to the 
first-born, and the third divided equally among the rest. 

The Jews were permitted to lend money upon usury , to strangers, but 
T , . not to any of their own brethren, nor were they to sleep one 

Laws relating to J ^ J A 

property. night with their brother’s pledge. 

If an estate was mortgaged, the person who held it was obliged to restore 

it at the end of seven years, upon condition of receiving the money he had 

advanced, but he was not under the same obligation to strangers. And if 

a man borrowed a beast of his neighbour, and an accident happened to it, 

so that it received an injury, then he was to make good the loss, unless the 

owner happened to be present. 


























































5G 


CUSTOMS AND LAWS 




If a man delivered any thing to another to keep, and it was stolen, the 
thief, if found, was to pay double ; but if the thief was not found, then the 
person to whom it was intrusted was to he brought before the judges, to 
declare upon oath, whether he had injured his neighbour by making away 
with his goods, or had been privy, to any transaction of that nature. 
The oath of the suspected person w'as to be supported by such evidence as 
he could produce; and that was to be opposed by what the prosecutor 
could advance. 

The matter having been heard with calmness, the judges were to con¬ 
sider on it in a deliberate manner; and if it appeared that the accused 
person was innocent, then he was acquitted ; but, if through his own neg¬ 
lect the goods were stolen, then he was to return double to the owner. 
If there was no evidence produced by the person accused, nor any to sup¬ 
port the accusation, then the judges were to decide, according to their own 
wisdom and discretion. 

Among the Jews, there were several things exempted from being 
pledged ; among which were mill-stones ; for such things were necessary 
towards preserving the lives of men, because wheat would have been of 
little use unless ground into flour. When a pledge was deposited, the 
person who advanced the money was not to go into the debtor’s house to 
demand it, but he was to stand without the door until it was brought to 
him. This was ordered to prevent family disputes, and to keep peace 
among a body of people who were commanded to live together as brethren. 
The clothes of widows were not to be taken in pledge, and the same 
degree of humanity was to extend to strangers, to the fatherless, and to 
the slaves. Great regard was paid to the standard weights and measures; 
so that, in their common dealings, justice should be equally distributed. 

Every sale, or bargain, relating to the conveyance of estates, was of a 
conditional nature ; and if any of the descendants or relations of those who 
assigned it away, produced the money advanced for it, at the end of forty- 
nine years, then it was to be restored; for the possession of it during that 
time was considered as an ample recompense to the purchaser. 

On such occasions, trumpets were to be sounded in all the towns and 
villages, that the people might have proper notice that the jubilee was 
approaching. Then, during the fiftieth year, all servants or slaves were to 
be set at liberty; and an opportunity was offered for persons to redeem 
such estates as had been sold. In the redemption of estates, an account 
was taken before the judges concerning the nature of the improved rent, 
during the time they had been in the possession of the purchaser, and the 
overplus was delivered up, either to the person who sold them, or to his 
relations who made the claim. 

All houses in walled cities, namely, such as were fortified, could be 
redeemed within the compass of one year, but they could never be re- 


































































OF 


THE 


ANCIENT 


JEWS 


deemed afterwards, not even in the year of jubilee ; because the person in 
possession was under obligation to lay down his life in support of its rights 
and privileges. It was different with respect to the villages which were 
not walled round, because they were considered as part of the country at 
large, so that they were permitted to be redeemed in the year of jubilee. 
k v J However, the houses of the Levites were not to be sold without redemp¬ 
tion, whether they were in cities or villages. 

When servants were hired by the day, they were to receive their wages 
before sunset; and the reason assigned for it was, that because the poor 
man wanted his hire ; hunger, and the regard he had for his wife and 
children, would make him unwilling to return home. 

By the Mosaic law, the ox, who contributed towards cultivating the 
fruits of the earth, and who assisted in treading out the corn, was not 
muzzled, but suffered to eat as much as he could, while he was em¬ 
ployed. 

Covetousness was forbidden by the Mosaic law. Cattle being stolen 
and disposed of, so as to be irrecoverable, the thief, on conviction, was to 
make fivefold restitution ; but if the cattle -were found alive with him, 
then he was to restore them, and pay double. Every person was em- 
poAvered to kill a housebreaker, if he Avas found in the fact during the 
night; but if in the day, then he was either to make restitution, or to be 
sold for a slave. 

In walking through a vineyard, every stranger was permitted to pull 
what fruit he chose to eat, but he Avas not to carry any aAvay. It was the 
same Avith respect to fields of corn, Avhere every man Avas permitted to 
pull as much as he could eat, but he was not to put in a sickle, or cut 
down as much as one of the stalks. 

It was ordained in their laAv, that nuisances, by which men’s lives or 
properties could be injured, should be removed ; or if an accident hap¬ 
pened in consequence of neglect, a proper recompense Avas to be made to 
the loser. Thus, if a man left a pit uncovered, and his neighbour’s beast 
fell into it, and Avas killed, or in any Avay disabled, then the person guilty 
of the neglect was to make up the loss. In the same manner, if any man 
killed the beast of his neighbour, he Avas either to restore another equal in 
value, or pay the price. 

All those Avho found cattle Avandering astray, Avere to take them to their 
OAvn folds, and keep them till they Avere claimed by the OAvners. It was 
the same with respect to every thing lost; for, Avhoever found it, and did 
not embrace the first opportunity of restoring it, Avas considered as a thief, 
and punished as such. 

If fire happened through negligence, the person Avho neglected to take 
proper care Avas to make restitution to the injured person ; and the same 
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of his neighbour. If a man or woman happened to be killed by an ox, 
then the ox was to be stoned to death, and his flesh was not to be eaten; 
but if sufficient evidence appeared to the judges, that the ox was a vicious 
animal, accustomed to push at every person who came in his way, and the 
owner did not take proper measures to restrain him, then the ox was to be 
stoned, and the owner was to be put to death. It was, however, permitted 
for the owner of the ox to redeem his own life, by paying a certain sum 
of money to the widow or children of the deceased. 

When an ox killed a slave, his owner was to pay to the master of the 
slave thirty shekels of silver ; and if it happened that one ox hurt or killed 
another, the live ox was to be sold along with the dead one, and the money 
equally divided between the proprietors. 

Wilful murder was to be punished with death ; for thus 
it was written in the Mosaic law:— 

“And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, (so that he die,) he is 
a murderer : the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite 
him with throwing a stone, (wherewith he may die,) and he die, he is a 
murderer.” In the same manner, if he smote him with an instrument of 
wood, so that he died, he was a murderer; but still no crime could be 
called murder, unless there was malice in the offending party. In all such 
cases, the nearest of kin had a right to put the murderer to death with his 
own hands. 

The difference between murder and manslaughter was pointed out, and 
a straight line of distinction drawn. Thus, if there had been no malice 
between the contending parties, and it happened that one of them killed 
the other suddenly, then the aggressor was to flee to the city of refuge , 
where he was kept in a state of safety, until the judges had inquired into 
the affair. This was done in a very solemn manner, and, what is remark¬ 
able, the evidence was delivered in the hearing of all those who lived in 
the district where the affair happened. 

When a solemn inquiry was made, and it was found that the aggressor / ; y 
entertained malice against the deceased, then he was delivered up to the 
avenger of blood to be put to death. But if it was found that no malice 
had existed between the parties, then the judges were to see the offender 
safely conducted to the city of refuge, where he was to remain as an inha¬ 
bitant till the death of the high-priest. During that time, if he ventured 
to go out of the city of refuge, the avenger of blood had a right to put him 
to death; but when the high-priest died, he was restored to the peaceable K.; 
enjoyment of his temporal possessions. 

When it happened that a pregnant woman was injured so as to occasion ' 
her miscarrying, then the husband was to demand a fine from the offendino- 
party, and the judges were to determine how much was equitable. It 
was common in the Eastern countries to steal children, and sell them to be 






r ©m 



Clip 
































































OF THE ANCIENT JEWS 


brought up as slaves ; but the law of Moses absolutely prohibited this 
practice, and the offender was to be put to death. 

In some cases, offenders were permitted to take shelter on the horns of 
the altar, the place to which the victim was bound ; but if he was a mur¬ 
derer, and found guilty by the judges, then the executioners had a right to 
drag him from the altar and put him to death. 

As the Jewish .state was that of a theocracy , so every violation of the 
law, delivered by Moses, was punished as high-treason to God. The 
people were to be considered as guilty of high-treason when 

High-Treason. , . , . . * ° 

they worshipped any of the idols in the heathen nations 
It was high-treason, likewise, to set up an image of God. 

In particular, they were strictly commanded not to worship the sun, 
moon, or stars. 

What the English law calls misprision of treason, was punished 
capitally among the Jews. Thus, if one man saw another go to wor 
ship in a heathen temple, and did not reveal it to the judges, then he 
was to be put to death; for, to conceal treason was considered as approving 
of it. 

In all cases the traitor was punished by stoning, and the witnesses were 
obliged to perform the execution. Nay, so strict was the law with respect 
to treason, that if one person advised another to idolatry, 

IIow punished. , . , . , , . . . i *n i • 

















































4k ^ GPjpi' 


^^4 \ 

V. 


CUSTOMS AND LAWS. 


exceed that number; but, according to the practice, they seldom exceeded 
the number of thirty-nine. If more than forty stripes had been inflicted 
on the offending party, he would have been considered as infamous ever 
after, and by only inflicting thirty-nine, it was done from motives of huma¬ 
nity, lest the party should be in danger of losing his life. 

If a man lay with a woman who was a slave and betrothed, the woman 
was to be scourged, and the man was to offer a ram as a trespass-offering; 
neither of them were to be put to death, because the woman was not free. 
Bastards were not permitted to enjoy the same privileges as those who 
were born in wedlock; and, that incontinency might be discouraged as 
much as possible, this prohibition was to extend even to the tenth gene¬ 
ration. 

This order or statute, however, did not prohibit bastards from worship** 

' pi n g either in the tabernacle or temple ; for they were treated in the same 


manner as the heathens who renounced idolatry; namely, as proselytes 
who worshipped God without the veil of the temple. In many civil 


respects, likewise, they were not considered as members of the Jewish 
community. 

That no injury should be done to young women, it was ordered, that if 
a man lay with a virgin who was not betrothed, then he was to pay to her 
father fifty shekels of silver as part of the composition for the injury, and 
at the same time he was obliged to marry her, nor could he, on any ac¬ 
count whatever, obtain a divorce from her ; because in the act of seduction 
J lie had first set her a bad example. 

With respect to a witness giving evidence in a court of justice, the law 
of Moses provided against perjury. It was absolutely necessary that there 
should be either two or three witnesses to prove the truth 
of every criminal accusation, because two individuals can 
swear to a single fact. In case a man, who appeared as a witness against 
an accused person, should have been suspected of delivering false evidence, 
O then both parties were to appear in the tabernacle before the judges and 
the priests, and they were to consider of the matter in the most deliberate 
manner. If it appeared to the judges that the witness had perjured him¬ 
self, then they were to order that the same punishment should be inflicted 
upon him, as would have been inflicted upon the accused person, had he 
been legally convicted. 

The practice of making witnesses the executioners of the criminal had 
something in it remarkably solemn ; for a man may swear falsely in a 
court of justice, from interested or sinister motives, but if he has the least 
spark of conscience remaining, he must shudder at the thoughts of becom¬ 
ing the executioner of the man, who, by his evidence, was illegally con¬ 
demned. 

Retaliation made a great part of the Jewish law; thus, he who put out 















































































RELIGIOUS RITES 


the eye of another was to have his own put out; he who struck out the 
tooth of another was to have his own tooth struck out; he who disabled 
another was himself to be disabled ; and whoever burned down the house 
of his neighbour was to have his own house reduced to ashes. 

To what has already been advanced, we may add, that all punishments 
among the Jews were considered as adequate to the crimes with which the 
offending prisoners were charged. 

If a man was found guilty of a capital offence, and condemned to be 
hanged, his body was not to remain after sun-set on the tree ; but (says 
the Mosaic law) “ Thou slialt bury him that day , that thy land be not 
defiled: for he that is hanged is accursed of God." 


SEC. III.-RELIGIOUS RITES 


Every Jew is under an indispensable obligation to marry, the time 
appointed for it by their rabbins being at eighteen years of age ; and he 
who lives single till he is twenty is reckoned to live in the 
actual commission of a known sin. This is grounded on 
the duty of procreation, in obedience to that command which God gave to 
Adam and Eve, as related in the first chapter of Genesis, “ Be fruitful, and 
multiply, and replenish the earth.” On the other hand, as a single man is 
often subject to commit fornication, they think it a duty incumbent on him 
to marry, and remove the temptation. 

There are several passages in the Old Testament which might be adduced 
to justify a plurality of wives; and the Eastern Jews frequently practise it; 
bat the Germans do not allow it at all; nor do the Italians approve, though 
they sometimes comply with it, when, after many years of cohabitation, they 
have had no issue by a first wife.—The laws of the greater part of Europe 
are, however, quite averse to polygamy. 

They are allowed to marry their nieces, that is, their brother’s or sister’s 
daughters, and likewise their first cousins ; but a nephew must not inter¬ 
marry with his aunt, that the law of nature may not be reversed: for when 
the uncle marries his niece, the same person remains as the head who was 
so before; but when the nephew marries his aunt, he becomes, as it were, 
her head, and she must pay homage to him; by which means the law is 
reversed. The other degrees of consanguinity which are forbidden, may 
be seen in the 18th chapter of Leviticus. 

Some are very cautious how they marry a woman who has buried two 
or more husbands ; branding her with the ignominious title of a husband- 
killer : but this is not prohibited, and is less to be understood of a man who 
may have had two or more wives. 

A widow, or a woman divorced from her husband, cannot marry again 
till ninety days after the death of the one, or separation of the other, that 

















































































RELIGIOUS RITES 


it may thereby be certainly known whether the first husband is father of 
the child which may afterwards be born. 

If a man dies, and leaves behind him an infant that sucks, the widow 
cannot marry again till the child be two years old ; the rabbis having 
limited that time, for the better maintenance and education of the orphan. 

The Jews often marry their children very young, though the marriage 
is not consummated till they are of a proper age ; therefore, when a child 
who is under ten years of age (whether her father be alive or dead) 
becomes a widow, and afterwards marries with the consent of her mother, 
or brothers, a man whom she does not approve of, she may have a divorce 
at any time till she attains the age of twelve years and one day, at which 
period she is deemed a woman. If she declares that she will not have 
such a man, it is sufficient; and when she has taken two witnesses to set 
down her refusal in writing, she may obtain a divorce, and marry again 
with whom she pleases. 

When the Jews have settled the terms of accommodation, the marriage 
articles are signed by the husband, and the relations of the wife ; after 
which the former pays a formal visit to the latter, and, 
before witnesses, takes her by the hand, saying, “Be thou 
my spouse .” In some countries the bridegroom presents the bride with a 
ring at the same time, and then marries her. But this is not the usual 
practice in England, Italy, or Germany. They are often solemnly engaged 
for six or twelve months, and sometimes two years, according to the con¬ 
venience of the parties, or the agreement made between them ; during 
which time the young lover pays frequent visits to his mistress, and spends 
his time in her company with the utmost familiarity, but with a strict regard 
to decency and good manners. 

In a part of the marriage articles, the bridegroom covenants to give his 
wife, by way of jointure, the sum of fifty crowns ; all his effects, even to 
his cloak, being engaged for the due performance of this agreement. The 
sum is moderate, to render the marriage of poor maidens easy: but the 
wife must deliver into her husband’s hands all the effects which she may 
afterwards inherit. 

When the marriage-day is appointed, (which is usually at the time the 
moon changes, and in case the bride be a maid, on a Wednesday or Friday, 
but if a widow, on a Thursday,) the bride, if she be free from her terms, 
goes the first night into a bath, in the presence of other women, and there 
washes herself. But if she be not free from her terms, all carnal conver¬ 
sation with her is prohibited, till she can wash. However, the nuptial 
solemnities are seldom delayed upon that account. 

The eight days which precede the marriage are usually grand-days; the 
betrothed couple and their friends, giving a loose to pleasure, laugh, sing, 
dance, and cast away care. 


Betrot’iiings and 
weddings. 































































































1 



RELIGIOUS RITES. 


63 




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Some insist that the young couple should fast on the wedding-day, til! 
the blessing be over. 

On the wedding-day, the bride and bridegroom dress in all the grandeur 
and magnificence their circumstances will admit of, and the bride is con¬ 
ducted in pomp to the house intended for the celebration of the nuptials, 
by several married women and maidens, who are her friends and acquaint¬ 
ance. She is first bare-headed, and her hair all loose and in disorder. 
After this, she is seated between two venerable matrons, and her friends 
flock round about her, comb her head, curl her hair, dress her, and put on her 
veil: for virgin modesty forbids her to look her intended husband in the 
face. In this she imitates the chaste Rebecca, who covered her face when 
Isaac cast his eyes upon her. At Venice, the bride wears a sort of wig, or 
bundle of curls, called favourites, which the Jews call Benetes ; in imita¬ 
tion of those which God himself, according to the rabbins, adorned Eve’s 
head with when he married her to Adam. 

For the solemnization of the marriage, the lovers who are betrothed meet, 
at an hour appointed for that purpose, in a kind of state-room. The bride¬ 
groom is conducted thither by the bridemen, friends, &c., and the bride by 
her train—the whole company crying out, “ Blessed be the man that 
cometh .” They now sit on a nuptial throne, under a canopy, whilst a 
select band of music plays before them ; or whilst children, as is the cus¬ 
tom in some places, move in solemn order round them, having torches in 
their hands, and singing some appropriate epithalamium. All those who 
are of their synagogue being assembled, (that is, ten men at least,—else the 
marriage is null and void,) a Taled is put upon the heads of the bride¬ 
groom and bride ; it has the tufts hanging down at the corners, in imitation 
of Boaz, who threw the skirts of his robe over Ruth. In many cases, a 
velvet canopy, supported by four poles, is held over the bride and bride¬ 
groom. After this, the rabbins of the place, or the reader of the synagogue, 
or some near relation, takes a glass, or any other vessel filled with wine, 
and, having blessed God “for the creation of man and woman , and the 
institution of matrimony ,” says as follows : “ Blessed art thou, O Lord, 
our God ! king of the universe, the creator of the fruit of the vine. 
Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God ! king of the universe, who hath sanc¬ 
tified us with his commandments, and hath forbid us fornication, and hath 
prohibited unto us the betrothed, but hath allowed unto us those that are 
married unto us by the means of the canopy and the wedding-ring : blessed 
art thou, O Lord ! the sanctifier of his people Israel, by the means of the 
canopy, and wedlock.” 

Then the bridegroom and bride drink of the wine. The bride now 
walks three times round the bridegroom, and he does the same twice round 
her. This ceremony is said to be grounded on Jeremiah, chapter xxxi. 
verse 22, “ A woman shall compass a man,” &c. Then the bridegroom, 














































































RELIGIOUS RITES. 


putting - a ring upon the finger of his bride, who stands on his right hand, 
before two, or more, credible witnesses, who are commonly rabbins, says, 
“Thou art my wife, according to the ceremonies of Moses and Israel.” In 
Germany, the guests throw some grains of corn at them, and say at the 
same time, “Increase and multiply.” After this, the marriage articles are 
read, wherein the bridegroom acknowledges the receipt of the consideration 
money, the obligation he is under to make his wife a jointure, and to main¬ 
tain, honour, and cherish her, and live peaceably with her all the days of his 
life. For the due performance of all the articles above-mentioned, he gives 
a duplicate to his wife’s relations. After this, more wine is brought in a 
new vessel, and having sung six more benedictions, the bride and bride¬ 
groom drink a second time, and the residue of the wine is thrown upon 
the ground as a declaration of their joy. Every thing being mystical with 
the Jews, it is to be observed, that if the bride be a maid, the glass is nar¬ 
row ; but if she be a widow, a wide-mouthed goblet is used. The glass 
or vessel being empty, the bridegroom throws it on the ground, and breaks 
it to pieces. This ceremony is performed, they say, that their mirth may 
give them an idea of death, who dashes them to pieces like brittle glass, 
and teaches them not to be proud or self-conceited. Others say, that the 
breaking of the glass indicates the impossibility of the marriage ties being 
dissolved ; the signification being, that when the atoms of the glass shall be 
re-united, the bride and bridegroom may separate,—but not till then. In 
the mean time, all persons present cry out, Mazal tou, “ May it prove 
propitious ,” and then withdraw. 

In the evening they make a grand entertainment for their friends and 
relations; and in some places, all the guests who were invited present the 
bride with a piece of plate—some before, and some after supper is over. 
Then follow the seven benedictions before mentioned, and after this they 
all rise from table. 

Fowls of some kind are always a part of the wedding-supper. The 
first dish presented to the bride is a hen with an egg, and after she has 
been served the guests help themselves to the remainder. The hen is em¬ 
blematical, and denotes the future fruitfulness of the bride. 

On the Sabbath-day morning, after the consummation of their marriage, 
the bridegroom and the bride go to the synagogue together. The bride is 
attended by all the women that were present at the wedding. At the les¬ 
sons of the Pentateuch, the bridegroom is desired to read: he then promises 
to give liberally to the poor, and all who come with him follow his example. 
When prayers are over, the men wait on the bridegroom home, and the 
women on the bride ; after which they part, with abundance of courtesy 
and complaisance. The bridegroom, in some places, lives during the first 
week with his wife’s relations, where he amuses himself, and entertains 
his friends and acquaintance. 









































































V 


|y 


la 




RELIGIOUS RITES. 


Circumcision. 


These are the general practices in all Jewish weddings, though there 
are some little variations observed according to the various countries in 
which they live. 

If the wife dies, and has no issue, they are obliged to act according to 
the customs of the country they live in, which vary almost in every nation. 

Among the Jews, the father lies under an indispensable obligation to 
have his son circumcised on the eighth day, in obedience to the command 
in the 17th chapter of Genesis, 10th—14th verses. This 
cannot be done till the expiration of the eight days; but in 
case the child be sick or infirm, it may be deferred till he is perfectly 
recovered. Anciently, by the fulfilment of this rite, it was consecrated to 
the service of God. This, no doubt, was then the principal end of circum¬ 
cision, but there do not appear to have been wanting other subsidiary 
objects. Were it necessary, we might demonstrate, both by quotations 
from the ancients, and reasons drawn from the nature of the member on 
which circumcision is performed, that this operation is really conducive to 
cleanliness and health among those who practise it in southern climates. 
It was a preventive of the disease called the anthrax or carbuncle. It has 
also been considered as having a beneficial tendency in increasing the 
population in such a climate as that of Palestine. 

The Jews look upon it as a very laudable action, and a bounden duty. 

Sickness and to V1S ^ s ^ c ^’ an( ^ to ass ^ st them in the time of their 
dea,h - distress. 

When any one is apprehensive that his life is in danger, he sends for 
about ten persons, more or less, as he thinks convenient; one of whom, 
at least, must be a rabbi. Then, in a solemn manner, he repeats the 
general alphabetical confession, and utters a prayer, in which he “humbly 
begs of God, if it be his blessed will, to restore him to his former state of 
health or, if this may not be granted, he then recommends his soul to 
him, and prays that his death may be accepted as an expiation for his sins. 
If his conscience is overcharged with any sin, or if he has any secret which 
he would reveal, he declares it to the rabbi. After all this he begs pardon 
of God, and of ah such as he has at any time offended, and forgives, like¬ 
wise, all such as have offended him, and even his most inveterate enemies. 
In case he has any children, or domestics, he calls them to his bedside and 
gives them his benediction ; and if his own father or mother be present, 
lie receives their blessing. If he has an inclination to make his will, and 
to dispose of his worldly estate, he has free liberty to execute it in such a 
manner as he thinks most convenient. 

There are some who take care to have a public prayer put up for tnem 
in the synagogue, and change their names, as an indication of their change 
of life ; and, as it is said, to cheat the devil. At such times, they promise 
and bestow their charity on the synagogues, as well as on the poor. 





































































































RELIGIOUS RITES 


When the person who is ill is in danger of death, or just expiring, tney 
never leave him alone, but watch with him day and night. T. hey salute 
him, and take their last farewell, just at the moment when the soul is 
separating from the body. To be present at the separation of the soul 
from the body, especially if the person be a learned or pious man, in their 
opinion, is not only a laudable, but a meritorious action. The person who 
is present when the sick man gives up the ghost, according to ancient 
custom, tears some part of his own garments. This rent is generally made 
on the right side of the forepart of the clothes, and must be the eighth of 
a yard in length. When they mourn for a father or mother, all the clothes 
must be rent on the right side; whereas the left side of the outward gar¬ 
ment only is torn, if it be for a distant relation. The rent is always from 
top to bottom ; whereas that of the ancient priests was, formerly, from 
bottom to top. In Holland tbe Jews make it on the top, near the buttons, 
and at the expiration of seven or eight days have it sewn up again. In 
some parts of Germany the Jewish women who lose their husbands usually 
tear their head-dress. It is said, that if the widow intends to marry again, 
she is only to pretend to do it; for if she actually tears them, it is a certain 
sign that she intends to remain a widow. 

There are some who, at such a time, will throw into the street all the 
water which they have in the house, or can find in the neighbourhood. 
This, which is accounted an ancient custom, is intended to denote that 
somebody lies dead not far from the place. 

As soon as any one is dead, his eyes and mouth are closed, his body is 
laid upon the ground in a sheet, his face is covered, and a 

Funerals. .. . . . , , . . , 

lighted taper is set by his head. 

A pair of linen drawers is immediately provided, and some women are 
sent for to sew them; who, for the most part, perform this friendly office 
out of charity and good-will. After this, the corpse is thoroughly washed 
with warm water, in wffiich camomile and dried roses have been boiled. 
In the next place, a shirt and drawers are put on, and over them some put 
a kind of surplice of fine linen, a Taled, or square cloak, and a white cap 
on the head. 

They now bend his thumb close to the palm of the hand, and tie it with 
the strings of his Taled ; for he goes to the other world with his veil on. 
The thumb thus bent stands in the form of Shaddai, which is one of God’s 
attributes; this is the reason which the Jews give for a custom that secures 
the body from the devil’s clutches. The deceased, in all other respects, 
has his hand open, as a testimonv that he relinonishes nil his wnrldlv 














































































RELIGIOUS RITES. 


anoint the head of the corpse. Some perform this unction at their own 
houses, and others at the house of the living; that is, in the Hebrew 
dialect, the church-yard. He adds, that after this ablution all the apertures 
of the body are stopped up. 

When dressed, he is laid on his back in a coffin made on purpose, with 
one linen cloth under, and another over him. If the party deceased be a 
person of considerable note, his coffin is made in some places with a 
pointed top ; and if a rabbi, a considerable number of books is laid upon it. 
Then the coffin is covered with black, and a small bag of earth is deposited 
under tiie head of the defunct. The coffin is now nailed up, and conveyed 
to a grave as near the place as possible where the family of the deceased 
are interred. 

All the people now crowd round about it; and since the attendance on 
a corpse, and the conveyance of it to the grave, is looked upon as a very 
meritorious action, they all carry it upon their shoulders by turns some 
part of the way. In some places the mourners follow the corpse with 
lighted flambeaux in their hands, singing some melancholy anthem as they 
march along. In others, this ceremony is omitted ; the relations, however, 
who are in mourning, accompany the corpse in tears to the grave. 

In this solemn manner the dead are carried to the burial-place, which is 
most commonly a field set apart for that purpose, called Beth Hachaim, 
or “ House of the living the dead being looked upon as living, on ac¬ 
count of their immortal souls. When the deceased is laid in his grave, if 
he has been a person of any extraordinary merit, there is generally a 
proper person present, who makes his funeral oration. As soon as this 
eulogium is over, they repeat the prayer called Zidduc Haddin, “the jus¬ 
tice of the judgment ,” which begins with these words of Deuteronomy, 
chapter xxxii. verse 4, “ He is the rock, his work is perfect; for all his 
ways are judgment,” &c. 

In some countries, when a coffin is brought within a short space of the 
grave, or before it is taken out of the house, ten men go in a solemn man¬ 
ner seven times round it, repeating a prayer for his soul; this is the 
practice in Holland: but in other parts this ceremony is not observed. 
The nearest relation now rends some part of his garments, and then the 
corpse is put into the grave, and covered with earth; each friend throwing 
a handful or spadeful in, till thq, grave is filled up. The coffin must be so 
placed in the grave, as not to touch another coffin. 

The Jews account it a sin, either in man or woman, to tear their flesh, 
or their hair, on this melancholy occasion, either when they weep over the 
deceased, or at any time afterwards ; for, in Deuteronomy, chapter xiv., it 
is written, “ Ye shall not cut yourselves,” &c. But as soon as the coffin 
is conveyed out of the house for sepulture, then follow the male portion 
of the family and, among some, the females. Those who, durinsr 
























































































■nV/C * 'W 






Mourning. 


RELIGIOUS RITES. 

the lifetime of the deceased, neglected to be reconciled with him, must 
touch his great toe, and beg his pardon, in order that the deceased may 
not accuse him at God’s tribunal, on the day of the resurrection. 

At their departure from the grave, every one tears up two or three 
handfuls of grass, and throws it behind him, repeating, at the same time, 
these words of the 72d Psalm, verse 6, “They of the city shall flourish 
like the grass of the earth.” This they do by way of acknowledgment of 
the resurrection. They then wash their hands, sit down, and rise again 
nine times successively, repeating the 91st Psalm, “He that dwelleth in 
the secret place of the Most High.” After this, they return to their re¬ 
spective places of abode. 

When the nearest relations of the party deceased are returned home 
from the burial, be they father, mother, child, husband, wife, brother, or 
sister, they directly seat themselves on the ground; and 
having pulled off their shoes, refresh themselves with bread 
wine, and hard eggs, which are placed before them; according as it 
is written in the 31st chapter of Proverbs, verse 6, “Give strong drink 
unto him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that be heavy of 
heart,” &c. He whose usual place it is to crave a blessing on their meals 
now introduces appropriate words of consolation. In the Levant, and in 
several other places, the friends of the deceased send in provisions for ten 
days successively, morning and night, to some of the nearest relatives, for 
the entertainment of such guests as they think proper to invite ; and on 
a day appointed, they themselves partake of the feast, and condole with 
them. 

When the dead body is conveyed from the house, his coverlet is folded 
double, his blankets are rolled up and laid upon a mat; afterwards, a lamp 
is lighted up at the bed’s head, which burns for a week without inter¬ 
mission. 

Such as are related to the deceased reside in the house for ten days 
together, and during all that time sit and eat upon the ground, except on 
the Sabbath day, on which they go with a select company of their friends 
and acquaintance to the synagogue, where they are more generally con¬ 
doled with than at any other place. During these ten days, they are not 
allowed to do any manner of business ; neither can the husband lie with 
his wife. Ten persons, at least, go every night and morning to pray with 
them under their confinement. Some add to their devotions, on this solemn 
occasion, the 49th Psalm, “ Hear this all ye people,” &c., and afterwards 
pray for the soul of their deceased friend. 

The Jews dress themselves in such mourning as is the fashion of the 
country in which they live, there being no divine direction relating there¬ 
unto. For full thirty days the mourner is not permitted to bathe, perfume, 
or shave his beard. Indeed, tattered clothes, sprinkled with ashes, and \ 






















































































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 


69 


a general slovenly appearance, point out the mourning Jew during this 
period. 

After the expiration of the ten days, they leave the house, and go to 
the synagogue, where several of them order lamps to be lighted on each 
side cf the Hechal or Ark, procure prayers to be said, and offer chari¬ 
table contributions for the soul of the deceased. This ceremony is repeated 
at the close of each month, and likewise of the year: and if the person 
who is dead be a rabbi, or a man of worth and distinction, they make his 
Esped upon those days; that is, a funeral harangue in commendation of 
his virtues. 

A son goes daily to the synagogue, morning and night, and there repeats 
the prayer called Cadish, that is Holy , for the soul of his mother or father, 
for eleven months successively; in order to deliver him from purgatory ; 
and some of them fast annually on the day of the death of their respective 
relatives. 

In some places, they set a monument over the grave, and carve the 
name of the deceased upon it; also the day, month, and year of his de¬ 
cease, and a line or two by way of encomium.—Some Jews go, from time 
to time, to the tombs of their acquaintances and relatives, to say their 
prayers. 

They seldom mourn for such as are suicides, or who die under excom¬ 
munication. So far, indeed, are they from regretting the loss of them that 
they set a stone over the coffin, to signify that they ought to be stoned to 
death, if they had their deserts. 

SEC. IV.-ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE-WORSHIP-FESTIVALS, ETC. 

The Sanhedrin, the supreme judicial authority, formerly existing among 
the Jews, was instituted in the time of the Maccabees, (some ascribe to it 
an earlier origin,) and was composed of seventy-two mem¬ 
bers. The high-priest generally sustained the office of pre¬ 
sident in this tribunal. The next officers in authority were the first and 
second vice-presidents. The members who were admitted to a seat in the 
Sanhedrin were as follows:— 1 . Chief priests, who are often mentioned in 
the New Testament and in Josephus, as if they were many in number. 
They consisted partly of priests who had previously exercised the high- 

D 

priesthood, and partly of the heads of the twenty-four classes of priests, 
who were called in an honorary way, high or chief priests. 2. Elders, 
that is to say, the princes of the tribes, and the heads of family associa¬ 
tions. 3. The Scribes , or learned men. Not all the scribes and elders 
were members, but only those who were chosen or nominated by the pro¬ 
per authority. 

The Talmudists assert that this tribunal had secretaries and apparitors, 


The Sanhedrin. 















































































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 


and the very nature of the case forbids us to doubt the ti uth of the asser¬ 
tion. The place of their sitting, however, is a question on which there is 
more difference of opinion. The Talmudists state that it was in the tem¬ 
ple, but Josephus mentions the place of assembling, and also the archives, 
as being not far from the temple, on Mount Zion. But in the trial of 
Jesus, it appears they were assembled, and that very hastily, in the palace 
of the high-priest. 

When they met, they took their seats in such a way as to form a semi¬ 
circle, and the presidents and two vice-presidents occupied the centre. At 
each end was a secretary; one registered the votes of acquittal—the other 
of condemnation. The proper period of sitting was all the time between 
the morning and evening service. 

The Sanhedrin was the great court of judicature : it judged of all capi¬ 
tal offences against the law : it had the power of inflicting punishment by 
scourging and by death. Its power had been limited in the time of Christ, 
by the interference of the Romans, and the consistory itself terminated its 
functions upon the destruction of Jerusalem. They were never able to 
re-establish themselves since,—nor is any thing related of them in the his¬ 
tory of our own times, except the council which the Jews held in Hungary 
in the 17th century, and the convocation held at Paris, under the auspices 
of Napoleon, in 1806. 

The worship of the synagogue, with its appendant school or law-court, 
where lectures were given, and knotty points of the law debated, became 
The worship of & reat bond of national union, and has continued, though 
the synagogue. the monarchical centre of unity in Tiberias disappeared in 
a few centuries, to hold together the scattered nation in the closest unifor¬ 
mity. The worship of the synagogue is extremely simple. Wherever 
ten Jews were found, there a synagogue ought to be formed. The Divine 
Presence, the invisible Shechinah, descends not but where ten are met 
together ; if fewer, the Divine Visitant was supposed to say, “Wherefore 
come I, and no one is here ?” It was a custom, therefore, in some of the 
more numerous communities, to appoint ten “ men of leisure,” whose 
business it was to form a congregation.* The buildings were plain ; in 
their days of freedom it was thought right that the house of prayer to 
God, from its situation or its form, should overtop the common dwellings 
of man ; but in their days of humiliation, in strange countries, the lowly 
synagogue, the type of their condition, was content to lurk undisturoed in 
less conspicuous situations. Even in Palestine the synagogues must have 
been small, for Jerusalem was said to contain 460 or 480; the foreign 
Jews, from the different quarters of the world, seem each to have had their 
separate building, where they communicated in prayer with their neigh- 


V/ 


* Such seems to be the solution of a quostion on which learned volumes have been 
written 















































































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 


71 


hours and kindred. Such were the synagogues of the Alexandrians, the 
Cyrenians, and others. Besides the regular synagogues, which were 
roofed, in some places they had chapels or oratories, open to the air, chiefly 
perhaps where their worship was not so secure of protection from the au¬ 
thorities ; these were usually in retired and picturesque situations, in 
grove3, or on the sea-shore. In the distribution of the synagogue some 
remote resemblance to the fallen Temple was kept up. The entrance was 
from the east; and in the centre stood an elevated tribune or rostrum, from 
which prayer was constantly offered, and the book of the Law read. At 
the west end stood a chest, in which the book was laid up, making the 
place, as it were, the humble Holy of Holies, though now no longer sepa¬ 
rated by a veil, nor protected by the Cherubim and Mercy-Seat. Parti¬ 
cular seats, usually galleries, were railed off for the women. 

The chief religious functionary in the synagogue was called the angel, 
or bishop. He ascended the tribune, repeated or chaunted the prayers, 
his head during the ceremony being covered with a veil. He called the 
reader from his place, opened the book before him, pointed out the passage, 
and overlooked him that he read correctly. The readers, who were three 
in number on the ordinary days, seven on the morning of the Sabbath, five 
on festivals, were selected from the body of the people. The Law of 
course was read, and the prayers likewise repeated, in the Hebrew lan¬ 
guage. The days of public service in the synagogue were the Sabbath, 
the second and fifth days of the week, Monday and Thursday. There 
was an officer in the synagogues out of Palestine, and probably even within 
its borders, called an interpreter, who translated the Law into the verna¬ 
cular tongue, usually Greek in the first case, or Syro-Chaldaic in the 
latter. Besides the bishop, there were-three elders, or rulers of the syna¬ 
gogue, who likewise formed a court or consistory for the judgment of all 
offences. They had the power of inflicting punishment by scourging; 
from Origen’s account, the Patriarch of Tiberias had assumed the power 
of life and death. But the great control over the public mind lay in the 
awful sentence of excommunication. The anathema of the synagogue 
cut off the offender from the Israel of God ; he became an outcast of 
society. 

At present the Jews select for the site of their synagogues some emi¬ 
nences, in those cities where the exercise of Judaism is allowed. The 
fabric must be higher than thencommon houses, for they say, “The house 
of our God must be magnificent.” The Jews are obliged religiously to 
observe the respect due to the synagogue, and to forbear talking of busi¬ 
ness there, or even thinking on any worldly advantages. They must 
likewise avoid sleeping there; and looking round about, &c. They must 
continue in a modest posture, and not suffer themselves to run into any 

indecency. 































































o 



72 ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 

The title or denomination of rabbi is very ancient; for in the Jewish 
scriptures both the words rabbi and rabboni are to be found, which are 
svnonvmous terms. The Pharisees of old assumed this 

Rabbins and J J 

doctors. title to themselves, with abundance of pride and arrogance, 

pretending to be the sole masters and doctors of the people ; and they 
carried this pretension to such a pitch as to make the law subject to their 
traditions. Jesus Christ very severely reprimanded them for this their 
insolent deportment. 

The rabbins, besides the privilege of preaching, and instructing their 
pupils, have that of binding and loosing, that is, of determining whether a 
thing be forbidden or allowed. When this power is conferred upon them, 
they have the five books of Moses, and a key, put into their hands. They 
create new doctors, and ordain them by imposition of hands, as Moses, just 
before his death, laid his hands on Joshua, his successor, and gave him his 
benediction ; but they limit and restrain their power as they see most 
convenient: one being confined to interpret the law, or such questions only 
as relate thereunto ; and another to judge of controversies arising upon 
those questions. 

At present, according to Buxtorf, the rabbins are elected with very little 
ceremony. He who is to ordain the new rabbi publishes aloud to all the 
congregation, either on the Sabbath, or some other solemn festival, that 
such a one deserves to be admitted among the rabbins, for his religious 
education, sound learning, and knowledge of the Oral Law; and exhorts 
the people to own and reverence him as such, denouncing excommunica¬ 
tion against all those who neglect his admonitions. He then^ gives the 
candidate the certificate of his merit and ability, as a Doctor , or Hacham; 
and the ceremony is often concluded with an elegant entertainment given 
to the old rabbins, and to the rest of his friends and acquaintance. 

The Hacham Rau, who are generally much respected, determine all 
manner of debates ; settle what things are lawful and unlawful ; and pass 
judgment upon religious and civil affairs. These men perform all nuptial 
ceremonies, and issue out divorces. They preach the practice of virtue 
and integrity, they interpret the laws when qualified, and are the princi¬ 
pals of the academies. They have the uppermost seats in the synagogues 
and assemblies; and have a power to punish the disobedient, and to 
excommunicate them when they are obstinate or perverse. 

The privileges of this office are, to be free from all taxes and imposi¬ 
tions. If a rabbi has any goods, he has a right to sell them first, and 
before all others, that the time he spends in negotiating his affairs may be 
no impediment to his studies; his business is the first, likewise, to be de¬ 
spatched in all proceedings at law ; and he is allowed to sit upon the bench 
with the judges, &c. Some of these privileges, however, are abolished *, 
the Jews having at present no sovereign authority. 
































































































DISCIPLINE 


ETC. 


The Sabbath. 


ECCLESIASTICAL 


There is no festival which the Jews have so great a veneration for as the 
Sabbath day ; because they say it was instituted immediately after the 
creation of the world, and is mentioned in various places, 
and at sundry times in their sacred writings; particularly 
in the decalogue, wherein the performance of the least thing upon that day 
is forbidden, and a general rest from all labours is commanded. 

They must not either kindle fire, nor extinguish it, upon this day; in 
compliance with what is written in the 35th chapter of Exodus, verse 3,— 
“ Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath 
day.” Nay, they are not allowed to touch it; not even to stir it up. They 


are not suffered even to light up or extinguish a lamp ; they may employ, 
however, any servant that is not a Jew to kindle their fire; if they do 
not, they either dispose it so that it lights of itself, or else they sit in the 
cold.—This the Jews do, even in Russia, or any other cold country. 

They dress no meat upon the Sabbath ; neither are they allowed to 
taste any thing that has been dressed, or that grew, or was gathered on 
that day. 

They are not allowed to carry any burden on that day; so that they 
w r ear no more clothes than what is absolutely necessary to cover them. 
Their exactness extends even to the garb of their women, children, and 
servants, and to the loading of their beasts. 

They are forbidden on this day to talk of any worldly affairs ; to make 
any bargain with respect to buying and selling; or, to give or take any¬ 
thing by way of payment. 

Neither must they handle or touch any of the tools of their trade, or any 
other things, the use whereof is prohibited on the Sabbath day. 

They are not allowed to walk above a mile, that is to say, two thousand 
cubits, out of any market-town or village. But they can walk as long as 
they please on the Sabbath day, provided they go not out of the suburbs of 
the town wherein they live. They always regard the suburbs as a part 
of the town ; and when they have a mind to go out of town upon this day, 
they invariably measure the distance allowed for walking, from the end of 
the suburb. 

They never engage in any work on the Friday, but what they can 
accomplish with ease before the evening; and whatever is necessary for 
the Sabbath is prepared beforehand. About an hour before sunset, they 
take the provision which is intended for the next day, and deposit it in a 
warm place ; after which all manner of work is over. In some towns, a 
man is appointed on purpose to give notice about half an hour before the 
Sabbath begins, that every one may cease from their labours in convenient 
and due time. 

The Jewish Sabbath begins half an hour before sunset; and, conse¬ 
quently, from that instant all prohibitions are strictly observed. For this 




\ o ? 

T 








































































ETC. 


DISCIPLINE 


ECCLESIASTICAL 


reason the women, even the most necessitous, are obliged, previously, to 
light up a lamp, which has seven lights, emblematical of the seven days 
of the week. This lamp burns the greatest part of the night. 

In order to begin the Sabbath well, many of them put on clean linen, 
wash their hands and face, and go to the synagogue, where they say the 
92d Psalm, “It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,” &c., with their 
common prayers. They also thank God that, by his separation of them 
from the rest of mankind, he has reserved and chosen their nation from all 
others, as his only favourites. To these prayers and thanksgivings, they 
add a commemoration of the Sabbath in these words, from the 2d Genesis, 
“Thus the Heavens were finished,” &c.—“And God blessed the seventh 
day,” &c. 

They go directly home from the synagogue ; and their usual salutation 
to each other afterwards, is, “a good Sabbath to you,” and not “good 
night,” or “good morrow.” Moreover, the fathers bless their children, 
and the doctors their pupils, on that day; others add to these benedictions 
several portions of their sacred writings, in commemoration of the Sabbath ; 
some before meat, and some after, according to the custom of the place 
where they sojourn. 

When the whole family is seated at supper, the master of the house 
holds a glass of wine in his hand, and pronounces these words, out of the 
2d of Genesis, “Thus the heavens were finished,” &c. He then returns 
God thanks for having instituted and appointed the strict observance of the 
Sabbath, and blesses the wine; he now drinks some part of it himself, 
looking steadfastly on the Sabbath lamps, and then gives a small quantity 
to such as sit at the table with him. After this, he repeats the 23d Psalm, 
“The Lord is my shepherd,” &c. Then he blesses the bread, holding it 
up on high with both his hands whilst he pronounces the name of the 
Lord. He now distributes it all round, and the family eat and amuse 
themselves that evening and the next day as agreeably as they can. Supper 
being over they wash their hands, and some Jews, after they have eaten, 
repeat the 104th Psalm, “ Bless the Lord, O my soul,” &c. 

They preach sometimes in the forenoon, and sometimes in the afternoon, 
in their synagogues, or other places appointed for divine worship, and take 
theii text from the Pentateuch, out of the lessons for the day. They preach 
m the vulgar tongue, and in their sermons they recommend virtue, and dis¬ 
courage vice, illustrating their notions with passages from the Pentateuch, 
and from their most celebrated rabbins. These quotations are always 
delivered in the Hebrew language. 

In the evening they go to the synagogue again, and join the remem* 
I- trance of the Sabbath with their common prayers; and three persons read 
j'j out °f ^e Pentateuch the beginning of the section for the week following. 
V ! They have likewise a commemoration of the dead, and sometimes a prayer 




































































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC 


for them on the Sabbath, after which, those who can afford it are very 
charitable and beneficent to the poor. 

They usually make three meals in the twenty-four hours of the Sabbath; 
the first is on the Friday, after evening service ; the other two on the day 
following. The cloth is never removed during the whole time. 

As soon as night comes on, and they can discover three stars in the hea¬ 
vens of any considerable magnitude, the Sabbath is over, and they are 
allowed to go to work; because the evening prayer, which they rather 
delay than hasten, is then begun. 

To the usual prayer for the evening, they add a remembrance of the 
Sabbath, which is distinguished from the other days of the week ; also the 
91st Psalm, “ He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High,” &c. 
To this, several portions of their scripture, and several benedictions and 
good wishes, arc likewise added. 

As before observed, they make the Sabbath last as long as they can, by 
prolonging their hymns and prayers ; since it is a received opinion among 
them, that the souls of the damned, as well as those in purgatory, endure 
no torments upon that day. 

The new moon is a festival, because it is instituted and appointed in 
the book of Numbers ; and because there was a new and grand sacrifice 
offered on that day. This festival is sometimes part of two 
several days, that is, the end of one day and the beginning 
'hey are not debarred from working or trading upon this 
day ; the women only, who are exempted from all labour during the festi¬ 
val, lay aside their work, and they all indulge themselves a little more 
than usual in the way of living. 

The Jews say that the new moon is in a peculiar manner the women’s 
festival, in commemoration of their liberality in parting with their most 
valuable jewels, to contribute to the magnificence of divine service. This 
action, so singular in a sex whose pride, principally, consists in dress and 

more dear, was performed on the new 


The new moon, 


appearance 
moon of th( 

In their prayers they make mention of the first day of the month, and 

They bring out 
Ided the prayer 


repeat from the 113th to the 118th Psalm, on that c 
the Pentateuch, and four persons read it, to which 

They also read the institution of the sacrifice, 
n tliis day. 


called Mussaf, or addition. 
which was formerly offered 

Some Jewish devotees fast on the vigil of this festival, and beg of God 
that the new moon may prove propitious to their wishes. 

Some few days after, the Jews, being assembled by night on a terrace, 
Dr in an open court, consecrate this planet by praising God, “ who hath 
been pleased to renew the moon, and who will, in the same manner, renew 
the Jews, his elect people,” &c.—The prayer concludes with a blessing 














































































■ ‘ — t -~-^»*—$»&*• 


7i) 


ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 



addressed to God, through the moon, the work of his hands. Three leaps, 
which are to be regarded as the transports of a holy joy, attend this bene¬ 
diction ; immediately after which, they say to the moon, “ May it be as 
impossible for my enemies to hurt me, as it is for me to touch thee.”— 
These words are succeeded by several imprecations against their enemies. 
They now join in a particular prayer to God, in which they style him the 
Creator of the planets, and the restorer of the new moon. Then, with 
their hands devoutly lifted up towards heaven, they beg of God to deliver 
them from all evil; and having remembered King David, they salute each 
other, and depart. Eclipses of the sun and moon are looked on by some 
Jews as ill omens. 

The Talmudists do not agree in fixing the time when the world began. 
Some insist that it was in the spring, that is, in the month Nisan, which 
is our March; others, that it was in autumn, that is to say, 
New iear s day ' in the month Tisri, which answers to our September . This 
last notion has so far prevailed, that they begin their year from that time. 
And notwithstanding it is written in the 12th chapter of Exodus, of the 
month Nisan, “ This month shall be unto you the beginning of months,” 
yet afterwards they altered it, and began their year with the month Tisri, 
or September . 

From thence came the feast Roch Hasana, or New-year's Day , which 
is kept on the two first days of Tisri ; for, in Leviticus, chapter xxiii. 
verse 24, it is written, “ In the seventh month, in the seventh day of the 
month, shall ye have a Sabbath,” &c. During this festival all manual 
operations and transactions in trade are entirely laid aside. 

They hold, from tradition, that on this day particularly God Almighty 
judges the actions of the past year, and orders all things that shall happen 
for the year to come. From the first day of the month Elul, or August , 
therefore, they begin their penance ; which consists in plunging them¬ 
selves into cold water, and in confessing themselves, scourging and beat¬ 
ing their breasts with their fists, while in the water. In some places, 
they wash themselves before it is day, say their prayers, and acknow¬ 
ledge their manifold sins and iniquities, and repeat some penitential 
psalms. There are many who give alms without ceasing until the day 
of absolution. This they continue forty days, and sound a horn on the 
beginning of the month Elul. On New-year’s Eve they say all their 
prayers fasting. 

These religious ceremonies are generally observed a week, at least, 
before the feast; and on the eve thereof they generally employ their time 
in washing, and procuring, by way of discipline, thirty-nine stripes to be 
given them ; as it is written in Deuteronomy, chapter xxv., “Forty stripes 
he may give him, and not exceed,” &c. This flagellation is called Mal- 

EUTH. 






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The aricient Jews formerly laid all their sins upon a he-goat, which 
afterwaids they drove into the desert; but the modern Jews, instead of a 
goat, now throw them upon the fish. After dinner, they repair to the 
brink of a pond or river, and shake their clothes over it with all their 
force. This practice is taken from a passage of the prophet Micah, chap¬ 
ter vii verse 19, “He will have compassion on us ; he will subdue oui 
iniquities, and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” 

After these two holy days are over, the Jews still continue to rise before 
day to say their prayers, fast, and do penance, until the 10th of the month 
The fast of ex ^isri, which is the fast, or day of expiation, and called Jom 
P iation - Hachipur ; for they consider that the Supreme Being is 

employed in examining the actions of mankind during the first nine days, 
nd that he pronounces sentence on the tenth. In the 23d chapter of 
Leviticus it is said, “ On the tenth of the seventh month, there shall be a 
day of atonement,” &c., and during that day all manner of work is laid 
aside, as on the Sabbath. They observe this fast with such strictness, 
that they neither eat nor drink anything; thinking, by this abstinence, 
that their names will be enrolled in the Book of Life, and blotted out of 
the Book of Death, wherein they would assuredly be found without due 
repentance. 

They indulge themselves in eating on the eve of this festival, because 
the next day is a fast. Many of them wash, and have thirty-nine stripe? 
given them, called Maleuth: and such as are possessed at that time of 
other people’s effects, are commanded to make restitution. They likewise 
ask pardon of such as they have injured, and forgive those that have 
njured them. Nay, they seek them out, and sue for peace and recon¬ 
ciliation ; and if this be refused, they protest against such an implacable, 
spirit before three witnesses, and thrice return to the charge ; after which 
the penitent’s conscience is entirely discharged from all animosity and 
hatred. They likewise give alms, and show all the demonstrations of a 
sincere repentance. 

Two or three hours before the sun sets they go to prayers, and then to 
supper; but all must be over before sunset. They now dress themselves 
in new robes, or put on their funeral clothes, and thus attired, each with 
a taper in his hand, they go without their shoes to the synagogue, which, 
on this night, is splendidly illuminated with lamps and candles. There 
each man lights his taper, and repeats several prayers and confessions in 
a loud, but melancholy tone, as a demonstration of the sincerity cf his 
repentance. The confession of each penitent is alphabetically digested 

i*l __ * i. _ I o o tn Kn unt h t Vi o rrVOntPQ 


> 






each sin having its proper letter, so as to be recollected with the greatest 
ease. The external signs of godly sorrow, at once conspicuous in a re¬ 
pentant Jew, who condemns himself before God, by a long account of his 


transgressions, is certainly very remarkable. These signs are dirty tattered 

G)Av ° a 


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rs 


ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 





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clothes, mourning, or shrouds ; a melancholy and dejected countenance, a 
long beard ; down-cast eyes, made languid by penance, and disposed to 
weeping; a holy eagerness determining the penitent to press through, the 
crowd of devotees, and be foremost in the synagogue; and so perfect a 
distraction as to deprive him of the use of his senses, whilst he is running 
over the alphabet of his sins. In short, he appears to have just strength 
enough to support his body during the meditation of the soul. This lasts 
three hours at least; after which they go home to bed. Some, indeed, 
stay all night long, and all the next day in the synagogue, saying their 
prayers and repeating psalms. In the mean time, the women light up 
candles and lamps at home, and according as the light burns, prognosticate 
good or evil fortune. 

It ouoht to be remarked, that those who have led a scandalous and dis- 
solute life, are not only admitted, but invited , into the congregation, on the 
first evening of the festival. Two rabbis, who stand on each side of the 
chaunter, perform this solemn invitation, and declare to the congregation, 
“That they are allowed to pray with the wicked.”—After which, the 
chaunter opens the Hechal, and sings a prayer of moderate length, which 
the congregation repeat after him, but not so loud as to be heard. This 
cancels all rash vows, oaths, and resolutions, of the preceding year, in case 

• I 

they were made voluntarily, without any compulsion. 

The next morning, such as went home repair again by day-break to the ^ 

synagogue, dressed as before, and there stay till night, standing all the 
time, saying their prayers without intermission, repeating psalms and con 
fessions, and beseeching God to pardon all their transgressions. 

In the course of the service, various portions of Scripture are read, par¬ 
ticularly part of Leviticus, chapter xxvi., Numbers, chapter xxix., and 
Isaiah, chapter lvii. They mention in their prayers the additional sacri-f 
fice of the day, and entreat God to build their sanctuary, to gather their 
dispersions among the Gentiles, and conduct them to Jerusalem, where 
they may offer the sacrifice of atonement, agreeably to the Mosaic law. In 
the afternoon service, besides portions of the law and prophets, the greatest 
part of the book of Jonah is read. 

Some Jews prepare their tents for the Feast of Tabernacles, immediately 
after the Expiation. 

On the fifteenth day of the same month, Tisri, is the Feast of Tents, 





The feast of Ta 
bernacles. 


'Tabernacles, or Booths ; which is called Succoth, in commemoration of 
their encampment in the wilderness, when they departed 
out of Egypt; and under which they were preserved as a 
nation for forty years together, in the midst of frightful and barren deserts! 

In the 23d chapter of Leviticus, it is written, “In the 15th day of the 
seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall 
keep a feast to the Lord seven days; on the first day shall be a Sabbath, / 




























































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 


and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And ye shall take you 
on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and 
the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook ; and ye shall rejoice 
before the Lord your God seven days. Ye shall dwell in booths seven 
days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your genera¬ 
tions may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when 
I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” 

Every one, therefore, makes a booth, or tent, in some place near his 
house, which he covers with leaves, and adorns in the best manner that 
he can. The rabbins have been very punctual as to the fashion anc 
nature of these booths, as well as their dimensions. No tent must be more 
than twenty cubits high, nor less than ten spans. Such as are rich adorn 
them with tapestry, over which they hang boughs of trees laden with 
fruit, as oranges, lemons, and grapes. These tents must be neither set up 
under a house nor tree. They eat and drink in these tents, and some lie 
all night in them, or at least spend in them so much time of the night anc 
day as they used to pass at home, during the eight days fhat the festiva 
lasts. 

It continues nine days in reality, although the law instituted and com¬ 
manded seven; but ancient custom has added one; and another day was 
ordained over and above for the solemn assembly, in Numbers, chap, xxix 
verse 35. The two first and the two last days of this festival, like those 
of the Passover, are very solemn; but the other five are not so strictly 
observed. 

This festival of Tents, or Tabernacles, begins at home, with some parti¬ 
cular benedictions, and is succeeded by a supper. Private devotion now 
succeeds the public, and the father of the family never begins to conse¬ 
crate the festival till he has been first at prayers in the synagogue til 
night. They leave their tents at the end of the eighth day, as soon as 
night draws on. 

On the 14th of the month Adar, which is our March or February, the 
feast of Purim is observed, in commemoration of Esther, who upon that 
of ^ay P reserve d the people of Israel from a total extirpation 
by the conspiracy of Hainan, who was hanged, with all his 

! ^ m -v v ^ 1 1 /I Drrr* nr if 1ITO O limHon 1 Ft t P Qt M 



The 
Chances. 


children. This feast was called Purim, because it was written in the 9th 
chapter of Esther, “Therefore they called these days Purim,” &c.; the 
word signifying Lots or Chances; for Hainan, their enemy, had cast lots 
to destroy them on those two days. 

The first only, however, is strictly and solemnly observed. They fas 
on the eve, but during these two days they may traffic, or do any manner 
of work ; yet on the first day, though under no obligation, they voluntarily 
abstain from both. 

On the first night, they go to the synagogue, where, after their ordinary 

































































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 


4/e 


prayers, they commemorate their happy deliverance from that fatal conspi¬ 
racy, and the Chazan reads and explains the whole book of Esther, which 
is written on vellum, and rolled up like the Pentateuch. They also call it 
Meghilla, or volume. The Chazan, or Reader , is allowed to sit at this 
lesson, whereas he must stand while he reads the law. After he has un¬ 
rolled the volume, he pronounces three prayers, and returns thanks to 
Almighty God, for calling them together to share this ceremony, and for 
delivering them out of the merciless hands of Haman. He then reads 
the history of Haman and Esther. 

The Jews observe similar ceremonies in the service of the next morning, 
and read on this day out of the Pentateuch, the 17th chapter of Exodus, 
verse 8, “ Then came Amalek,” &c. They have, likewise, particular 
prayers and blessings for this happy occasion. 

On this feast they bestow public alms upon the poor, and all relations 
•and friends visit, and send each other presents of such things as are good 
to eat. Scholars make presents to their tutors, masters to their servants, 
and persons of distinction to their inferiors. In short, the whole day is 
spent in cheerfulness and gayety, as it is written in the 9th chapter of 
Esther, “ That they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of 
sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor,” &c. 

When the year consists of two Adars, the Jews call the 14th day of the 
first Adar the little Purim; but it is merely nominal, for none of the above 
ceremonies are observed thereon. 

The 15th day of the month Nisan, which often answers to out April, is 
jthe first day of the Passover, which is called Pesach, or the passage over , 

The f e ast of the in commemorat i° n of the departure of the Jews from Egypt. 
Passover. It continues a whole week ; but such as live out of Jerusa- 








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Jem and its territories make it hold eight days, according to the ancient 
custom, when the new moon, by the Sanhedrin’s order, was proclaimed, 
without any computation. This festival is ordained in the 12th chapter of 
Exodus, and in several other parts of the Bible. The Sabbath which pre¬ 
cedes the Passover is called the Grand Sabbath ; on which day the rab¬ 
bins preach a sermon on the Paschal Lamb. 

The two first and two last days of the Passover are solemn festivals, on 
which no person is permitted either to work, or do any manner of busi¬ 
ness ; nay, they keep them as strictly as the Sabbath ; only that they make 
a fire, dress their meat, and carry what things they want from place to 
place. On the four middle days they are only obliged to refrain from 
work, but are permitted to touch money. 

During these eight days they must neither eat, nor have, any leavened 
bread, or any leaven in their houses, nor even in their custody; so that 
they eat none but unleavened bread all that time: according to Exodua, 
chapter xii., verses 15, 10, 17. This bread they call Matzos. 





















































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 






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In order to obey this precept as punctually as possible, the master takes 
a wax candle, and searches the house over with the utmost care, to clear 
it of every thing that is fermented, prying into every corner, and even into 
all the trunks and cupboards. He now beseeches God to make up the k* 
defects of his search, “ that all the leavened bread which is in the house 
may become like the dust of the earth, and be reduced to nothing.” I V/ig) 'SSkf ($p 
When the house is well scoured, they whitewash it, and supply it with a 
new table and kitchen furniture, or with such as is reserved for the service 
of this day only. If they have been used before, and are of metal, they 
must be first heated in a forge, and newly polished before they can be 
used; because nothing which has touched leavened bread may be made 
use of during those eight days. About eleven o’clock on the next day 
they burn a bit of bread, to give notice that the prohibition against lea¬ 
vened bread is then begun; and this ceremony is attended with a particu¬ 
lar declaration, that the head of the family has no leaven in his custody; 
that if he has, it is unknown to him, and that he hath done to the utmost 
of his power to prevent it. 

They go to prayers in the evening; and at their return home, the 
master, with his family and other domestics, after washing their hands, sit 
down to a table which is duly prepared for their entertainment in the day¬ 
time, and set off with all the elegance and grandeur that the circum¬ 
stances of each person will admit of. Instead of the ceremony which was 
formerly observed, in conformity to the 12th chapter of Exodus, viz., “To 
eat the lamb with unleavened bread, and bitter herbs,” &c., they have 
some small pieces of lamb or kid, dressed with unleavened bread. Some¬ 
times they have a plate covered, in which there are three mysterious 
cakes, one for the high-priest, one for the Levites, and a third for the 
people ; also the blade-bone of a shoulder of lamb, or, at least, some part 
of it. The Portuguese Jews have the bone on the table during the whole / 
eight days of the Passover. When the shoulder is served up whole, at 
this ceremony, they have a hard egg with it. To this they add a dish 
representing the bricks which their ancestors were formerly forced to 
make in Egypt. This meat is a thick paste, composed of apples, almonds, 
nuts, figs, &c., which they dress in wine, and season with cinnamon, 
broke only into pieces, to represent the straw that they made use of in 
the making of their bricky. In another dish they have celery, lettuce, 
chervil, cresses, wild succory, and parsley. These are their bitter herbs. 

A cruet full of vinegar, and another of oil, are set on the table, near the 
salad. 




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The Jews make a great difference between the ancient and modern way 


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of celebrating the Passover. Formerly they used to eat the lamb roasted 
whole ; but ever since their sacrifices have been abolished, which could be 
offered nowhere but at Jerusalem, they roast one part of it, and boil 



































































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ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 

another; nay, sometimes cut it in pieces, which is enough to prevent its 
being sacrificed. The want of their sacrifices, likewise, obliges them at 
present to suppress several hymns, which relate to the Paschal Lamb ; and 
their dispersion obliges them, also, to beg of God to re-establish Jerusalem, 
the temple, and its sacrifices, and to deliver them at this day, as he formerly 
did their forefathers, from the tyranny of the Egyptians. The modern 
Jews conclude their meal with the unleavened bread, but in former times 
they ended it with the lamb; and they now omit girding their loins, taking 
a staff in their hands, and pulling off their shoes when they eat the lamb; 
all which was practised under the ancient law ; but they take care, how¬ 
ever, to preserve that humility and attention which are due to this religious 
ceremony. They decline their heads all the time they are eating; and 
such Jews as are eminent for their piety put nothing into their mouths 
without meditating on the several mysteries with the utmost respect and 
veneration. 

From the day after the Passover to the thirty-third day following, they 
spend their time in a kind of mourning ; they neither marry nor dress 
themselves in any new clothes, neither do they cut their hair, nor show 
any demonstrations of public joy; because at that time, that is, from the 
day after the Passover until the thirty-third day after, there was once a 
great mortality amongst the pupils of Rabbi Hachiba, who was one of 
their most celebrated doctors. After the death of some thousands, the sick¬ 
ness ceased on the thirty-third day of the Homer. This day is therefore 
kept with general rejoicings, and puts an end to all appearance of sorrow 
or concern. 

The Jews call the fifty days which intervene between the Passover and 
the feast of Pentecost, Homer-days. On the fiftieth day of the Homer, 
which is the sixth of Sivan, is celebrated the festival 
Shavuoth, or of Weeks; which is so named, because it is 
kept at the end of the seven weeks, which they compute from the Pass- 
over. At present it is observed for two days together. 

These two days are observed almost as strictly as the Passover holidays; 
for no work is allowed to be done upon them, neither can the Jews transact 
any business, nor, in short, do any thing more than on the Sabbath: except¬ 
ing that they are allowed to kindle their fire, dress their victuals, and carry 
whatever they want from place to place. 

At the feast of Pentecost five persons read the sacrifice of the day, and 
likewise the history of Ruth, because frequent mention is made there of 
the harvest At this time they regale themselves with all sorts of dainties 
made of milk, which, in their opinion, is a symbol of the law, both on 
account of its sweetness and its whiteness; and as the Jews take a pride 
in having, as far as possible, the most express and lively images of the 
most remarkable circumstances that occurred at the birth of their religion. 


Pentecost. 









































































ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC 


they never forget to serve up at table on this day a cake made moderately 
thick, which they call the Cake of Sinai. This is to remind them of 
Mount Sinai, on which God gave them the law. 

The Jews formerly called Pentecost the feast of the Harvest, and day 
of First Fruits, because the first of their corn and fruit was at that time 
offered in the temple, which was the close of this solemnity; but this can 
never be in Europe, harvest falling always much later than Whitsuntide, 
It might, however, bear this name in the land of Canaan, Arabia, and in 
the neighbourhood of the Red Sea. 

Upon this day their tradition assures us that the law was given on Mount 
Sinai; for which reason they adorn their synagogues, the Hechal, or 
Ark, the reading-desk—also their lamps and candlesticks, and even their 
houses, with roses and other gay and odoriferous flowers and herbs, beauti¬ 
fully wreathed in the form of crowns and festoons. Of these decorations 
they are very profuse. 

Their prayers are adapted to the feast, and they read the account of 
the sacrifice made on that day out of the Pentateuch ; also the Aftara, out 
of the Prophets, and the benediction for their prince. In the afternoon 
there is a sermon preached, in commemoration of the law. When the 
second day of the feast is over, the ceremony of the Habdalla is performed 
in the evening, as at the close of the Passover, to denote that the feast is 
concluded. 


A TABLE OF OFFICES AND CONDITIONS OF MEN 


•Such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and his sons, 


Patriarchs, or Fathers of Families- 
Judges —Temporary Supreme Governors, immediately appointed by God over the children 
of Israel. 

after the falling off of the ten tribes, of 


Kings —And they either of the whole nation, or, 

Judah or Israel. 

Elders —Senators, the LXX., or Sanhedrin. 

Judges _Inferior Rulers, such as determine controversies in particular cities. 

Israelites —Hebrews, descendants from Jacob . 

An Hebrew of Hebrews —An Israelite by original extraction. 

A Proselyte of the Covenant. —Who was circumcised, and submitted to the whole law. 

A Proselyte of the Gate —Or stranger, who worshipped one God, but remained uncir¬ 
cumcised. 

OFFICERS UNDER THE ASSYRIAN OR PERSIAN MONARCHS. 

Tirshatha —Or Governor appointed by the kings of Assyria or Persia . 

Heads of the Captivity—The chief of each tribe or family, who exercised a precarious 
government during the Captivity. 



























































84 


ECCLESIASTICAL DISCIPLINE, ETC. 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHS. 

SUPERIOR OFFICERS. 

Maccabees —The successors of Judas Maccabeus , high-priests, who presided with kingly 
power. 

UNDER THE ROMAN EMPEROR. 

Presidents, or Governors—Sent from Rome with imperial power. 

Tetrarchs —Who had kingly power in four provinces. 

Proconsuls —Or Deputies of Provinces. 

INFERIOR OFFICERS. 

Publicans —Or tax-gatherers. 

Centurions —Captains of an hundred men. 

ECCLESIASTICAL OFFICERS, OR SECTS OF MEN. 

High-Priests —Who only might enter the Holy of Holies. 

Second Priests, or Sagan, who supplied the high-priest’s office, in case he were disabled. 
Higk-Priests for the War —Set apart for the occasion of an expedition. 

Priests —Levites of the son of Aaron, divided into twenty-four ranks, each rank serving 
weekly in the temple. 

Levites —Of the tribe of Levi, but not of Aaron's family: of these were three orders,— 
Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, several sons of Levi. 

Nethinims —Inferior servants to the priests and Levites, not of their tribe, to draw water 
and cleave wood, &c. 

Prophets —Anciently called Seers, who foretold future events, and denounced God’s judg¬ 
ments. 

Children of the Prophets —Their disciples or scholars. 

Wise Men —So called in imitation of the Eastern Magi, or Gentile Philosophers. 

Scribes —Writers and expounders of the law. 

Disputers —That raised and determined questions out of the law. 

Rabbins or Doctors —Teachers of Israel. 

libertines —Freed men of Rome, who, being Jews or proselytes, had a synagogue or oratory 
for themselves. 

Gaulonitcs, or Galileans —Who pretended it unlawful to obey a heathen magistrate. 
Herodians —Who shaped their religion to the times, and particularly flattered Herod. 
Epicureans —Who placed all happiness in pleasure. 

Stoics —Who denied the liberty of the will, and pretended all events were determined by 
fatal necessity. 

Simon Magus —Author of the heresy of the Gnostics, who taught that men, howevei 
-vicious their practice was, should be saved by their knowledge. 

Nicolaitans —The disciples of Nicolas, one of the first seven Deacons who taught the com¬ 
munity of wives. 

Nazarites —Who, under a vow, abstained from wine, &c. 

Nazarenes —Jews professing Christianity. 

Zelots, Sicarii, or murderers—Who, under pretence of the law, thought themselves autho* 
rized to commit any outrage. 

Pharisees —Separatists, who, upon the opinion of their own godliness, despised all others. 

Sadducees —Who denied the resurrection of the dead, angels, and spirits. 

Samaritans —Mongrel professors, partly heathen, and partly Jews, the offspring of the 
Assyrians sent to Samaria. 

Apostles —Missionaries, or persons sent; they who were sent by our Saviour from their 
number were called The Twelve. 

Bishops —Successors of the Apostles in the government of the Church- 
Deacons—Officers chosen by the Apostles to take care of the poor. 





























































iS'' 



PART 11. 

HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE MOHAM- 

MEDANS. 


CHAPTER I. 


LIFE OF MOHAMMED, 


Mohammedism. 


It is an often-repeated, but just remark, that “Great effects frequently 
proceed from little causes.” This is pre-eminently true when applied to 
Mohammedism; since there appears to be scarcely any 
ground of comparison between its author and the changes 
which his system has wrought in the world; changes by far greater than 
any others introduced into the civilized world by a single cause, if we 
except those wrought by Christianity. 

Mohammedism has now existed for more than twelve hundred years 
[t has spread its delusions over some of the fairest portions of the globe 

Countries where ^ t ^ le P resent time, it may be found holding an almost un¬ 
it exists. disputed sway throughout the Turkish dominions in Eu¬ 

rope, Asia, and Africa; in the Barbary states, in the interior of Africa; 
the eastern coast of Africa, and the island of Madagascar; in Arabia ; the 
Persian states ; the Russian states of Little Tartary, Astrachan, Kazan, 
Kirghis, Kazaks, &c. ; among the independent Tartars; in a great part 
of Hindoostan ; many of the Eastern islands, as Malay, Sumatra, Java, 
&c. &c.; and may be traced in different parts even of the vast emjyre of 
China. Its blinded and deluded votaries are estimated at from one hun¬ 
dred to one hundred and twenty millions. 

That Mohammed was a remarkable man in many respects must be 
admitted. He had doubtless native talents of a superior order, and an 
The success of ambition for power and authority which scarcely knew any 
to be attributed en- bounds; but these are insufficient to account for tne reJi- 
ofhsa°uthor geniUS gious and political ascendency which he gained, or the 
wide diffusion and enduring permanence of that system of imposture 
which he palmed upon the world. The means employed by him were 
entirely disproportioned to the success which crowned his efforts. 

How then shall the problem of his success be resolved ? The state of 
the Eastern world, where this imposture began, was indeed favourable to 

85 


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LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 




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Not to the state its spread. For several centuries following the apostolic 

world? Although age, the Christian religion subsisted in a great degree in its 
that was favoura- or jg.j na | p Uri 'ty a nd simplicity. But a gradual decline of 

the spirit of Christianity took place. Ignorance, superstition, and corrup¬ 
tion prevailed to an alarming extent; and by the commencement of the 
seventh century, the state of the Christian world had become gloomy and 
appalling. In the eastern parts of the Roman empire, especially Syria 
and the countries bordering upon Arabia, as well as in some parts of Arabia 
itself, these evils were aggravated by the numerous sects and heresies that 
prevailed, and by the incessant controversial wars which they waged with 
each other. The church was torn to pieces by the furious disputes of the 
Arians, Sabellians, Nestorians, Eutychians, and Collyridians, by whom the 
great doctrines of Christianity were so confounded with metaphysical 
subtleties and the jargon of schools, that they ceased, in great measure, to 
be regarded as a rule of life, or as pointing out the only way of salvation. 
The religion of the gospel, the blessed source of peace, love, and unity 
among men, became, by the perverseness of sectaries, a firebrand of burn¬ 
ing contention. Council after council was called—canon after canon was 
enacted—prelates were traversing the country in every direction in the 
prosecution of party purposes, resorting to every base art, to obtain the 
authoritative establishment of their own peculiar tenets, and the condem¬ 
nation and suppression of those of their adversaries. The contests also 
for the episcopal office ran so high, particularly in the West, that the 
opposing parties repeatedly had recourse to violence, and, in one memora¬ 
ble instance, the interior of a Christian church was stained by the blood 
of a number of the adherents of the rival bishops, who fell victims to 
their fierce contentions. Yet it is little to be wondered at, that these 
places of preferment should have been so greedily sought after by men of 
coirupt minds, when we learn that they opened the direct road to wealth, 
luxury, and priestly power. Ancient historians represent the bishops of 
that rflay as enriched by the presents of the opulent, as riding abroad in 
pompous state in chariots and sedans, and surpassing in the extravagance 
of their feasts the sumptuousness of princes; while, at the same time, the 
most barbarous ignorance was fast overspreading the nations of Christen¬ 
dom, the ecclesiastical orders themselves not excepted. Among the bishops, 
the legitimate instructors and defenders of the church, numbers were to be 
found incapable of composing the poor discourses which their office re¬ 
quired them to deliver to the people, or of subscribing the decrees which 
they passed in their councils. The little learning in vogue was chiefly 
confined to the monks. But they, instead of cultivating science, or diffus¬ 
ing any kind of useful knowledge, squandered their time in the study of 
the fabulous legends of pretended saints and martyrs, or in composing his¬ 
tories equally fabulous. 









































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


87 


This woful corruption of doctrine and morals in the clergy was followed, 
as might be expecied, by a very general depravity of the common people; 
and though we cannot suppose that God left himself altogether without 
witnesses in this dark period, yet the number of the truly faithful had 
dwindled down to a mere remnant, and the wide-spreading defection 
seemed to call aloud for the judgments of heaven.* 

Although the ‘state of the Christian world was thus favourable to the 
spread of the Mohammedan imposture, this is by no means sufficient to 
account for its mighty results, and especially for its continuance, through 
But to the spe- such a lapse of time. We are forced, therefore, to look for 

cial providence of , . . . . . . 

God. a more adequate cause, and that cause can be nothing less 

than the special providence of God. Indeed, the appearance of the Ara¬ 
bian prophet in the world, and the rise, progress, and results of his im¬ 
posture, are clearly foretold in the sacred volume, as the reader may 
rr,. . see, Daniel vii. 8—26; Revelation ix. 1—19. All the rea- 

I he rise and pro- 

medfsm f ^foretold sons Infinite Mind may have had in permitting 

m the Scriptures, this arch-heresy to find a dwelling-place on earth—to 

spread its branches so widely—to take such deep root—to bear such 
deadly fruit for so long a period—all the moral ends in view may be un¬ 
known ; but the wisdom of God, in this as well as every other dispen¬ 
sation of his providence, will ultimately stand forth as clearly as if the 
sunbeams shone upon it, and the now inscrutable mystery will be justified 
by all his children. 

We shall conclude these introductory remarks with the following quo¬ 
tation from Dr. Prideaux, on the moral ends of Providence, in suffering 
The moral ends this desolating scourge to arise at that particular period of 
Dr U pr fdeau x !^ l ° the world which gave birth to it. “At length,” says he, 
“ having wearied the patience and long-suffering of God, he raised up the 
Saracens to be the instruments of his wrath to punish them for it; who, 
taking advantage of the weakness of their power, and the distraction of 
counsels which their divisions had caused among them, over-ran, with a 
terrible devastation, all the eastern provinces of the Roman empire ; and, 
having fixed that tyranny over them which hath ever since afflicted those 
parts of the world, turned everywhere their churches into mosques, and 
their worship into a horrid superstition ; and, instead of that holy religion 
which they had abused, forced on them the abominable imposture of 
Mohammed. Thus, those once glorious and most flourishing churches, 
for a punishment of their wickedness, being given up to the insult, ravage 
and scorn of the worst of enemies, were, on a sudden, overwhelmed with 
so terrible a destruction as hath reduced them to that low and miserable 
condition under which they have ever since groaned ; the all-wise provi- 


* Bush’s Life of Mohammed. 








































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


All from the same root, Aslam ; signifying, to yield up, dedicate , conse¬ 
crate entirely to the service of religion . 


dence of God seeming to continue them thus unto this day undei the pride 
and persecution of Mohammedan tyranny, for no other end but to be an 
example and warning unto others against the wickedness of separation 
and division.” 

Mohammed, the founder of the Moslem* or Mohammedan religion, was 

The following list of names and titles, some of which it will be convenient for us to use 
in the present article, and all of which frequently occur in accounts relating to the East, 
together with their etymological import, is taken from a highly celebrated work, “Bushs 
Life of Mohammed.” 

Mahomet, 

Mohammed, From Hamed ; praised, highly celebrated, illustrious, glorious. 

Ahmed. 

Moslem, 

Mussulman, 

Islam, 

Islamism, 

Koran. —From Kara, to read; the reading, legend, or that which ought to be read. 

Caliph. — d successor; from the Hebrew Ciialaph ; to be changed, to succeed, to pass 
round in a revolution. 

Sultan. —Originally from the Chaldaic Soltan ; signifying, authority, dominion, princi¬ 
pality. 

ViziEn .—An assistant. 

Hadj. — Pilgrimage: Hadji ; one who makes the pilgrimage to Mecca. 

Saracen. —Etymology doubtful; supposed to be from Sarak, to steal; a plunderer, a 
robber. 

Hejira The Flight; applied emphatically to Mohammed’s flight from Mecca to 

tt ° r Medina. 

Hejra, 

7 _/ 

Mufti. —The principal head of the Mohammedan religion, and the resolver of all doubtful 
points of the law. An office of great dignity in the Turkish empire. 

Iman.— A kind of priest attached to the mosques, whose duty it is occasionally to expound 
a passage of the Koran. They, at the same time, usually follow some more lucra¬ 
tive employment. 

Moollah. —The Moollahs form what is called the Ulema, or body of doctors, in theology 

and jurisprudence, who are intrusted with the guardianship of the laws of the em-\—^ 
pire, and from whose number the Mufti is chosen. 

Emir.— Lineal descendants of the Prophet himself, distinguished by wearing turbans of 
deep sea-green, the colour peculiar to all the race of Mohammed. They have spe¬ 
cial immunities on the score of their descent, and one of them carries the green 
standard of the Prophet when the Grand Seignior appears in any public solemnity. 
Pasha. —The title given to the provincial governors. A Pasha is to a province or pashalic, 
what the Sultan is to the empire, except that the judicial power is in the hands of 
the cadis, the provincial magistrates. The tails of a Pasha are the standards which 
he is allowed to carry; one of three tails is one of three standards, which number 
gives the power of life and death. 

Reis Effendi. —This officer may be termed the High Chancellor of the Ottoman empire 
He is at the head of a class of attorneys, which, at this time, contains the best- 
informed men of the nation. 

Seraglio. —This word is derived from Serai, a term of Persian origin, signifying a palace. 

It is, therefore, improperly used as synonymous with Harem, the apartments of the 
women. The Seraglio is, in strictness of speech, the place where the court of the 
Grand Seignior is held; but it so happens that at Constantinople this building in¬ 
cludes the imperial Harem within its walls. 

Orescent. —The national ensign of the Turks, surmounting the domes and minarets at¬ 
tached to their mosques, as the cross does the churches of the Roman Catholics in 
Christian countries. This peculiar and universal use of the Crescent is said to 
have owed its origin to the fact, that at the time of Mohammed’s flight from Mecca 












































































born at Mecca, a city of Arabia, a. d. 569, or according to others, a. d. 571. 

Birth of Moham- P arents were themselves poor, but his connections 
,, med, a. d. o69 were rich and respectable, belonging to the tribe of the 
7 -Koreish, reckoned the most noble in all that part of Arabia. 

“ The Moslem writers,” says the author already quoted, “ in order to 
represent the birth of their pretended prophet as equally marvellous with 
Prodigies said that of Moses or of Christ, the ancient messengers of God 

to have attended , , , . . , , n ... 

his event. who preceded him, have reported a tissue of astonishing 

prodigies said to have occurred in connection with that event. If the 
eader will receive their statements with the same implicit faith with 
.7 £' which they seem to be delivered, he must acknowledge, that at the mo¬ 
ment when the favoured infant was ushered into the world, a flood of light 
' burst forth with him and illuminated every part of Syria; that the waters 
of the Lake Savva were entirely dried up, so that a city was built upon its 
bottom ; that an earthquake threw down fourteen towers of the king of 
Persia’s palace; that the sacred fire of the Persians was extinguished, 
: ' and all the evil spirits which had inhabited the moon and stars were 
impelled together from their celestial abodes, nor could they ever after ani- 
77>.<*|nate idols or deliver oracles on earth. The child also, if we may trust to 
the same authorities, discovered the most wonderful presages. He was no 
sooner born than he fell prostrate, in a posture of humble adoration, pray- 
ng devoutly to his Creator, and saying, ‘ God is great! There is no God 
but God, and I am his prophet!’ By these and many other supernatural 
signs, equally astounding, is the prophet’s nativity said to have been 
inarked.” 

At the early age of two years, Mohammed lost his father ; and four 
rears after, his mother. Being, now, a dependent orphan, he was received 
Mohammed into the family of his grandfather, under whose guardian- 
• S V h£ uncie® harse ship he continued two years, when the venerable Abdol 
Motalleb himself was called to give up the ghost. On his dying bed, 
ie summoned Abu Taleb, the eldest of his sons, whom he is said to have 
iddressed as follows: “My dearest, best-beloved son, to thy charge I 
leave Mohammed, the son of thine own brother, strictly recommended, 
whose natural father the Lord hath been pleased to take to himself, with 
the intent that this dear child should become ours by adoption ; and much 
dearer ought he to be unto us than merely an adopted son. Receive him, 
lerefore, at my dying hands, with the same sincere love and tender 




to Medina, the moon was new. Hence, the half-moon is commemorative of that 
event. 

iublime Porte_ This title, which is frequently applied to the court, cabinet, or execu 

tive department of the Ottoman empire, is derived, as the words import, from a 
lofty arched gateway of splendid construction, forming the principal entrance to the 
Seraglio or palace. It is a phrase equivalent to “ Court of St. James,” ‘ Court of 
St. Cloud,” &c. 




AAM 







































































90 


LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 




/“'NT/ 




bowels with which I deliver him to thy care. Honour, love, and cherish *1. 
him as much, or even more, than if he had sprung from thine own loins j 
for all the honour thou showest unto him shall be trebled unto thee. Be 
more than ordinarily careful in thy treatment towards him, for it will be 
repaid thee with interest. Give him the preference before thine own chil- wji 
dren, for he exceedeth them and all mankind in excellency and perfection. 

Take notice, that whensoever he calleth upon thee, thou answer him not 
as an infant, as his tender age may require, but as thou wouldst reply to 
the most aged and venerable person when he asketh thee any question. 

Sit not down to thy repasts of any sort soever, either alone or in com¬ 
pany, till thy worthy nephew Mohammed is seated at the table before 
thee; neither do thou ever offer to taste of any kind of viands, or even CJ l 
to stretch forth thine hand towards the same, until he hath tasted thereof. 

! - t/; 

If thou observest these my injunctions, thy goods shall always increase, 
and in nowise be diminished.”* 

Abu Taleb having received the above solemn charge, took the young 
prophet under his care, and instructed him in the business of a merchant. 

, When he was about twelve or thirteen years of age, in 
merchant. order to perfect him in his employment, Abu Taleb took 

him with him into Syria, whither he found himself obliged to go on com¬ 
mercial affairs. Arriving at Bosra, an ancient city of Syria Damacena, 
he visited a monastery, where he found a Nestorian monk, named Felix, 
and surnamed Bolieira , who treated them with great marks of distinction, 
and owned him as God’s apostle. Another monk, called, by the Christians, 
Sergius, entered into a confederacy with Boheira to propagate the new 
fanaticism, and lent a helping hand in composing the Koran. On Moham¬ 
med’s first approach to Boheira, the monk observed, or said he observed, a 
sort of luminous or transparent cloud round his head, which preserved 
him from the heat of the solar rays; also, that the dry trees under which 
he sat were everywhere instantly covered with green leaves, which 
served him for a shade—all certain signs that the prophetic dignity resided 
in him. He likewise discovered the seal of prophecy impressed betweei. 
his shoulders, while he kissed the hinder part of his garment. Turning 

one day to the uncle, Abu Taleb, he said, “Depart with this child, anu 
0 

take great care that he does not fall into the hands of the Jews; for your 
nephew will one day become a very extraordinary person; he will per¬ 
form great things by the appointment of God.” Abu Taleb, hereupon, AfX 
immediately returned to Mecca, and gave an account to the Koreish of the 
discoveries that had been made. 

In the mean time, Mohammed, as he advanced towards the years of 
puberty, grew extremely popular. He was the most handsome and the 



* Morgan’s Mohammedism Explained, vol. i. p. 50. 







































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


91 


\ 

W 


el 


L 

Vjv 

v 


tfili 


best-made man of all the Arabs of his time ; and he was not only famed 
for his beauty, but he likewise surpassed all his contemporaries in sagacity 
and good sense ; so much so, indeed, as to acquire the name of Jil-Jlmin , 
or the Faithful. This is the favourable portrait given us of him, at the 
age of fourteen, by some of the Moslem historians. 

Mohammed made his first campaign when he was about twenty years 
of age, under his uncle Abu Taleb, who commanded the Koreish against 
the tribes of Kenan and Hawazan. Of the cause of this war no tradi¬ 
tionary account is on record ; but, as it was carried on with great violence 
through the course of the four sacred months, it was termed the “impious 
war.” During these months it was held unlawful to wage war; the Arabs 
then taking off the heads of their spears, and ceasing from incursions and 
other hostilities. However, the Koreish were victorious in this war, which 
could not fail of rendering the people of their tribe still more devoted to 
Abu Taleb and the young Mohammed. 

Mohammed continued in the employment of his uncle until he had 
attained his twenty-fifth year. About that time died one of the chief men 
Enters the ser- of the city, leaving a widow of the name of Cadijah ; who 
whom he marries! requiring a factor to manage her stock, Mohammed entered 
ner service, and traded for her some years, to Damascus and other places. 
In this service Mohammed conducted himself with so much propriety 
that he not only merited the respect, but actually won the affections 
of his mistress, who was twelve years older than himself, he being 
then only twenty-eight years of age. Cadijah having married him, he 
became suddenly exalted to an equality with some of the richest men of 
the city. 

Whether this unlooked-for elevation had inspired Mohammed with an 
extraordinary ambition, or whatever other motive prompted him, he soon 
began to manifest symptoms of wishing to appear a man of no common 
character, and as one divinely commissioned to reform the world by the 
introduction of a new system of religion, which should embrace whatever 
was excellent in the Pagan morality, and the Jewish and Christian dispen¬ 
sations. His commercial transactions in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, 
having brought him acquainted with the numerous Christians and Jews 
residing in those countries, he soon discovered that the task of creating a 
new religion would not be very difficult. He proceeded, however, with 
much caution and care ; and 'it was not till he had attained his thirty-eighth 
_ . , vear, that he retired from the business of the world, repair- 

Retires to the ^ . ... 1 

eave of Hera, daily to a certain cave in the vicinity of Mecca, called 

where he matures ° J J 

his plan, a. d. 607. the cave of Hera, for the ostensible purpose of spending his 
time in fasting, prayer, and meditation. 

Having, at length, matured his plan, he opened the subject of the super¬ 
natural visions, with which he had been favoured in the cave, to his wife 































































. Cadiiah. At first she treated his visions as the dreams of 

Discloses it to J 

Cadijah, who be- a disturbed imagination, or as the delusions of the devil. 

r.nmes his con- ° 


, A t comes 

vert. 

/ A Jt I 

.. 


Mohammed, however, persisted in assuring her of the re- 
V alityof these communications, and rising still higher in his demands upon 
her credulity, at length repeated a passage which he affirmed to be a part 
W _■ of a divine revelation, recently conveyed to him by the ministry of the 
angel Gabriel. The memorable night on which this visit was made by the 
59 (heavenly messenger is called the “night of At Kadr,” or the night of the 

divine decree, and is greatly celebrated, as it was the same night on which 
the entire Koran descended from the seventh to the lowest heaven, to be 
thence revealed by Gabriel in successive portions as occasion might require, 
vj The Koran has a whole chapter devoted to the commemoration of this 
event, entitled Al Kadr. It is as follows: “ In the name of the most mer- 
Verily, we sent down the Koran in the night of Al Kadr. 
shall make thee understand how excellent the night of Al Kadr 
is ? This night is better than a thousand months. Therein do the angels 
descend, and the spirit Gabriel also, by the permission of their Lord, with 
’ • >, jO.A. his decrees concerning every matter. It is peace until the rising of the 
morn.”* On this favoured night, between the 23d and 24th of Ramadan , 
according to the prophet, the angel appeared to him, in glorious form, to 
(communicate the happy tidings of his mission. The light issuing from 


I Jaw'd c-y \ 

IM/lbp 

>fciful God. 
And what sh 

■ a mi • 






/his body, if the apostle-elect may be believed, was too dazzling for mortal 
‘ v*ty e s to behold; he fainted under the splendour; nor was it till Gabriel 
■‘•'ti,;/ had assumed a human form, that he could venture to approach or look 
bpon him. The angel then cried aloud, “O, Mohammed, thou art the 
apostle of God, and I am the angel Gabriel !” “ Read !” continued 

the angel; the prophet declared that he was unable to read. “ Read !” 
Gabriel again exclaimed, “ read, in the name of thy Lord, who hath 
created all things; who hath created man of congealed blood. Read, by 
thy most beneficent Lord, who hath taught the use of the pen ; who 
^teacheth man that which he knoweth not.”f The prophet, who professed, 
hitherto, to have been illiterate, then read the joyful tidings respecting his 
ministry on earth; when the angel, having accomplished his mission, 
majestically ascended to heaven, and disappeared from his view. When 
the story of this surprising interview with a celestial visitant was related 
to Cadijah in connection with the passage repeated, her unbelief, as tradi¬ 
tion avers, was wholly overcome, and not only so, but she was wrought by 
it into a kind of ecstasy, declaring, “ By him in whose hands her soul 
'{was, that she trusted her husband would indeed one day become the pro¬ 
phet of his nation.” In the height of her joy, she immediately imparted 
what she had heard to one Waraka, her cousin, who is supposed by some 



• Koran, ch. xcvii. 


f Ch. xcviii. 


if®. 


V.i 


Kj) 


I© 


Or/: 


IV 


\/ v 

fwt 

CM 



























































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


to have been in the secret, and who, being a Christian, had learned to 
write in the Hebrew character, and was tolerably well versed in the Jewish 
and Christian Scriptures. He unhesitatingly assented to her opinion 
respecting the divine designation of her husband, and even affirmed, that 
Mohammed was no other than the great prophet foretold by Moses, the 
son of Amram. This belief, that both the prophet and his spurious reli¬ 
gion were subjects of inspired prediction in the Old Testament scriptures, 
is studiously inculcated in the Koran. “ Thy Lord is the mighty, the 
merciful. This book is certainly a revelation from the Lord of all crea¬ 
tures, which the faithful spirit (Gabriel) hath caused to descend upon thy 
heart, that thou mightest be a preacher to thy people in the perspicuous 
Arabic tongue ; and it is borne witness to in the scriptures of former ages. 
Was it not a sign unto them that the wise men among the children of Israel 
knew it?”* 

Having made a convert of his wife, his next object was to gain other 
proselytes. Among the first, who gave in his adhesion to the prophet, 

„ . . was his servant Zeid Ebn Hareth, whom he rewarded for 

Gams other pro¬ 
selytes : but at pi s belief and attachment, by granting him his freedom. 

first with difficul- J ° ° 

ty- Ali, the son of Abu Taleb, Mohammed’s cousin, was his 

next convert; but the impetuous youth, disregarding the other two as per¬ 
sons of comparatively little note, used to style himself the first of believers. 
His fourth and most important convert was Abubeker, a powerful citizen 
of Mecca, by whose influence a number of persons possessed of rank and 
authority were induced to profess the religion of Islam. These were 
Othman, Zobair, Saad, Abdorrahman, and Abu Obeidah, who afterwards 
became the principal leaders in his armies, and his main instruments in 
the establishment both of his imposture and of his empire. Four years 
were spent in the arduous task of winning over these nine individuals to 
the faith, some of whom were the principal men of the city, and who 
composed the whole party of his proselytes previously to his beginning to 
proclaim his mission in public. He was now forty-four years of age. 

Hitherto the efforts of Mohammed had been confined to the conversion 
of a few individuals; but now the time having come for spreading his 
j . h>g doctrines abroad, he directed Ali to prepare a generous en- 
doctrines to his fa- tertainment, to which the sons and descendants of Abdol 

mily, frieruds, and . . , . . , , 

connections, who Motalleb were invited. 1 hese having assembled, the pro- 

iicuie. 1 phet arose and" addressed them as follows:—“I know no 
man in the whole peninsula of the Arabs who can propose any thing more 
excellent to his relations than what I now do to you; I offer you happiness 
both in this life and in that which is to come ; God Almighty hath com¬ 
manded me to call you unto him ; who therefore among you will be my 


* Koran, ch. xxiii 




4 

£>' _ 




ft 


mm 


i! •! U 








■' V 


















































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


vizier (assistant) and will become my brother and vicegerent ?” General 
astonishment kept the assembly silent; none offered to accept the pioffered 
office, till the fiery Ali burst forth, and declared that he would be the 
brother and assistant of the prophet. “ I,” said he, “ O prophet of God, 
will be thy vizier; I myself will beat out the teeth, pull out the eyes, rip 
open the bellies, and cut off the legs, of all those who shall dare to oppose 
thee.” The prophet caught the young proselyte in his arms, exclaiming, 
“ This is my brother, my deputy, my successor; show yourselves obedient 
unto him.” At this apparently extravagant command, the whole company 
burst into laughter, telling Abu Taleb that he must now pay obedience 
and submission to his own son! As words were multiplied, surprise began 
to give way to indignation, the serious pretensions of the prophet were 
seriously resented, and in the issue the assembly broke up in confusion, 
affording the ardent apostle but slender prospects of success among his 
kinsmen. 

Notwithstanding his above ill success with his tribe, he was so far fron 
being discouraged, that he continued to preach to the people, who still 
Preaches in pub- heard him with some patience, till he came to upbraid them 
• M°ecc h a. CltlzenS with the idolatry, obstinacy, and perverseness, not only of 
themselves, but of their fathers. This so highly provoked them, that they 
lopenly declared themselves his enemies, some few only excepted, who 
were converted to Mohammedism. Nor could he have escaped their re¬ 
sentment, had he not been protected by Abu Taleb, his uncle, who was 
very active in his favour. However, the chief of the Koreish, and even 
many of his own relations, warmly solicited him to desert his nephew ; 
but all their endeavours proving ineffectual, they at length threatened 
Abu Taleb with an open rupture, if he did not prevail on Mohammed to 
desist. Abu Taleb was so far moved at this threat, that he earnestly dis¬ 
suaded his nephew from pursuing the affair any further ; representing the 
great danger he and his friends must otherwise run ; but Mohammed was 
not to be intimidated, telling his uncle plainly, “that if they set the sun 
against him on his right hand, and the moon on his left, he would not 
relinquish his enterprise.” Abu Taleb, therefore, finding him so firmly 
resolved to proceed, used no further arguments, but promised to stand by 
him against all his enemies : so that notwithstanding the people of his 
tribe came to a determination to expel both him and his followers, he found 
a powerful support in his uncle against all their machinations. 

In the eighth year of his pretended mission, his party growing formidable 
at Mecca, the city passed a decree, by which they forbade any more to 
is obliged to re- join themselves with him. This, however, did not much 
inn returns Mecca ’ affect him, while his uncle Abu Taleb lived to protect him : 
but he dying two years after, and the government of the city then falling 
into the hands of his enemies, a fresh opposition was renewed against him, 

















































































if 




m 




and a stop soon put to the further progress of his designs at Mecca. Mo¬ 
hammed, therefore, seeing all his hopes in a manner crushed here, began 
to think of settling elsewhere ; and as his uncle Abbas lived for the most 
part at Tayif, a town sixty miles distant from Mecca, towards the east, and 
was a man of power and interest, he took a journey thither, under his 
protection, in order to propagate his imposture there. But, after a month’’ s 
stay, finding himself unable to gain even one proselyte, he retired to 
Mecca, with a resolution to wait for such further advantages as time and 
opportunity might offer. His wife Cadijah being now dead, after living 
with him twenty-two years, he took two other wives in her stead,—Ayesha, 
the daughter of Abubeker,and Lewda, the daughter of Zama; adding a while 
after to them a third, named Haphsa, the daughter of Omar; and by thus 
making himself son-in-law to three of the principal men of his party, he 
strengthened his interest considerably. Ayesha is said to have been then 
only six years old ; on which account the completion of that marriage was 
deferred, though not for many years, the Eastern women being very early 
marriageable. 

In the twelfth year of his mission is placed the mesra, that is, his 
famous night-journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven, of 
Makes a famous te ^ s us > i n the seventeenth chapter of the Koran: 

from lvlecc'ato Je- f° r P eo P^ e calling on him for miracles to prove his mis- 
pany em with c °the s ^ on » an d finding himself unable, or being unwilling, to feign 
a 1 '^°i!east 1}r *ca 11 ed an 7’ to s °l ve the matter, he invented this story of his journey 
Mborak. to heaven. The story, as related in the Koran, and believed 

by the Mohammedans, is this : At night, as he lay in his bed with his best- 
beloved wife Ayesha, he heard a knocking at his door; upon which, 
arising, he found there the angel Gabriel, with seventy pairs of wings, 
expanded from his sides, whiter than snow, and clearer than crystal, and 
the beast Alborak standing by him ; which, they say, is the beast on which 
the prophets used to ride, when they were carried from one place to another, 
upon the execution of any divine command. Mohammed describes it to be 
a beast as white as milk, and of a mixed nature, between an ass and a mule, 
and also of a size between both ; but of such extraordinary swiftness as to 
equal even lightning itself. 

As soon as Mohammed appeared at the door, the angel Gabriel kindly 
embraced him, saluted him in the name of God, and told him, that he was 
sent to bring him unto God into heaven; where he should see strange 
mysteries, which were not lawful to be seen by any other man. He prayed 
him then to get upon Alborak ; but the beast, having lain idle and unem¬ 
ployed from the time of Christ to Mohammed, was grown so mettlesome and 
skittish, that he would not stand still for Mohammed to mount him, till at 
length he was forced to bribe him to it, by promising him a place in Para¬ 
dise. When he was firmly seated on him, the angel Gabriel led the way 































































9G 


LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


with the bridle of the beast in his hand, and carried the prophet from 
Mecca to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye. On his coming thither, 
all the departed prophets and saints appeared at the gate of the temple to 
salute him; and thence attending him into the chief oratory, desired him 
to pray for them, and then withdrew. After this Mohammed went out of the 
temple with the angel Gabriel, and found a ladder of light ready fixed for 
them, which they immediately ascended, leaving Alborak tied to a rock 
till their return. 

On their arrival at the first heaven, the angel knocked at the gate ; and 
informing the porter who he was, and that he had brought Mohammed,the 
friend of God, he was immediately admitted. This first heaven, he tells 
us, was all of pure silver; from whence he saw the stars hanging from it 
by chains of gold, each as big as Mount Noho, near Mecca, in Arabia. On 
his entrance he met a decrepit old man, who it seems was our first father 
Adam; and, as he advanced, he saw a multitude of angels in all manner 
of shapes,—in the shape of birds, beasts, and men. We must not forget 
to observe, that Adam had the piety immediately to embrace the prophet, 
giving God thanks for so great a son ; and then recommended himself to 
his prayers. From this first heaven, he tells us, that he ascended into the 
second, which was at the distance of five hundred years’ journey above it; 
and this he makes to be the distance of every one of the seven heavens, 
each above the other. Here the gates being opened to him as before, at 
his entrance he met Noah, who, rejoicing much at the sight of him, re¬ 
commended himself to his prayers. This heaven was all of pure gold, 
and there were twice as many angels in it as in the former; for he tells 
us that the number of angels in every heaven increased as he advanced. 
From this second heaven he ascended into the third, which was made of 
precious stones, where he met Abraham, who also recommended himself 
to his prayers; Joseph, the son of Jacob, did the same in the fourth 
heaven, which was all of emerald ; Moses in the fifth, which was all of 
adamant; and John the Baptist in the sixth, which was all of carbuncle , 
whence he ascended into the seventh, which was all of divine light, and 
here he found Jesus Christ. However, it is observed, that here he alters 
his style ; for he does not say that Jesus Christ recommended himself to 
his prayers, but that he recommended himself to the prayers of Jesus 
Christ. 

The angel Gabriel, having brought him thus far, told him that he was 
not permitted to attend him any further; and therefore directed him to 
ascend the rest of the way to the throne of God by himself. This he per¬ 
formed with great difficulty, passing through rough and dangerous places, 
till he came where he heard a voice, saying unto him, “ O Mohammed, salute 
thy Creator;” whence ascending higher, he came into a place where he 
saw a vast expansion of light, so exceedingly bright that his eyes could 



































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


not boar it. I his, it seems, was the habitation of the Almighty, where his 
throne was placed; on the right side of which, he says, God’s name and 
his own were written in these Arabic words : “ La ellah ellallah Mohammed 
reful ollah ; that is, “ There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his 
I rochet ; which is at this day the creed of the Mohammedans. Beino* 
approached to the divine presence, he tells us,, that God entered into a 
familiar converse with him, revealed to him many hidden mysteries, made 
him understand the whole of his law, gave him many things in charge, 
concerning his instructing men in the knowledge of it; and, in conclusion, 
bestowed on him several privileges above the rest of mankind. He then 
returned, and found the angel Gabriel waiting for him in the place where 
he left him. The angel led him back along the seven heavens, through 
which he had brought him: and set him again upon the beast Alborak, 
which stood tied to the rock near Jerusalem. Then he conducted him 
back to Mecca, in the same manner as he brought him thence ; and all this 
within the space of the tenth part of one night. 

On his relating this story to the people the next morning after he pre¬ 
tended the thing to have happened, it was received by them with a general 

The story not outcry ; and the imposture was never in a greater danger 

credited by the . ° 

people, and the of being totally blasted, than by this ridiculous fable. But, 

prophet’s religion . J J 

in danger. " how ridiculous soever the story may appear, Mohammed had 
a further design in it than barely telling such a miraculous adventure of 
himself to the people. Hitherto he had only given them the Koran, 
which was his written law; and had pretended to be nothing more than 
barely the messenger of God, in publishing it as it was delivered to him by 
the angel Gabriel. But now, learning from his friend Abdallah, that the 
Jews, besides the written law dictated by God himself, had also another 
law, called the oral law, given with it, as they pretend, to Moses himself 
while in the mount; and understanding that this law, which had its whole 
foundation in the sayings and dictates of Moses, was in as great venera¬ 
tion with them as the other ; he had a mind for the future to advance his 
authority to the same pitch, and to make all his sayings and dictates pass 
for oracles among the Mussulmans, as those which were pretended to pro¬ 
ceed from Moses did among the Jews ; and for this end chiefly it was that 
he invented this story of his journey to heaven. 

The story, however, whatever advantages he might and did gain by it 
when his religion became more firmly established, was deemed, at first, 
Retires to Me so g ross ly ridiculous, that it occasioned the revolt of many 
dina. 0 f his disciples, and made his stay at Mecca no longer prac¬ 

ticable. But what he lost at Mecca, he gained at Medina, then called 
Yathreb, a city lying 270 miles north-west from Mecca: which was inha¬ 
bited, the one part by Jews, and the other by heretical Christians. These 
wo parties did not agree at all and feuds and factione rose at length so 















































































SSL 




MOHAMMED 


OF 


LIFE 


high among them, that one party, exasperated against the other, went over 
to Mohammed. Thus, we are told, that in the thirteenth year of his mis¬ 
sion, there came to him from thence, seventy-three men and two women. 
Twelve of these he retained awhile with him, at Mecca, to instruct then* 
in his new religion; then sent them back to Yathreb, as his twelve apos¬ 
tles, there to propagate it in that town. In this, they laboured abundantly 
and with such success, that in a short time they drew over the greatest 
part of the inhabitants ; of which, Mohammed receiving an account, 
resolved to go thither immediately, finding it unsafe to continue any longer 
at Mecca. 

On the 12th day of the month, which the Arabs call the Former Rabia 
that is, on the 24th of our September, he came to Yathreb, and was re- 
The Hejira, or ceived with great acclamations by the party which called 
Era °f F hg ht , a. d. t jjj t h er# He first lodged in the house of Chalid Abu 

Job, one of the chief men of the party, till he had built a house for him¬ 
self. This he immediately undertook, and erected a mosque at the same 
time for the exercise of his religion; and having thus settled himself in 
this town, he continued there even after, to the time of his death. From 
this flight of Mohammed, the Hejira, which is the era of the Mohamme¬ 
dans, begins its computation : Hejira, in the Arabic language, signifying 
“ flight.” It was first appointed by Omar, the third emperor of the Saracens, 
and takes its beginning from the 16th of July, in the year 622. Indeed, 
the day that Mohammed left Mecca was on the first of the Former Rabia; 
and he came to Medina on the 12th of the same month, that is, on the 
24th of our September; but the Hejira begins two months before, from 
the first of Moharram: for that being the first month of the Arabian year, 
Omar would make no alteration as to that, but anticipated the computation 
fifty-nine days, that he might commence his era from the beginning of 
that year, in which the flight of the impostor happened, from which it 
took its name.* 

From the time Mohammed entered Medina, he found himself in reality 
a monarch, at the head of an army devoted to his person, obedient to his 
will, and blind believers in his holy office. Finding him¬ 
self in a condition not only to defend himself against the 
insults of his enemies, but even to attack them, he began to send out 
parties to make reprisals on the Koreish. One of these, consisting of no 
more than nine men, intercepted and plundered a caravan belonging to 
that tribe. This small advantage animated the Moslems, and induced the 
Prophet to think he should gain as much reputation by his arms as by 
his revelations; but what mostly established his affairs at this juncture, 
and was the foundation on which he built all his succeeding greatness, 


Hattie of Beder. 


* Nightingale’s “ All Religions.” 
































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


99 


was the gaining of the battle of Beder, a well on the confines of Arabia, 
which was fought in the second year of the Hejira, and is so famous m 
the Mohammedan history. This victory was an invincible proof to the 
Arabians of the truth of Mohammedism. Having been informed by his 
spies, that the Koreish had a large quantity of valuable merchandise, car¬ 
ried on the backs of 1000 camels, coming from Syria, and escorted only 
by thirty 7- or forty men, he resolved to advance at the head of a small 
detachment of his troops, to intercept it. But Abu Sofian, the conductor 
of the caravan, having notice of his designs and motions, immediately de¬ 
spatched a courier to Mecca, requesting his countrymen to send him speedy 
succours, upon which all the principal men of the city marched to defend 
the caravan, with a body of 950 men. Mohammed had no sooner received 
advice of this, than he drew together all his forces, which amounted to no 
more than 313 men, with which he advanced against the enemy. In the 
mean time, he took care to leave a proper garrison in Medina, to defend 
it in case of any disaster. Before the beginning of the battle, feigning 
himself in a trance, he pretended that God had promised him certain vic¬ 
tory. After which, throwing a handful of dust towards the enemy, he 
said, May the faces of them be confounded! and then, exhorting his men 
to behave valiantly, he commanded them to fall upon the Koreish. They 
charged them with such bravery, that they soon put them to flight, having 
killed seventy of the principal of them on the spot, and taken as many 
prisoners, with the loss of only fourteen men. In imitation of Moses, 
Mohammed sat in a tent, and prayed for those that fought, for Gabriel 
would not permit him to engage. The Prophet pretends in the Koran, 
that not he, but God, by the ministry of his angel, threw the gravel 
towards the unbelievers ; that the Moslem troops seemed to the infidels to 
be twice as numerous as themselves, which greatly discouraged them ; 
and that God had sent down to their assistance, first 1000, and afterwards 
3000 angels, led by Gabriel, mounted on his horse Haizum ; and, according 
to the Koran, these celestial auxiliaries did all the execution, though Mo¬ 
hammed’s troops could not perceive them. The battle was fought on a 
Friday, and on the 17th of the month Ramadan. 

At the commencement of the second year of the Hejira, Mohammed 
altered the Kebla for his disciples, or the part of the world to which the 
, , Mohammedans are to turn their faces in prayer. At first, 

Mohammed al- v _ . . 

ters the Kebia. Mohammed declared it to be perfectly indifferent; after¬ 
wards, when he fled to Medina, he directed his followers to turn towards 
the temple of Jerusalem, (probably to ingratiate himself with the Jews,) 
which continued to be their Kebla for seventeen or eighteen months ; but, 
either finding the Jews too intractable, or despairing otherwise to gain the 
Pagan Arabs, who could not forget their respect to the temple of Mecca, 
he ordered that prayers, for the future, should be towards the east; that 



















































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED 


is, towards the Caaba, or temple of Mecca. This change occasioned 
many to fall from him, taking offence at his inconstancy. Again, he 
ordered that the Faithful should be called to prayers with a loud voice 
from the top of the mosques; whereas before, he was, out of policy, in¬ 
clined to the Jewish horn, and had actually made use of rattles, as Chris¬ 
tians did. He likewise ordained the grand fast of Ramadan, in which 
month the Koran came from heaven, and made several regulations about 
alms, things lawful and unlawful, policy, &c.; all which were either 
inspired or confirmed by miracles. 

It does not belong to the plan of this work to give an account of the 
military expeditions, by which, in successive years, the prophet succeeded 
in establishing his religion in almost every part of his own country. One 
or two expeditions, however, are too important in the Prophet’s history to 
be passed over without notice. 

In the sixth year of the Hejira, with fourteen hundred men, he under¬ 
took a pilgrimage to the holy temple of Mecca. But the inhabitants of 
that city, being jealous of his intentions, despatched a mes¬ 
senger to the Prophet, while he halted several days at 
Hodeibiya, saying, that if he entered the city, it must be at 
the point of the sword. Upon this, the Prophet summoned his men to 
attack the city; but, before this could be effected, the Meccans sent an am¬ 
bassador to him to confer upon terms of peace. Finding it to be for their 
mutual advantage to enter into a treaty, one was formed, which stipulated 
that the Prophet and his followers should have free access to the city and 
temple, after one year, whenever they pleased, during the space cf ten 
years, provided they came unarmed, as befitted pilgrims, and remained not 
more than three days at a time. 

During the same year the Prophet led his army against Chaibar, a city 
inhabited by Arab Jews, who offered him a manly resistance; he laid siege 
Attacks chaibar to t ^ 10 P^ ace afi d carried it by storm. A great miracle is 
jews 1 where"he^s here sa ^ t0 have been performed by Ali, surnamed “ The 
poisoned. Lion of God.” A ponderous gate, which eight men after¬ 

wards tried in vain to lift from the ground, was torn by him from its hinges, 
and used as a buckler during the assault! Mohammed, on entering the 
town, took up his quarters at the house of Hareth, one of the principal 
inhabitants, and here met with a reception which eventually cost him his 
life. Zeinab, the daughter of Hareth, while preparing a meal for the 
conqueror and his attendants, inserted a quantity of poison into a shoulder 
of mutton which was served up at the table. Bashar, a companion of 
Mohammed, had scarcely begun to eat of it, before he was seized with 
convulsions, and died upon the spot. Mohammed, by spitting out the 
greatest part of what he had taken into his mouth, escaped immediate 


Concludes a 
treaty with the 
Meccans for ten 
years. 































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


t 


mg every effort of medicine to expel or counteract it, in somewhat more 
than three years afterward it brought him to his end. If, as the reporters 
of Mohammed’s miracles affirm, the shoulder of mutton informed the Pro¬ 
phet of its being poisoned, it is certain that the intelligence came too late. 
The seeds of death were henceforth effectually sown in his constitution ; 
and his own decline ever after kept pace with his growing power. When 
Zeinab was asked, how she had dared to perpetrate a deed of such unpa¬ 
ralleled enormity, she is said to have answered, “ that she was determined 
to make trial of his powers as a prophet; if he were a true prophet,” said 
she, “ he would know that the meat was poisoned ; if not, it would be a 
favour to the world to rid it of such a tyrant.” It is not agreed among the 
Mohammedan writers what was the punishment inflicted upon this second 
Jael, or whether she suffered any. Some affirm that she was pardoned ; 
others, that she was put to death.* 

In the seventh year of the Hejira, the year stipulated in the before- 
mentioned treaty being elapsed, Mohammed and his followers made the 
Al-Kadha , or visit of consummation or accomplishment , and pilgrimage 
of Mecca. At the distance of six miles from that town, they all took an 
oath to perform religiously all the ceremonies and rites prescribed in that 
visit. Being come nearer, they left their arms and baggage, and entered 
the holy city in triumph, devoutly kissed and embraced the black stone 
of the Caaba, and went seven times round the temple. They performed 
the first three rounds by running, jumping, and shaking their shoulders, 
to show their vigour after the fatigue of the journey; the other four, by 
walking gravely, not to over-tire themselves ; and this custom is kept up 
to this day. Then prayer was proclaimed, and the Prophet, mounted on a 
camel, ran seven times between two hills, on which were to be seen, at 
that time, two idols of the Koreish. The Mussulmans were shocked at it; 
but their scruples were quieted by a passage of the Koran sent from 
heaven, in which God declared that those two hills were a memorial of 
him, and that the pilgrims who should visit them ought not to be looked 
upon as guilty of any sin. This same custom is still in use among the 
Arabians, who pretend that it is as ancient as their patriarch Ishmael, and 
look upon it as part of the religious worship practised by Abraham. The 
whole concluded with a sacrifice of seventy camels, and the Mussulmans 
shaved themselves. 

The following year, Moharrimed, accusing the Meccans of a violation of 
the treaty, summoned an army of ten thousand men, with a design to 
make himself master of the city. As he advanced towards it, he found all 
in consternation, increased his army with those who daily flocked to him ; 
and by force, threats, or persuasion, he brought over to his party many 


* Bush’s Life of Mohammed. 















































































102 


LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


proselytes of note, who were likely to procure the conversion of others. 
Then he attacked the Koreish, not like an apostle, but as a conqueror, and 
gave the signal, saying, “This is a day of slaughter, in which,if requisite, 
the most sacred place of refuge may be violated.” His orders were 
obeyed; they entered Mecca sword in hand, and killed all the Koreishites 
they could tind ; but Mohammed pretended this barbarous execution was 
made against his intentions. 

The apostle made his public entry next morning at sunrise, repeating 
aloud, with an affected humility, the chapter of the Koran called Victory , 
wffiich came down from heaven at Hodaiba ; he went directly to the Caaba, 
and, without alighting from his camel, devoutly performed the seven rounds, 
and touched the black stone with his staff; then he dismounted, went in, 
and pulled down all the statues, among others that of Ibrahim or Abraham, 
in the hands of which were the arrows or rods used by Arabian idolaters 
in their divinations by casting lots. On entering, he often repeated the 
words God is great , &c.; and turning to every side of the temple, he 
said prayers with various inclinations of the body, and fixed the Kebla; 
the 360 idols w r hich were round the Caaba, and that which was on the top, 
underwent, according to Arabian waiters, the same fate in a wonderful 
manner; Mohammed only touched them with his cane, saying, Truth is 
come , let falsehood disappear , lying is mere vanity ; and down they fell. 
He then went in and preached in a pulpit, made for that purpose, which 
the Khalifs, who succeeded him, used likewise. The seven rounds were 
now repeated; after which he went to the well of Zem-Zem, made a stop 
at Ibrahim’s footstep, drank large draughts of the sacred water, and washed 
himself: the Mussulmans then followed his example. This well had been 
long reputed to have the virtues of restoring health, of strengthening the 
memory, and of blotting out sin. 

Mohammed now made a speech to the inhabitants of Mecca on the 
favour which God bestowed upon them, by his means, in freeing them 
from idolatry; he also let them know that they were become his slaves; 
but he restored to them that liberty which by the right of conquest they 
had lost. 

Many wonders and heavenly oracles are said to have accompanied this 
ceremony; the apostle disposed of the several offices of the temple, re¬ 
newed the oath to the believers, and they mutually took an oath to bind 
themselves to him. 

In the tenth year of the Hejira, Mohammed made his famous pilgrimage 
to Mecca, called the pilgrimage of Valediction . He was attended on 

Pilgrimage of tllis occas i° n by 90,000 men, some say, 114,000, or, as 
vaieoiction. others will have it, a still greater number. Nor is this to 

be wondered at, when it is considered that the people came in vast 
crowds from all parts of Arabia, of which he was now absolute master, 














































































LIFE 


MOHAMMED. 


OF 


to accompany him in this peregrination. He took all his wives, enclosed 
in their pavilions on the backs of camels, with him ; together with an 
infinite number of camels, intended for victims, which were crowned with 
garlands and ribands. 

It is well known, that the pilgrimage to Mecca is looked upon by the 
Mussulmans to be of such importance, that whoever is able to undertake 
it, and does not perform it once, at least, in his lifetime, is reputed an infi¬ 
del. This custom was complied with long before Mohammed: and the 
Arabians say it is as ancient as the patriarchal age. Mohammed had 
visited the Caaba twice before, as we have related, but in this year he 
vowed and performed it in a most magnificent manner. During the journey, 
he often said prayers with the usual reverences. He entered the holy city 
at the same place as when he took it, and the religious ceremonies were 
the same, in respect to going seven times round the Caaba and kissing the 
black stone twice. From a neighbouring hill he now pronounced this 
form of the profession of the unity of God: God is great; there is no 
God but he only; he has no companion ; the power of governing belongs 
to him ; praise be given to him alone ; he is powerful above all; he only 
is strong. The sun being nearly setting, he instructed the people, and 
taught them the rites to be observed in the pilgrimage, and stood till the 
close of the day. He then said vespers, or evening prayers,—lay on the 
ground, slept till the break of day, and said morning prayers a few 
minutes before the rising of the sun. He now ran through the valley of 
Mohasser to that of Mina, in which are pebble stones; he took up seven 
of them, and threw them one by one against Satan, repeating each time 
the said form of unity. At the place of sacrifice he made a discourse, to 
let the people know the ceremonies of it. He then killed with his own 
hands and offered sixty-three camels ; that is, as many as he was years 
old. Ali killed thirty-seven to make up the hundred. Then these 
words, which are the ratification of the Koran, were heard from heaven :— 
IFo be this day to those who have denied your religion. I have this day 
brought it to its perfection , and have fulfilled my grace upon you. It is 
my good-will and pleasure , that Islamism be henceforth your religion. 
The Mussulman doctors say, that the word religion comprehends all the 
decisions, statutes, and precepts of the law ; and that, since that time, no 
positive nor negative command has come down from heaven. This being 
completed, Mohammed shaved his head, the right side first, then the left, 
threw away the hair, of which, Khaled, one of his officers, tied part to his 
turban, and was powerfully helped by this precious relic, in all the battles 
in which he was afterwards engaged. The whole concluded with a holy 
repast, in which they ate what remained of the sacrificed camels; the pro¬ 
phet then said a prayer, drank some Zem-Zem water, and once more 
made the seven rounds. Within a mile of Mecca is Mount Araa, a place 






























































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


much respected by the Mussulmans, because, according to their tradition, 
Adam and Eve, after their sin, were condemned to a separation for one 
hundred and twenty years, which having expired, they met by God’s 
appointment on the top of this hill, and complied with the so long inter¬ 
rupted conjugal duty. In memory of which, the place is dedicated to 
penance and retirement; of both which duties Mohammed acquitted him¬ 
self, prayed for his own sins, and for those of his followers, and recom¬ 
mended the same acts of devotion in the Koran. 

We are now come to the last period of Mohammed’s life: the last em¬ 
bassy he received was from the Arabians of Yemen, in the month of 
Moharram, the eleventh year of the Hejira; and the last expedition which 
he ordered was in the following month of Safar. Two days after, he fell 
into a sickness, accompanied by a most violent pain in the head ; these 
were occasioned by the poison which he had taken, three years before, at 
Chaibar; and which poison, at certain intervals, had greatly disordered 
him, ever since the reduction of that place. Having now called his wives 
together, he entertained them, chiefly the most beloved of them, and his 
daughter Fatima, with such discourses as showed his fanatical enthu¬ 
siasm, or which were the result of the senseless fancies of a brain distem¬ 
pered by the violence of the fever. But to be able to speak more sensibly 
to his followers, he ordered seven large skins, or measures, full of cold 
water, to be thrown upon him, in order to recall his wandering spirits. 
Then, being carried to the mosque and set in the pulpit, he recited aloud 
the before-mentioned form of unity; begged God’s pardon ; proffered to 
make a public reparation for all the injuries he might have done to any¬ 
body ; and actually paid to a particular person the principal and interest 
of a small sum of money which he pretended was due to him; saying, at 
the same time, It is much more easy to bear shame in this world than in- 
the next. He then said the prayers for noon ; and likewise prayed for the 
dead, according to the agreement and communion which subsist between 
the living and the dead. These and other devout actions he performed as 
long as he had any strength left. 

We shall only mention the Mohammedan fables concerning Gabriel’s 
being often sent by God to inquire how the Prophet did ; his introduction of 
Azrael, the angel of death, to the apostle just before his dissolution, having 
first obtained his leave ; and the pious discourses of all three. Gabriel 
assured him he could not take his life without his express permission: nay, 
he gave him, as they tell us, his option of life or death ; which the Moslem 
doctors look upon as one of the most singular and illustrious prerogatives 
of the Prophet. Whereupon Mohammed, continue these authors, having 
chosen death, and desired the aforesaid angel Azrael to execute his office, 
he was immediately thrown into agonies, that terminated with his life. 
Thus Mohammed died at noon, on a Monday, the twelfth of the month called 


















































































LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 


105 


Rabbi tbe First, in the eleventh year of the Hejira; being about sixty-three 
years old. Historians take notice that he was born on a Monday ; began 
his apostolical functions on a Monday ; fled from Mecca on a Monday ; 
made his entry into Medina on a Monday ; took Mecca on a Monday ; 
and at last died on a Monday. His death was thought so extraordinary 
that it was called an assumption. Some said, He is not dead, he is 
only taken up into heaven, like Jesus in an ecstasy. Others said, He is 
gone to his Lord, as Moses, who left his people for forty days and came 
again. Their disputes ran high respecting his death ; but Abu-Beker, 
who succeeded him, put an end to those quarrels by giving a final sentence, 
that Mohammed was dead, like all other apostles and prophets who had gone 
before him. This decision being unanimously received, his body was 
washed and perfumed, especially those parts which touched the ground at 
the adoration paid to God, viz. the feet, the hands, the knees, and the fore¬ 
head. The ablution called Wodhu was also performed on the face, the 
arms, the palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. Lastly, the whole 
body was embalmed by Ali, whom Mohammed had ordered to do it; and 
those who helped him were hoodwinked, because the Prophet had foretold 
that blindness would be the fate of any other person who should see him 
naked. Strange wonders and sweet odours accompanied this ceremony; at 
least so say the Mussulman writers. Ali dipped some cloths in the water 
with which he had been washed; they imbibed the virtues of it, and Ali, 
who kept them and wore them, became a partaker of those virtues. 

Prayers were now said for him and his family by all the faithful in order. 
Gagnier asserts, that his body was not hung up in an iron chest, as is 
generally reported. 

In relation to the place where the Prophet’s remains were to be depo¬ 
sited, there happened some disputes among his followers. The Mohajerins 
insisted upon his being buried at Mecca, the place of his nativity; and the 
Ansars, at Medina, the place of his residence during the last ten years of 
his life. Others were for transporting him to Jerusalem, and erecting a 
monument for him there among the sepulchres of the prophets. But his 
successor, Abu-Beker, decided the whole affair at once, by declaring that a 
prophet ought to be interred in the place where he died ; and that he had 
heard Mohammed, in his lifetime, own himself to be of this opinion. 
Whereupon the body was buried in a grave dug under the bed on which 
he died, in the apartment of Ayesha, his best-beloved wife, at Medina, 
where it remains to this day, in a magnificent building, covered with a 
cupola, and adjoining to the east side of the great temple, which is built in 
the midst of the city. 

The sorrow and doleful complaints of the Mussulmans on this occasion 
were no doubt very great; but we shall omit the enthusiastic description 
of them given by Arabian historians, to give the true character of this 



9JI 0& 
In 


















































































10G 


LIFE OF MOIIAMMED. 


LI® 


sprr\ irtrf 1 

f© fi!/ 

prophet. As to his person and outward appearance, he was of a middle 


, stature, neither endowed with extraordinary beauty, nor in any way de- 
- >y i formed. The Arabians, indeed, assert that the prophetic light, which 
fj descended lineally from Adam to him, made his face as bright as the sun. 
,/ ; 1 Nor must we omit what thev say of his spittle, viz. that it was so sweet 


(gjh 

and of so good a taste, that children might have been fed with it. A wen 
which he had between his shoulders, and which disappeared at his death. 

•@5 

was, they say, the seal of prophecy; to which they add, that flies and 
othei insects were never troublesome to him, and that, consequently, his 
skin was always soft and shining. 

Those authors are likewise as extravagant in their description of his 
mind. We may easily believe, however, that he was far more ingenious 
than others of his countrymen, upon whom he prevailed by his subtle 
devices, natural eloquence, and remarkable affability: the latter quality 
was, however, sometimes assumed, not without a mixture of severity. He 


affected likewise to be thought a great lover of justice and truth. He was 


so liberal to the poor as to be called their father, never refused to give alms 
to them, and maintained constantly forty at his own charge. It is said, 


too, that though he was master of an immense estate, yet he often had 
nothing left but what was absolutely necessary for the support of his family. 


nil W \ 

p 1*11 11* 1 1* * ** *1 


7 { say of him, that he took his meals standing, or in an uneasy situation, with 
r; his servant; made his own shoes, his clothes ; swept the house, and even 
prepared the victuals for his men ! So far the austerity of his life seemed 
; \ to imitate the severity of the anchorites and solitaries of Egypt and the 

, neighbourhood of Arabia. This mortification was no doubt practised in 
j order to dazzle the common people, and inspire them with the highest 
\ opinion of, and veneration for, his sanctity. 



LJutwith all these hardships, he indulged himsell in a seraglio oi twenty- 

4 

one, and even twenty-five wives : women, it seems, to use his own expres¬ 
sion, rejoiced his sight and raised his fervour at his prayers. Five of his 

XyJ 

[V 

v yc \ A 

wives died before him ; from six he was divorced, and ten remained in a 
state of widowhood after the Prophet’s death. 

M nnn m m & n nnrl imir onnc; anrl fV\n r* rlonnrKf^ro Kir i o nn* fA 


vL/ Vi # 

; : by any of his other wives or concubines, except Mary the Copt. All his 



sons died in their infancy. Such was the life, such the death, and such 
the character of Mohammed. That the desire of satisfying his sensuality 
was one of the principal motives of his undertaking, seems indisputably 
clear, from the oreat number of wives and concubines he mnintnined. 


) r well as from the wicked and unjustifiable methods he was obliged to make 
f ~r'y j)| use of, in order to obtain possession of some of them. 

Before the death of Mohammed, he had become master of all Arabia; 





































































RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


had extended his conquest to the borders of the Greek and Persian em 

Mohammedan P* res 5 rendered his name formidable to those once 
requests. mighty kingdoms ; had tried his arms against the disci¬ 

plined troops of the former, and defeated them in a desperate encounter at 
Muta. His throne was now firmly established ; and an impulse given to 
the Arabian nations, which induced them to invade, and enabled them to 
conquer, a large portion of the globe. India, Persia, the Greek empire, 
the whole of Asia Minor, Egypt, Barbary, and Spain, were eventually 
reduced by their victorious arms. Mohammed himself did not indeed live 
to see such mighty conquests achieved, but he commenced the train whicl 
resulted in this wide-spread dominion ; and before his death, had esta¬ 
blished over the whole of Arabia, and some parts of Asia, the religion 
which he had devised. 


CHAPTER II. 

RELIGIOUS TENETS, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF THE MOHAM¬ 
MEDANS. 

All Mussulmans look upon the pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed 
as one of the chief duties of their religion. The Arabian doctors say that 
Pilgrimage to the Mohammed enjoined it, and it is well known that supersti- 
nied. tion lays a great stress on such ceremonies. Whoever un- 

■m 

dertakes to perform it must often, even upon the road, turn himself towards 
Medina to pray; as soon as he sees the tops of the trees about the town, 
he ought to renew his devotion, and repeat without intermission the ap¬ 
pointed form of prayers, to beg of God that this visit to the holy sanctuary 
of the prophet may be acceptable, and may deliver him from hell. Before 
he enters the city, he is enjoined to wash himself, to use perfumes, put on 
his best apparel, and to give alms. Having entered, he says a prayer, and 
another when he comes into the mosque: this latter is for Mohammed and 
his family. The pilgrim then goes towards the tomb, stays some time at 
the place where the Prophet prayed, and also at some other places, accord¬ 
ingly as his devotion suggests ta.him. Being at last arrived near the holy 
place, he first prostrates himself on the ground, pays his adoration to God, 
gives him thanks for having conducted him safely thither; then standing 
up, with his face turned towards Mecca, he prays for the Prophet and his 
two successors, Abu-Beker and Omar: he does not, while praying, even 

lean against the wall which encloses the monument, as that would be con- 
© 

sidered indecent and a profanation. Gagnier says, that “ the pilgrim looks 
on the ground, and there fixing his eyes, salutes the Prophet, with the 











































































RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC 


utmost veneration and respect; at the same time withdrawing his thoughts 

and affections from all worldly concerns, as becomes one who is in the 

presence of God and his apostle,” &c. On the Friday following, he goes ; 

to a burying-ground, called Al-Baki , where several of the companions of G; 

Mohammed lie interred, and visits the tombs of the chief ladies and others v 

of his family, servants,and successors; as well as of Fatima his daughter, wj 

Ibrahim his son, and the Mussulman martyrs, &c. Then he washes him- V.5 1 

self in and drinks some of the water of the well called Jlris, into which . 

the Prophet had spitten ; and performs several prostrations at other < 

mosques, oratories, and wells in Medina, &c. Mohammed himself said, y’ 

that one prayer in his own mosque is better than a thousand anywhere 

else / and that he would intercede for all those who die at Medina. 

The Caaba is a stone edifice in the temple of Mecca, which has been 

revered with superior sanctity by the Arabians from the remotest antiquity, 

and to which every Mohammedan is required by the Koran vj| 

to direct himself in prayer. 

Among the variety of fabulous traditions which have been propagated 

by the followers of Mohammed concerning the origin of this building, we ( % 

• • • • * 
find it asserted, that its existence is coeval with our first parents, and that ' 

it was built by Adam, after his expulsion from Paradise, from a represen- ■ 

tation of the celestial temple, which the Almighty let down from heaven j 

in curtains of light, and placed in Mecca, perpendicular under the original, -y.A 

To this the patriarch was commanded to turn his face when he prayed, 

and to compass it by way of devotion, as the angels did the heavenly one. 

After the destruction of this temple by the Deluge, it was rebuilt byAbra- |f®). 

9 • I \ 

ham and his son Ishmael on the same spot, and after the same model, IVf 
according to directions which they received by revelation; and since that ( 
time, it has continued to be the object of veneration to Ishmael’s descend- j "■'.gr¬ 
ants. Whatever discredit we 


The Caaba, or 
Temple of Mecca. 


may give to these and other ravings of the 
Moslem impostor concerning the Caaba, its high antiquity cannot be dis¬ 
puted ; and the most probable account is, that it was built and used for 
religious purposes by some of the early patriarchs, and after the intro¬ 
duction of idols, it came to be appropriated to the reception of the Pagan 
divinities. Diodorus Siculus, in his description of the coast of the Red 
Sea, mentions this temple as being, in his time, held in great veneration 
by all the Arabians; and Pococke informs us, that the linen or silken veil 
with which it is covered was first offered by a pious king of the Hamyar- 
ites, seven hundred years before the time of Mohammed. It had been 
frequently repaired, and was rebuilt a few years after the birth of this pro¬ 
phet by the tribe of Koreish, who had acquired the possession of it either 
by fraud or violence from the Khozaites. The Caaba then contained three 
hundred and sixty images of men, lions, eagles, &c., the objects of idola¬ 
trous worship, which were all destroyed by Mohammed after the taking 





































































i - 




109 


OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 


of Mecca, when it was purified and adorned, and consecrated to the service 
of Islam. It received several reparations after his death, and was rebuilt 
by one of his successors, with some alterations, in the form in which it 
now stands. 

As no European is permitted to visit Mecca, the only knowledge we 
have of the present appearance of the Caaba is derived from the descrip¬ 
tion and draughts of the Mohammedans, who indeed speak of it in terms 
of high admiration. It would appear, however, even from their designs, 
that it is an awkward and shapeless building. It consists of a sort of 
square tower, 24 cubits by 23, and 27 high, covered on the top with rich 
blrck damask, bordered with an embroidery of gold, which was formerly 
renewed every year by the Mohammedan Caliphs, afterwards by the SuM 
tans of Egypt, and which is now annually provided by the Ottoman 
Porte. The floor is raised six feet from the ground ; and a door anc 
window admit the light. Its double roof is supported by three octagonal 
pillars of aloes wood, between which are suspended several silver lamps ; 
and the gutters on the top are made of pure gold. At a small distance 
from this tower, on the east side, is the station of Abraham, where is a 
stone upon which the patriarch is supposed to have stood when he buil 
the Caaba, and which, they pretend, still bears the traces of his footsteps 
It is enclosed in an iron chest; and here the sect of A1 Shafei meet for 
religious purposes. On the north of the Caaba is the white stone , withir 
a semicircular enclosure, 50 cubits long, which is said to be the sepulchre 
of Ishmael, and which receives the rain-water that falls from the Caaba by 
a golden spout. This stone is of considerable antiquity, and was even 
held in great veneration by the Pagan Arabs. Towards the south-east is 
the well Zem-Zem, remarkable for the excellence and medicinal quality ^ . 
of its waters, as well as its miraculous origin. It is affirmed to be the 
same spring which, miraculously bursting out of the ground, suppliec 
Ishmael and his mother Hagar when overcome with thirst in the wilder¬ 
ness of Beersheba; and is celebrated by the Mohammedans not only for 
curing many bodily diseases, but also, if taken copiously, for healing all 
spiritual disorders, and procuring an absolute remission of sins. The 
well is protected by a dome or cupola; and its water is drunk with much ? 
devotion by the pilgrims, and conveyed in bottles to the most distant quar¬ 
ters of the Mohammedan dominions. But the most singular relic, regarded^ 
with extreme veneration, is the famous black stone, which the Mohamme 
dans pretend was one of the precious stones of Paradise, brought dowr 
from heaven by the angel Gabriel. According to the received tradition 
derived from Mohammed himself, it was originally of such a bright white 
colour as to dazzle the eyes at the distance of four days’ journey ; but tha 
it wept so long and so abundantly for the sins of mankind, that it became a 
length opaque, and at last absolutely black. When the Carmathians toik 
8 








& 































































110 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


Mecca, they pillaged the Caaba, and carried off the black stone in triumph 
to their capital. The Meccans made every effort to recover it, both by 
entreaties and the offer of 5000 pieces of gold, but without effect. The 
Carmathians, however, after having kept it twenty-two years, sent it back 
of their own accord. It is now set in silver, and fixed in the south-east 
corner of the Caaba, looking towards Basra, about three feet and a half 
from the ground. It is called by the Mohammedans “the right hand of 
God,” and is kissed by the pilgrims with great devotion. 

The Caaba is almost surrounded with a circular enclosure of pillars, 
connected at the top by bars of silver, and towards the bottom by a low 
balustrade. Without this enclosure, on the south, north, and west, are 
three oratories, where three of the Mohammedan sects assemble to perform 
their devotion. The whole is enclosed at a considerable distance by a 
square colonnade, or great piazza, covered with small cupolas, and consist¬ 
ing of 448 pillars, from which hang numerous lamps, and 38 gates ; and 
from each corner rises a minaret or steeple, adorned with a gilded spire 
and crescent. This enclosure was built by the Caliph Omar, to prevent 
the court of the Caaba from being encroached upon by private buildings. 
It was at first merely a low wall, but has since been raised by the liberal¬ 
ity of succeeding princes to its present magnificent state. The whole 
structure of the Caaba is in a peculiar manner styled A1 Masjad A1 Haram, 
“the sacred or inviolable place which appellation, however, is sometimes 
extended to the whole territory of Mecca. 

According to the command of Mohammed, every Mussulman must, 
once in his life, visit the Caaba, and perform the customary acts of devo¬ 
tion in the sacred places. But could the Prophet have foreseen to what 
distant regions his religion was to be introduced by the arms of his fol¬ 
lowers, he would soon have perceived the absurdity of such an injunction. 
Few, in comparison with the immense numbers who have embraced the 
doctrines of Islam, can be supposed able to discharge this duty ; and we pre¬ 
sume, that it is only such as are more than ordinarily devout that are ever 
induced to visit the Caaba from religious motives. Many pilgrims, how¬ 
ever, resort to the city of Mecca ; but commercial ideas mingle with those 
of devotion, and the arcades of the temple are often filled with the richest 
merchandise from every quarter of the world. This duty may be dis¬ 
charged by proxy ; but the pilgrim, in such a character, can act only for 
one person at a time ; and, to prevent all imposture, he must carry back 
)j with him a certificate from the Iman of Mecca, of his having actually 
performed all the devotional exercises or ceremonies appointed by the law, 
in the name of his principal.* 


In connection with the foregoing account of the temple of Mecca, we 



* New Edinburgh Enryclop., art. Caaba. 














































































OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 


119 

shall here give an account of the pilgrimage to Mecca, which, as stated 

Pilgrimage to a ^ ove > Mohammed enjoined upon all his faithful followers 
Mecca. to perform, at least, once in his life. As soon as the devo¬ 

tees arrive at the consecrated district of Mecca, they perform a general 
ablution with water and sand; repeat a prayer, after stripping off their 
garments ; and put on the sacred habit of colourless woollen cloth, with 
sandals, which only defend the soles of their feet. They are now de¬ 
voted to spiritual meditation, and must not even remove any vermin from 
their bodies. After reaching the city of Mecca, they encircle the Caaba 
seven times, like their pagan predecessors; repeat certain prayers; drink 
copiously of the well Zem-Zem; and kiss, with all their ardour, the 
sacred black stone. On the first and second of the three days, (the period 
for which the Caaba is open every six weeks,) the men and women offer 
their devotions alternately; and on the last day, the Sheriff of Mecca, the 
chiefs of the tribes, and the illustrious strangers present in the city, pro¬ 
ceed to wash and sweep the temple. The foul water is caught and drunk 
by the multitude; the besoms of palm-leaves are treasured up as precious 
relics; and the black cloth which surrounds the door and bottom of the 
building is cut off and divided among the pilgrims. The next part of the 
duty is to visit the mountain of Arafal, for the offering up of various 
prayers at certain times and places; and thence to Mina, where every 
individual must cast a few small stones (always an uneven number) at the 
devil’s house there, to show their detestation of the owner. A sacrifice is 
finally made of a goat, camel, or cow, in commemoration of Abraham’s 
willingness to offer up his son; and after spending three days in this val¬ 
ley, the pilgrims return to Mecca, previous to their departure to their 
respective countries. As they are all allowed to trade on this pilgrimage, 
the holy city is crowded on these occasions with such merchandise of 
every country as is most easy of carriage and best adapted for sale ; and 
in former times, the fair of Mecca was accounted the greatest on the face 
of the earth. 

The word Koran comes from the Hebrew word cara, to read: Al signi¬ 
fies the , and koran , reading; so the Jews call the Bible Micra. Other 
, Arabian doctors say it is derived from caara, to gather; 

Koran or Al- # J . 

Koran. because having been given in portions, it was afterwards 

put into one. The Mohammedans have as great a veneration for the 
Koran as Christians profess for the Bible. Both these words equally 
signify the Book , by way of preference to any other; that is, the Book of 
Books . 

One hundred and fourteen chapters, some longer, some shorter, make up 
the whole book: these are called by the French surates , from the Arabic 
word sua , in the plural sowar , which signifies order, or a series , or a file; 
and answers to what the Jews call seder, of which they reckon fifty-three 






















































\ 






RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


V 


jt 


i 


9k 


in the Pentateuch. Each chapter of the Koran has a particular denomi¬ 
nation, taken from the subject of which it treats, or from some person men¬ 
tioned in it; but more frequently from the first word which those who have 
put it in order have thought worthy of notice, though it occurs sometimes 
only toward the end of the chapter. 

The Koran is also divided into sixty equal parts, each of which is sub¬ 
divided into four, in imitation of the Jews. “ These sixty portions,” says 
Herbelot, “are a kind of public service performed in the mosques, on va¬ 
rious occasions, by persons hired for that purpose.” 

The Mussulmans know no bounds to the praises which they bestow upon 
this book :—it is written with the greatest elegance of style, in the purest 
Arabic dialect used by the Koreish, but intermixed now and then with 
other dialects. This was not an effect of neglect, nor of a lazy disposition, 
but in order to give the discourse a greater and more lively strength of 
expression, or to make it more harmonious. Indeed, all those who are 
versed in the Arabic language unanimously agree, that the Koran cannot 
be the production of an idle and lazy author. Although it be written in 
prose, the energy and harmony of its style must have cost the writer great 
labour and industry, and raises the work to the sublime character of 
poetry; yet the difficulty of finding out certain witty turns often interrupts 
the thread of the discourse, and consequently renders it obscure, which 
has obliged Mohammed not to be concise and short, but to use frequent 
repetitions. His figures are bold, in the oriental taste ; his expression 
strong and pithy; the turn of his phrases, in imitation of the prophets of 
the Old Testament, is full of interruptions; and it appears throughout the 
whole, that all the heart and eloquence of which Mohammed was master 
have been employed in the most proper places. The mention of God, and 
the description of his attributes, are always lofty and majestic : oracles are 
pronounced with a raised and elevated style, proportioned to t*he dignity 
of the subject. In short, the Arabians are so charmed with the beauties of 
the Koran, that in all their writings they endeavour to copy this perfect 
original; and without a competent knowledge of this one book, all others 
become unintelligible. 

It is a remark of Sir William Jones, that the Koran shines with a bor¬ 
rowed light, since most of its beauties are taken from our Scriptures. Of 

The Koran ^e trut ^ °f this remark, every reader would be satisfied 
Christian who should compare the two. He would find, for example. 
Scriptures. many of the historical details of the Christian Scriptures in 
the Koran ; such as the creation of the world, the fall of Adam, the De¬ 
luge, the deliverance of Noah and his family in the ark, the call of Abra¬ 
ham, the stories of Isaac and Ishmael, &c. &c. At the same time we 
would find these subjects nterspersed with extravagant fables and mon¬ 
strous perversions of truth He would also perceive that the Koran is 


|(®y 


M 




S' 




Stan 




























































OF THE MOHAMMEDANS 


indebted to the Scriptures for not a few of its sentiments, but that their 
verj imagery and phraseology have in hundreds of instances been adopted. 
The following may serve as an example of the correspondence to which 
we have alluded :— 


BIBLE. 

Take heed that ye do not your 
alms before men to be seen of them ; 
otherwise ye have no reward of your 
Father which is in heaven. 

Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved 
of God among you by miracles and 
wonders, and signs which God did by 
him. 

Thou shalt give life for life, tooth 
for tooth, foot for foot, burning for 
burning, wound for wound, stripe for 
stripe. 


KORAN. 

Make not your alms of none effect, 
by reproaching or mischief; as he 
that layeth out what he hath, to ap¬ 
pear unto men to give alms. 

We gave unto Jesus, the son of 
Mary, manifest signs, and strength¬ 
ened him with the Holy Spirit. 


We have therein commanded them 
that they should give life for life, and 
eye for eye, and nose for nose, and 
ear for ear, and tooth for tooth, and 
that wounds should be punished by 
retaliation. 

There is of them who hearkeneth 
unto thee when thou readest the 
Koran ; but we have cast veils over 
their hearts, that they should not un¬ 
derstand it, and deafness in their 
ears. 

The infidels say, Unless some sign 
be sent down unto him from his Lord, 
we will not believe. 

It is he who hath created the hea¬ 
vens and the earth : And whenever 
he sayeth unto a thing, Be, it is. 


But their minds were blinded : for 
until this day remaineth the same veil 
untaken away in the reading of the 
Old Testament. But even unto this 
day when Moses is read, the veil is 
upon their heart. 

They said therefore unto him, 
What sign showest thou then, that 
we may see and believe thee ? 

In the beginning God created the 
heaven and the earth. And God said, 
Let there be light, and there was 
light. 

And when he (Moses) was full 
forty years old, it came into his heart 
t© visit his brethren, the children of 
Israel. 

And in the latter time of their 
kingdom, when the transgressors 
are come to the full, a king of fierce 
countenance, and understanding 
dark sentences, shall stand up. 


I have already dwelt among you 
to the age of forty years before I re¬ 
ceived it (the Koran.) Do ye there¬ 
fore not understand ? 

According to thy dream shall thy 
Lord choose thee and teach thee the 
interpretation of dark sayings. 

We taught him the interpretation, 
of dark sayings, but the greater part 
of men do not understand. 


































































RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


BIBLE. 

I will open my mouth in parables ; 
I will utter things which have been 
kept secret from the foundation of 
the world. 

And the seventh angel sounded ; 
and there were great voices in hea¬ 
ven, saying, The kingdoms of this 
world are become the kingdoms of 
(ur Lord and of his Christ. 

For behold, I created new heavens 
r.nd a new earth. We look for new 
1 eavens and a new earth. I will 
cause you to come up out of your 
graves. And every man shall receive 
his own reward according to his own 
labour. 


KORAN. 

O Lord, thou hast given me a part 
of the kingdom, and hast taught me 
the interpretation of dark sayings. 

And his will be the kingdom on 
the day whereon the trumpet shall 
be sounded. 


The day will come when the earth 
shall be changed into another earth, 
and the heavens into other heavens ; 
and men shall come forth from their 
graves to appear before the only, the 
mighty God. That God may reward 
every soul according to what it shall 
have deserved. 


As to the true origin of the Koran, a difference of opinion has existed 
among writers. The majority, however, have agreed in supposing that in 
„ . . . , the construction of the Koran, Mohammed was indebted to 

Origin of the 

Koran - the assistance of one or more accomplices. That this opi¬ 

nion prevailed in the time of the Prophet is certain, since in the Koran it 
is said, “ We also know that they say, Verily a certain man teacheth him 
to compose the Koran.” “And the unbelievers say, This Koran is no 
other than a forgery, which he hath contrived : and other people have 
assisted him therein : but they utter an unjust thing and a falsehood.” 
But notwithstanding this emphatic denial on the part of the Prophet of 
assistance, writers have still believed that he had aid, especially from a 
Nestorian monk named Sergius, supposed to be the same person as the 
Boheira, with whom he became acquainted at an early period of his life at 
Bosra, in Syria. Still, however, it must be admitted, that there is no cer¬ 
tain evidence in the case, and it will probably remain an unsolved pro¬ 
blem to the end of time what was the precise origin of this remarkable 
book, although in respect to its human and uninspired composition ther6 
exists not a doubt. 

Mohammedan The articles of faith which every good Mussulman is 
piofession of faith, bound to believe and receive with an entire assurance are 
thirteen in number, of which the first and principal is as follows : 

To believe from the heart, to confess with the tongue, and with a volun¬ 
tary and steadfast mind to affirm, that there is but one only God, Lord 
and Governor of the universe, who produced all things from nothing, of 































































OF THE MOHAMMEDANS 


whom there is neither image nor resemblance, who never 
begot any person whatsoever, as he himself was begotten by 
none ; who, as he never was a son, so he never hath been a father. It is 
this Lord and Sovereign Arbiter of all things whom we Mussulmans are 
bound to serve and adore; so that none among us may deviate from this 
article, but every one must imprint it deeply in his heart; for it is unques¬ 
tionable. 

We must believe from our hearts and confess with our mouths that the 
M ost High God, after having revealed himself to mankind by his ancient 
ProphetMoham- prophets, sent us at length his Elected, the blessed Moham- 
ran! and the K ° med, with the sacred and divine law, which through his 
grace he had created, the which is contained in the venerable Koran, that 
hath been from him remitted unto us. By this holy law it is that God 
hath abolished all the preceding ones, and hath withdrawn from their 
doubts and errors all nations and people, in order to guide them to a firm 
and lasting state of happiness. Wherefore we are obliged exactly to follow 
the precepts, rites, and ceremonies thereof, and to abandon every other sect 
or religion whatsoever, whether instituted before or since this final revela¬ 
tion. By this article we are distinguished and separated from all sorts of 
idolatry, lying rhapsodies, and false prophecies, and from all those sects, 
societies, and religions different from ours, which are either erroneous, 
abrogated, or exaggerated, void of faith, and without truth. 

We must firmly believe and hold as a certainty, that, except God him¬ 
self, who always was, and always shall be, every thing shall one day be 
annihilated, and that the angel of death shall take to him¬ 
self the souls of mortals destined to a total and universal 
extinction,* by the command of God, our powerful Lord and Master, who 
was able and hath vouchsafed to produce out of nothing, and in fine to set 
in form this universal world, with all things therein contained, both good 
and evil, sweet and bitter; and hath been pleased to appoint two angels, 
the one on the right, and the other on the left, to register the actions of 
every one of us, as well the good as the bad, to the end that judicial cogni¬ 
sance may be taken thereof, and sentence pronounced thereupon, at the 
great day of judgment. It is therefore necessary to believe predestina¬ 
tion: but it is not permitted to discourse thereof to any whomsoever, till 
after being perfectly well verged in the study of our written law, viz. the 
Koran, and of our Sonnah, which is our oral law. Seeing then all things 
are to have an end, let us do good works, and deport ourselves so that we 
may live for ever. 

We must truly and firmly believe, and hold as certain and assured, the 


God’s existence 


Providence and 
predestination. 


* Notwithstanding this annihilation, it is taught in the Koran that all intelligent crea¬ 
tures will be reproduced again at the resurrection- 





















































RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC 


make a proper answer to tnese questions, snail De invoivea m uarKiie&» 
until the day of judgment. 

We must heartily believe, and hold as certain, that not only shall all 
hings one day perish and be annihilated,—viz. angels, men, and devils,— 
but likewise this shall come to pass at the end of the world, 
when the angel Israfil shall blow the trumpet in such 
sort—that, except the sovereign God, none of the universal creation shall 
remain alive immediately after the dreadful noise, which shall cause the 
mountains to tremble, the earth to sink, and the sea to be changed to the 
colour of blood. In this total extinction, the last who shall die will be 
Azrael, the angel of death ; and the power of the Most High God will be 
evidently manifested. 

We are obliged cordially to believe, and to hold for certain, that the first 
before all others whom God shall revive in heaven shall be the angel of 
death ; and that he will at that time recall all the souls in 
general, and reunite them to the respective bodies to which 
each belonged ; some of which shall be destined to glory, and others to 
torment. But, upon earth, the first whom God will raise shall be our 
blessed prophet Mohammed. As for the earth itself, it shall open on all 
sides, and shall be changed in a moment ; and by God’s command fire 
shall be kindled in every part thereof, which shall be extended to its utmost 
extremities. God will then prepare a vast plain, perfectly level, and of 
sufficient extent to contain all creatures summoned to give an account of 
their past conduct. May this solemn, definite, and irrevocable judgment 
awaken us from our security; for to nothing that hath been created shall 
favour be showed. Every soul shall be judged there by the same rule, 
and without exception of persons. 

We must believe from our hearts, and hold for certain, that there shall 
be a day of judgment, whereon God shall ordain all nations to appear in a 
The day of judg- P^ ace appointed for this great trial, of sufficient vastness 
ment * that His Majesty may there be evident in splendour. It is 

in this magnificent and spacious station that the universal assembly of ali 
creatures shall be made, about the middle of the day, and in the bright¬ 
ness of noon : and then it is that, accompanied by his prophet, (Mo¬ 
hammed,) and in the presence of all mankind, God shall with justice and 
equity judge all nations of the earth in general, and every person in par- 


The future dis' 
solution. 


The future re 
surrection. 




































































OF THE MOHAMMEDANS 


Mohammed’s in 
tercession. 




lip 

1(®J| 





































































118 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


our actions, good and bad, shall one day be weighed in the balance, the 
one against the other, insomuch that those whose good 

Of the balance, & ° 

ami of purgatory, works outweigh their bad shall enter into paradise; and 

that, on the contrary, they whose bad works shall outweigh their good, 
shall be condemned to the flames of hell. And for those whose scales 
shall be equally poised, because the good they have done is equivalent to 
the evil, they shall be detained in a station situate in the middle, between 
paradise and hell, where consideration will be made both of their merits 
and of their demerits; since, besides their being confined in that place, 
they shall have no punishment inflicted on them, nor shall they enjoy any 
part of the glory ordained for the beatified righteous. It is true, that all 
those among that number who are Mussulmans shall be at length released 
from their captivity, and shall be introduced into paradise at the second 
intercession of our blessed prophet Mohammed, whose great compassion 
will be signalized by his engaging, in order to our redemption, to suppli¬ 
cate the power and the mercy of the Most High, as well as his justice, 
already satisfied by the long captivity of the criminals. Wherefore, let us 
from henceforward weigh our good works, to the end that we may assidu¬ 
ously strive to increase their weight, and that they may have the advantage 
over the bad. 

We are obliged to believe from our hearts, and to hold as assured, that 
all mankind in the world must pass, one day, over the Sharp-edged Bridge, 

The sharp- w ^ ose length shall be equal to that of this world, whose 
th| ed u I navofdaMe breadth shall not exceed that of one single thread of a spi- 
passage thereof. der’s web, and whose height shall be proportionable to its 
extent. The righteous shall pass over it swifter than a flash of lightning : 
but the impious and the ungodly shall not, in as much time as the pre¬ 
sent age shall endure, be able to surmount the difficulties thereof, and 
that through the want of good works. For which reason, they shall fall 
and precipitate themselves into hell-fire, in company with the infidels and 
blasphemers, with those of little faith and bad conscience, who have done 
few deeds of charity, because they were void of virtue. There shall be 
some among the good, notwithstanding, whose passage shall be lighter 
and swifter than that of many others, who shall therein meet with temp¬ 
tations and obstructions from every precept which they shall have ill ob¬ 
served in this life. Good God ! how dreadful to our sight will this 
formidable bridge appear! What virtue, what secret grace from the Most 
High, shall we not need to be enabled to pass over it! 

We are to believe, and to hold for a certainty, that God did create a 
paradise, which he prepared for the blessed, from among the number of 
the faithful, by which are meant the followers of the true 

Paradise 

religion and of our holy prophet Mohammed; where, with 
him, they shall be placed in perpetual light, and in the enjoyment of hea 






















































































TjO 






OF THE MOILVMMEDANS. 

venly delights ; for ever beautiful in the vigour of their age, and brighter 
than the sun ; and where they shall be found worthy to contemplate and 
ndore the face of the Most High God. As for those who shall be detained 
in the tortures of hell,—to wit, the sinners and transgressors, who have 
nevertheless believed in one only God,—they shall be released at the 
second intercession of the Prophet, by whom they shall immediately be 
washed in the sacred laver, from whence being come forth whiter than 
snow, and more refulgent than the sun, they shall, with the rest of the 
blessed, behold themselves seated in paradise, there to enjoy all the glory 
they can desire. This is what shall befall the body composed of clay : 
and what then shall be the state of our souls ? To the which it shall be 
granted eternally to behold the light and brightness of the divine majesty. 
Let us, then, endeavour to do works of such a character, that we may 
have no cause to fear hell-fire. Let us, I say, chiefly apply ourselves to 
good works,—let us not refuse to exert our utmost strength in the exact 
observation thereof, and of the fast of our venerable month of Ramadan 
with the prayers and ceremonies which are ordained ; and let us not 
defraud the poor of a tenth of all our goods. 

We must sincerely believe, and hold for certain, that there is a hell pre¬ 
pared for the unrighteous, the refractory transgressors of the divine law, 
accursed of God for their evil works, and for whom it 
would have been better had they never been born, and to 
have never seen the light of day. It is for such as those that a place of 
torment is appointed, or rather a fire which burneth without touching 
them, a fire of ice and north winds, where there shall be nothing but 
snakes and serpents, with other venomous and ravenous creatures, which 
shall bite them without destroying them, and shall cause them to feel 
grievous pains. That place shall be the abode of the impious and of the 
devils, where these shall, with all sorts of cruelty and rage, incessantly 
torture those: and lest the sense of their pain should cause them to relent, 
a new skin shall continually succeed in the stead of that which has been 
burnt or mortified. It is for us Mussulmans to conceive and entertain a 
just horror of this detestable place ; such reflections are the duty of all 
God’s servants. As for those others who have declared war against our 
religion, they shall one day feel the torments of hell. Let us all dread 
this punishment and these frightful terrors. Let us confirm our faith by 
the sentiments of our hearts and by the confession of our tongues, and 
let us engrave it in the bottom of our souls. 

It belongs in this place to give some account of the Mohammedan Lit- 
uro-v. The following abstract is from the Turkish Cate- 

Mohammedan 

Liturgy. chism. 

The religion of the Islamites contains six chief principles:— 

The first is the confession of the true God, and consists in believing 


Hell. 






























































©Y® 




RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 

that there is but one true and eternal God, and that Mohammed is bis 
apostle. 

The second is the regular practice of ablution and purification. 

The third is a regular observation of the prayers, as prescribed. 

The fourth is giving alms. 

The fifth is the fast of the month of Ramadan. 

The sixth is the pilgrimage of Mecca, from which no Mussulman can. 
be dispensed, if able to perform it. 

As to the purifications which are prescribed, seven different sorts of 
water may be used in them : viz. rain-water, sea, river. 

Ablutions. «« • i i 

well, spring, snow, and hail-water. 

There are three sorts of ablutions and purifications. 

The first, which is called Gasl, is a kind of immersion. The second 
named Wodou, concerns particularly the hands and feet. The third is 
p | made with earth or gravel, instead of water. 

Three rules are to be observed in this ablution of the body :—First, 
.. „ . those who do it must resolve to please God. Secondly, all 

Ablution called 1 J 




% 


/. 




%o\ 


NS 


Purification 
called Wodou. 


Ti 




y 


\i 


\3 : 

©) 


Gasl - the dirt of the body must be washed ofF. Thirdly, the 

water must touch the whole skin, and all the hair of the body. 

The Sonnet, which is the Oral Law of the Mohammedans, requires 
five things more:—First, that the usual form, “In the name of God,” 
TNI rec ^ te( ^* Second, that we should wash the palms of our hands 

| before the jugs be emptied into the washing-place. Third, that before 
©| the prayers, some expiatory lustration should be made, with peculiar 
ceremonies. Fourth, that to take off all dirt, the skin should be rubbed 
with the hand. Fifth, that all this be continued to the end of the ablu¬ 
tion. 

Six things are to be considered in this kind of purification :—1. It must 
be performed with an intention to please God. 2. The 
whole face is to be washed. 3. The hands and arms up to 
the elbow. 4. The head, or some parts, must be rubbed. 5. The feet 
and heels are to be made clean. 6. The ceremonies prescribed must be 
exactly complied with. 

Besides which, the ten institutions of the Sonna must be followed :— 
1. The form, “In the name of God,” &c., must be used. 2. The palms 
of the hands washed before the jugs be emptied into the washing-place. 
3. The face cleaned. 4. Some of the water drawn up the nostrils 
5 . The whole head and ears rubbed. 6. Thick and long beards must be 
parted, to be better cleaned. 7. The toes washed one after the other, each 
singly. 8. The right hand and foot to be washed before the left. 9. All 
these things must be repeated thrice. 10 . There must be no intermission 
in this performance. 

Four rules are prescribed in this purification:—1. It must be per- 


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OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 


Prayers. 


formed with an intention to please God. 2. The face ought to be well 

Purification with ru bbed. 3. The same is to be done to the hands and 
Earth or Gravel, arms, and elbows, and to the feet. 4. The said order 

must be exactly kept. 

Add to this the precepts of the Sonna: —1. The form, “In the name 
of God,” &c., must be recited. 2. The right hand must be rubbed 
before the left, and so of the feet. 3. There must be no intermission in 
this rite. 

I. Thirteen rules are prescribed concerning prayers:—1. The inten¬ 
tion. 2. The greatness of the names of God. 3. The form of the unity 

of God, God is great , $*c. 4. The right, or straight posi¬ 

tion of the body ; which is, the feet are close together, the 
hands raised up to the head, or joined and laid upon the breast, or each 
apart upon the knees, bending the body. The adoration is made with the 
face to the ground, sitting with their hands upon their thighs; they say, 
Lord , accept of our standing, bending , adoring , and sitting. 5. Read¬ 
ing the first chapter of the Koran, which is as highly valued by Mussul¬ 
mans as the Lord’s Prayer by Christians. 6. Bowing the body towards 
the earth. 7. Raising from that first bowing. 8. A second adoration or 
prostrating with the face to the ground" 9. Sitting down. 10. A second 
sitting down. 11. The second form about Mohammed; the first was about 

o 

God himself. 12. The words of it, which are to be repeated. 13. The 
observing punctually each of these in their order. 

II. The Sonna requires four things more:—1. That the people be 
invited to prayers. 2. That this invitation be repeated with a form not 
much different. 3. The first confession about God. 4. The words or form 
of prayer of that confession. 

III. Five dispositions are necessary for prayer:—1. The body must be 
entirely clean. 2. It must be decently clad. 3. In a clean place, so as to 
contract no uncleanness. 4. At the exact time appointed. 5. Not forget¬ 
ting the Kebla, which is turned towards Mecca. 

IV. There are also five sorts of prayers to be said daily. 1. At noon, 
with four inclinations of the body. 2. In the afternoon, with four also. 
3. In the evening, with three. 4. In the night, with four. 5. In the 
morning, with two only. In all, seventeen for the whole day. Travellers 
may without sin reduce thereto eleven. 

Some alms are left to the free choice of every individual; others 
are prescribed by the law. We shall now treat of the 
latter. 

I. Alms are given out of five sorts of goods:—1. Of cattle, camels, 
oxen, sheep. 2. Of money. 3. Of corn. 4. Of other fruits of the earth. 
5. Of goods in trade. 

II. Six conditions are required in the giver:—1. He must be a Mussul- 


Alms. 



















































122 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


man, that is, a true believer. 2. A freeman. 3. The lawlul possessor of 
what he is to give away ; for it is an injustice, and not charity, to give 
what does not belong to us. 4. His patrimony must be increased. As 
riches increase, aims should increase at two and a half per cent. Those 
who have not twenty pieces of gold, nor two hundred in silver, nor five 
camels, nor thirty oxen, nor thirty sheep, are not obliged to give alms. 
5. He must have been in possession about a year, at least eleven months, 
without pawning it. 6. He must not give his working cattle, but one of 
those which are at grass, because alms are to be given from that which is 
not necessary. 

III. The same conditions are required for alms of money, corn, other 

fruits of the earth, &c.; only about corn and fruits it is to be observed, 
1. That they must grow from our labour, as sowdng, &c. 2. They must 

have been laid up in our store-rooms or barns. 3. There must be a con¬ 
venient quantity left, so that the giver may not be reduced to want. 

IV. But we must chiefly take notice, that in the aforesaid alms given by 
those who are easy in their circumstances, and in other alms, (if that name 
can be given to a tax annually levied by a capitation at the end of the fast 
of Ramadan,) the first and best principle ought to be the intention of giving 
(his or that alms as a debt which we are obliged to pay. 

The chief fast of the Mohammedans is that of Ramadan. After it, is 
kept the feast of the Great Beiram. The little Beiram is kept on the 
tenth of the month Dilhazja, in memory of Abraham’s 

lists. a — 

sacrifice. 

I. Three things are required in the person who fasts, to make it accept¬ 
able to God :—1. He must be a Mussulman. 2. At the age of ripeness ; 
fourteen in men, twelve in women. 3. In his, or her, right senses. 

II. The conditions of the fast are five :—1. An intention of the heart to 
please God. 2. To eat nothing in the day, from sunrise to sunset. 3. To 
drink nothing of any sort. 4. To have no commerce with women, not even 
by kisses. 5. Not to throw up what has been eaten; \vhich supposes both 
that the stomach is good, and that no excess is committed, or at least no¬ 
thing taken which may give a disgust. 

In performing this devout ceremony, five things are commanded by 
divine institution:—1. The intention and religious vow of going to Mecca. 

Piisnimage of s P endin g a day on Mount Arafat, which is done on the 
Mecca< ninth day of the month. 3. Shaving the head in the 

Valley of Mina. They throw seven stones one after the other in the 
Valley of Mina; after which the men (not the women) offer sheep, goats, 
oxen, or camels, in sacrifice,—then shave and pare their nails. The hair 
and parings are buried in that valley. 4. To go seven times round the 
Caaba. 5. To run seven times between Safa and Merva, two holy places, 
one hundred and eighty cubits distant from each other. At first they 


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OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 


133 


walk slow, then run faster between two pillars; then walk again, looking 
on all sides as if seeking something lost. This is to represent the anxiety 
of Hagar, when she endeavoured to find water in the desert for her 
son Ishmael. All these ceremonies were in use long before Mohammed, 
who made them an essential part of his religion, both in order to draw in 
the superstitious inhabitants, and to make this law seem venerable for its 
antiquity. 

We shall now enter upon the manners and customs of civil life, 01 
which have some relation to the religion of Mohammed. We must in the 

Precepts, du- first place take notice, that the Koran contains some nega¬ 
tes, &c. enjoined . . . , , 

by the Koran. tive precepts, concerning things that become evil or scan¬ 
dalous only by the abuse of them: such as the forbidding of wine, and 
other intoxicating liquors, which seems enforced in several passages of the 
Koran; for instance, in the second chapter, where Mohammed says ex¬ 
pressly, “that the sin committed by drinking wine is much greater than 
the advantage reaped from the use of itand in the fifth chapter, he 
reckons wine among the “abominations which are the works of Satan.” 
Some have pretended that the excess only is forbidden; but the general 
opinion is, that it is not lawful to drink any of those liquors, and that who¬ 
ever drinks even the smallest quantity commits a sin. Those who have 
performed the pilgrimage of Mecca are the most scrupulous on this point, 
and will neither drink any wine nor make it, buy nor sell it, nor the 
implements to make it, in order to live by the profits of such a traffic. 
Yet all the Mohammedans are not so exact in observing this law; and 
when reproached with the breach of it by Christians, they have recourse 
to recrimination, and upbraid us with our violation of the Gospel pre¬ 
cepts. 

Some Mussulmans have doubted whether coffee be not comprehended 
under the general denomination of intoxicating liquors; because, they say, 
it disturbs the imagination of those who use it. It is, however, undoubted, 
that coffee, though now universally allowed in Mohammedan countries, 
has been heretofore forbidden, and is now used by mere toleration, not by 
religious permission ; nevertheless, very few abstain from the use of it. 
The scrupulous Mohammedans are still more averse from tobacco, both 
because it has the same effect as wine and brandy, and also on account of 
a pretended prophecy of Mohammed, that, “in the latter days some shall 
call themselves Mussulmans, without being really such, who will suck in 
through a pipe, and blow out, the smoke of a plant called tobacco.” This 
qualification of false brethren could not but render tobacco odious to scru¬ 
pulous people ; yet the constant practice is to introduce coffee and tobacco, 
without which no entertainment is thought completely polite in the East; 
and the Persians, in particular, say, that tobacco is to coffee what salt is to 
meat. 











































































ETC. 


TENETS. 


RELIGIOUS 


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The same rigorists condemn also the use of opium, or heng, or treacle, 
although nothing be more common. The Koran does not mention tobacco, 
nor opium, nor heng ; but as they produce the same effects as wine, they 
are apt to cause quarrels, neglect of duty, several irregularities, and 
shameful disorders : all these reasons prove the necessity of abstaining 
from all such liquors or drugs. Upon the same account, the Jews, from 
whom, and from the ancient Arabians, the Magi, and the Christians, Mo¬ 
hammed has borrowed many of his religious precepts, did not allow the 
priests to drink wine when they were to officiate in their turn. 

The second and fifth chapters of the Koran forbid also games of hazard, 
under the general denomination of Al Maisair , which strictly means the 
_ .. _ art of divination bv arrows. We must observe that this 

Games of hazard J 

forbidden. kind of witchcraft is very like JRhabdomancy , that is, the 

art of divination by rods, and is mentioned in the Prophecy of Ezekiel, 
chap. xxi. verse 26, which is an evident proof that both the Arabians and 
their neighbours undertook no affair of moment without consulting their 
arrows. Mohammed forbade all these customs, with an intent, as he said, 
to take away all superstition ; but others have been substituted for them. 

The Mohammedans were likewise prohibited from games of hazard, 
under the name of superstition, that all occasions of quarrels and cheating, 
which generally accompany such games, might be removed. However, in 
this instance, the civil law enforces the authority of Mohammed and of the 
Koran, insomuch that games of hazard are in disrepute, and the testimony 
of those who are addicted to them is of no force in courts of justice ; at 
least, it is pretended that such witnesses may be rejected. 

The majority of the Mohammedan doctors allow the game of chess, as 
depending wholly upon industry and skill; but they forbid playing too 

long at it, or for money, or laying wagers about it, or at the 

Chess allowed. , . . „ rr ,. . . . 

hours appointed tor prayer. Ihese restrictions are ob¬ 
served more exactly by the Turks than by the Persians or Moguls. Some 
are of opinion that Mohammed forbids chess, under the name of images, 
because, among the Arabians, as with us, most of the pieces represent L\:/- \ 
men, elephants, horses, camels, &c.; others think that Mohammed put that 
restraint only upon the pawns, which, in Turkey, are made quite plain. 

The Mohammedans, however, generally abstain from gaming more easily 
than from wine, and chiefly in Persia, where drunkenness prevails as 
much as in some European countries. 

This subject naturally leads us to give an account of the diversions and 
exercises used by the Mohammedans; but we shall only mention those 
ruppet-shows, which have some relation to religion, according to the good 
loweu. or bad use made oi them, or which even are admitted as a 

part of their religious ceremonies. Among these are puppet-shows, with 
which the Turks entertain their guests in private after their meals, not- 




























































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withstanding Mohammed’s prohibition of images. This diversion is pub¬ 
licly exhibited in the Ramadan when the hour of fasting is past ; for then 
they allow themselves as much sensual pleasure as the Christians do in 
the Carnival, or the Heathens did during the solemnity of their Satur¬ 
nalia, the last two days of which were spent in puppet-shows. 

They have also jugglers, quacks, and public dancers, of both sexes, 
called tchinguis; and although the Turks, Persians, and Moguls look 
upon dancers by profession as people of loose lives and morals, yet it must 
be owned, that those disorders are not always the consequence of dancing, 
and several nations have made use of it in their religious worship. No¬ 
thing, therefore, but the abuse has rendered dancing contemptible among 
the Mohammedans, who, nevertheless, admit it in their religion, as appears 
by the turnings of their dervises, which the majority of travellers repre- tfl/Ail 
sent as a solemn act of worship performed every Tuesday and Friday. 

The superior of these dervises preaches a sermon on some text of the | 

Koran, which is followed by some prayers out of the same book, sung by r 
all of them together; then, having made a low bow to the superior, they 
begin to dance, or turn about, while some play on the flute or other instru- 
ments. This ceremony was invented Ijy one Mewlana, whom the der¬ 
vises honour as a great saint; and we are assured by Ricault, that this 
man, whom he calls Mevelava , by a miracle, turned fourteen days toge¬ 
ther without resting or taking any nourishment, while another dervise 
named Hamze, his companion, played on the flute ; after which he fell 
into an ecstasy, and received wonderful revelations, and was very instru¬ 
mental in founding the order of dervises. The flute is, they think, a 
sacred instrument of music, sanctified by Jacob and other holy shepherds I ^ 

of the Old Testament, who made use of it; yet the rigorists condemn both dW ; - 

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the dance and instruments of music, as contrary to religion. 

As to the distinction of meats, we shall only add, that the Koran in 
several places forbids blood, and the flesh of beasts which have been either 
offered to idols, or which have died naturally ; and some Mussulmans are 
so cautious in that point, that unless the butcher pronounces the prayer 
Bismiirah , or “ In the name of God,” &c., while he kills any beast, they 
do not think it lawful to eat of it. 

Usury is also condemned in the second chapter of the Koran, and ranked 
among the most enormous sins. Mohammed does not allow it, as the Jews 
do, even towards infidels. Yet there are some Mussulmans 
who are usurers and extortioners, and give what interpreta¬ 
tion they think fit, in order to elude the precepts of the Koran, as too 
many Christians do with respect to the Gospel. The same chapter which 
forbids usury, enjoins mercy and forbearance with a debtor who is not able 
t0 p a y without depriving himself of the necessary means for the subsist- 
j ence of himself and family; in which case, Mohammed orders his fob 


Usury 

condemned. 


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126 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 




lowers not to begin any prosecutions for such debts, but to reckon them as 
an alms given to the debtor. He may have borrowed this from the law 
of Moses and of Christ ; and the dictates of humanity may also hava 
inspired him to make that law, both to avoid merciless and extortionate law¬ 
suits, and to prevent his subjects from being ruined. Thus we see the 
Romans, who lived before the Gospel, and were but little, if at all, ac¬ 
quainted with the law of Moses, had such an abhorrence of usury, that 
they obliged usurers to restore four tim^s as much as they had thus un¬ 
justly gained ; whereas thieves were only condemned to pay double what 
they had stolen. Prudence and equity convinced them that a usurer was 
more pernicious to society than a thief. 

The same sentiments of humanity, and the common good of society, 
prompted Mohammed to abolish the barbarous custom of the Koreishites 
and other Arabians, of burying girls alive ; which they pretended was in 
order to prevent the shame which they might cause to their parents by 
evil conduct, and the slavery and miseries to which they were exposed. 
Moreover, they had no regard for women but upon account of propa¬ 
gation and pleasure, and looked on their birth as a misfortune, their 
death a happiness ; therefore, when a woman was in labour, she was 
led to a grave, and if delivered of a female child, it was thrown in and 
buried. 

The ceremony of marriage is in high esteem among the Mohammedans; 
yet it is not celebrated in the presence of the priests, nor is it considered 
. an act of religion, as with the Jews and Christians, and 

Marriage cere- c 

monies - formerly with the Romans and Grecians. The Cadi, of 

civil judge, gives it a sanction ; “as to an act purely relating to society, 
which is not valid without his presence. The husband acknowledges that 
he has obliged himself to marry such a woman, to give her such a dowry, 
and to dispose of her at pleasure in case of divorce.” The woman is not 
present at this acknowledgment ; but the father, or some of the relations, 
assist at it; which being done, the husband takes possession of his wife; 
who is brought to him veiled under a canopy, accompanied by friends, 
relations, slaves, and music. 

Ricault says, that “ wives are not jealous of concubines, if they be not 
deprived of the right which they claim, and the law gives them, to be 
admitted once a week to their husbands’ beds. On failure of this, they 
may demand it on the Thursday night of the following week, and even go 
to law with their husbands if they do not grant it. If any be so bashful 
as to neglect this public way of obtaining justice, they endeavour to find 
out some other way of recompensing themselves for their ioss.” 

The majority of travellers affirm that the Turks have a kind of half 
marriage, called Cabin; which consists in taking a wife for a time limited. 
This agreement is made before the judge, who, in the presence of the con- 












































































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OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 


127 


trading parties, wiites it down, and the stipulated sum of money is paid 
to the woman when the time is elapsed. 

The Mohammedans are allowed to make use of their female slaves: and 
here we must take notice, first, that Mussulmans may marry women of 
any religion the tenets of which are written ; and secondly, that all the 
children, whether by wives or slaves, equally inherit their father’s pro¬ 
perty, if by will or otherwise the father has declared them free; in default 
of which, the children of a slave still remain slaves to the eldest son of the 
family. 

Thevenot says, “that the Turks never marry their relations, unless they 
are more distant than eight generations; and that the Mohammedan wo¬ 
men study to embellish themselves by all the arts in use among our Euro¬ 
pean ladies,—false hair, paint, rich clothes, often to the rum of their hus¬ 
bands and families.” 

The Koran inveighs strongly against adultery, and orders that a husband 
who accuses his wife of that crime, and does not prove it, shall be basti¬ 
nadoed. When there are no proofs nor witnesses, the husband swears 
five times that what he alleges is true, and to the last oath adds a curse, 
wishing he may be cursed by God and^men if he lies; on the other side, 
the woman is believed if she also swears five times, and adds to the last 
oath a prayer, desiring God to destroy her if her husband speaks truth. 
However, if the adultery be fully proved, the husband has her life in his 
power, and, if revengeful, puts her in a sack full of stones and drowns 
her. But then, Tournefort adds, that “ they are so cautious in their 
amours, that few die in the water: and if the husband spares their lives, 
they are happier than before, because she is obliged to marry her gallant, 
who, if a Christian, must embrace Mohammedism or die.” As to the 
adulterer, he is often condemned to ride an ass, with his face towards the 
tail, which he holds as a bridle. He is crowned with tripe and guts, and 
has a neckcloth of the same, and at last is bastinadoed upon the reins and 
the soles of his feet. 

We must not omit the curious particularities related by Ricault, when 
the princesses of the Ottoman empire are married to some great and 
powerful man : this pretended honour is the effect of the jealousy which 
the emperors of Turkey conceive of their power, and is generally the fore¬ 
runner of their ruin. “When the Grand Seignior is apprehensive of the 
great power of a bashaw, he makes him marry one of his sisters, or rela¬ 
tions, under pretence of conferring upon him a greater honour; but instead 
of being greater, he becomes the most abject slave to the pride and tyranny 
of a woman, who treats him like a footman : yet he dares not refuse, nor 
seem to undervalue this token of his master’s favour: he must resolve to 
devote himself wholly to her, and renounce all his other wives or slaves, 
who might lay claim to any part of his love : if he has already an amiable 




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138 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


wife, and children by her, who engages his most tender affection, he is 
obliged to turn her out of his house, and also every other person who 
might be displeasing to this Sultana, although unknown to him. If, before 
the wedding, she sends to ask of him money, jewels, or rich furs, he must 
send them to her with an expression of pleasure and thanks ; this is called 
Aghirlic. He is moreover obliged to settle upon her what dowry the 
match-makers are pleased to appoint. This dowry or cabin being stipu¬ 
lated before a judge, he is led by a black eunuch to the Sultana’s chamber, 
to give hei thanks. When he enters the room, she draws her dagger, 
and haughtily demands, who made him so bold as to approach her? He 
answers with a profound respect, and shows to her th a Emmery Paclschak^ 
or the Grand Seignior’s order for the wedding. She then rises, receives 
him with mildness, and allows him to entertain her with more familiarity; 
then a eunuch takes his slippers, and places them at the door, as a token 
of his meeting with a kind reception. A few minutes after, the bashaw 
makes a low bow down to the ground, and drawing back, makes a speech, 
to testify how happy he thinks himself for the honour she intends to confer 
upon him. This being over, he stands silent, in an humble posture, with 
his hands across his breast, till she orders him to bring her some water. 
He obeys readily, and kneeling, presents to her a water-cup prepared for 
that ceremony: she raises a red veil embroidered with gold and silver 
flowers, which covered her face, and drinks: her women immediately 
bring in a low table, on which are set two roasted pigeons, and some can¬ 
died sugar on a plate, or a plate of sweetmeats. The gallant desires her 
to eat, which she refuses till he has made her some rich present. This 
calms her anger, overcomes her modesty; she sits down to the table, 
graciously receives from his hand the leg of a pigeon, and having eaten 
some, puts into his mouth a piece of sugar, then rises, and goes back to 
her place : all the company withdraw, and leave the newly-married couple 
alone for the space of an hour, that he may freely converse with hei 
Then his friends come with instruments of music playing; they invite 
him to come to the ante-chamber, where he spends the night with them in 
drinking and diversion : the Sultana does the same in her room with her 
ladies. At last, the princess being tired, goes at break of day to lie down 
in a bed exquisitely rich, well perfumed, and every way fit for the cere¬ 
mony. A eunuch gives notice to her husband by a sign, and introduces 
him without noise into the bed-chamber. He puts off his upper garments, 
kneels for some time at the foot of the bed, then growing bolder, raises 
softly the covering, gently touches and kisses the feet'of the princess, and 
places himself by her side. In the morning, his friends come again to con¬ 
duct him to the bath, and his spouse presents him with all the linen requisite 
in that place. After this, they live more familiarly within doors; but in 
public, she is more reserved, and shows her superiority. She wears a 

























































































srl> 


OF THE MOHAMMEDANS 


changiar or dagger by her side, and requires of him so many presents, that 
sooner or later she empties his coffers.” 

Mohammed, in order to hinder his followers from putting their wives 
awav too often, expressly forbids the taking of them again, after a third 
repudiation, unless they have been married and repudiated 
by another man. This, they say, has had so good an effect, 
that very few Mohammedans are divorced from their wives, and the number 
of those who take them again is still less. 

The third divorce is called Ouch-talac ; which Bespier explains three , 
or the third separation ; of which the Turks have three different sorts 
made before the Cadi, and registered by him. By the first the husband 
and wife are parted from bed and board; she receiving from him a main¬ 
tenance. The second is a total separation of body and goods ; the husband 
must then give her the stipulated dowry ; after which, she has no claim to 
his person or goods, and may marry another, three lunar months after the 
divorce, for fear she should be with child; in which case, she cannot marry 
and may even remain in her husband’s house, and be maintained at his 
cost, till she be delivered. The Ouch-talac is the most solemn divorce, but 
not practised by the Persians. 

The women do not enjoy the same privilege of parting with their hus¬ 
bands, unless for want of necessaries, as rice, coffee, wood, money to go to 
the bagnio, flax to spin their clothes, which the law supposes they are 
industrious enough to make. 

Children come next under our consideration, as being the fruits of mat¬ 
rimony. They become members of Mohammedism by circumcision, 
which they derive from the Ishmaelites, who, as well as the Jews, are 
descended from Abraham, to whom God gave a particular command for 
the performance of it. 

The Turks do not circumcise their children till they are full seven years 
old ; and when they are beyond that age, they do it when they think fit. 
Chardin assures us, that the Persians perform this ceremony when the 
boys are five or six years old ; but the Mohammedan doctors say, it should 
be done according to the rules, at thirteen, because Ishmael was circum¬ 
cised at that age ; or at nine, because children begin then to discern good 
from evil. However, this is not performed in the same manner as by the 
Jews ; it is done by a surgeon, not by a priest; God ordained it as a sign 
or seal of the justice obtained by faith. 

The day of circumcision is a day of joy for all the relations of the child. 
He is carried on horseback, with kettle-drums and tabors sounding, dressed 
in his best attire, followed by his school-companions, who pronounce aloud 
some passages of the Koran. Being brought home, he is directed to repeat 
the profession of faith, “There is no other God but God, &c., holding up 
one finder and then he is circumcised. 


Divorces, 













































































130 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 

When a grown-up person embraces Mohammedism, he is led on horse¬ 
back, carrying in his left hand a dart, with the point turned towards 
his heart, to testify that he will rather suffer himself to be pierced 
through the heart than renounce his new religion ; but Tournefort says, 
they only make their new converts lift up a finger, probably out of con¬ 
tempt for those persons who leave the religion in which they were 
brought up. 

Boys have a name given them on the day of their circumcision, but this 
custom is also subject to some variations. Tournefort says, the father 
gives what name he pleases to his child as soon as it is born, holding him 
in his arms, and lifting him up to offer it to God ; after which, he puts salt 
into his mouth, and gives him a name with a blessing. Superstition creeps 
in ; for in Persia, several names taken out of the Koran are huddled 
together, one of which, drawn by an infant, is given to the child. 

Some Mohammedans do not look upon circumcision as an indispensable 
act of religion, nor is it necessary to salvation; while others think that this 
ceremony confers inward faith, and that God will not hear the prayers of 
an uncircumcised man. Some Mussulmans are of opinion that the circum¬ 
cision of the father has an influence on his children, and that it contributes 
to their salvation. 

We shall conclude this subject with a few remarks on the birth and 
education of children. When the children of princes and great lords are 
born, the moment of their birth is kept very secret, in order to avoid all 
charms and witchcraft, and to prevent astrologers from casting their na¬ 
tivity, and foretelling sinister events. The Mohammedans, like other 
nations, admit of adopted children ; and it is very common among the 
Turks. The manner of doing it, is to make the adopted person put on 
and go through the shirt of the person who adopts him. This adoption is 
called Akhvat. Next to the chief points of religion, beauty and strength 
of body are in the greatest estimation with Mussulmans, who are persuaded 
a deformed body can but cover a base soul. The Indians even pretend that 
such bodies are prisons, into which souls are cast for great crimes com¬ 
mitted in a former life. 

The mourning for the dead begins with such loud cries and lamentations 
made by the women, that the death soon becomes published to the most 
Funeral ceremo- dlstant neighbours. The custom of making loud cries and 
me8 ‘ noisy lamentations for departed friends—of rolling in the 

dust, or covering one’s self with ashes, &c., is very ancient in the East; 
nor is it much altered among the modern inhabitants of those countries. 
Thevenot informs us, that these Turkish women give over crying when 
there are no witnesses of their tears, being hired for that purpose, which 
lasts several days, and is renewed at the end of the year. Previously to 
the burial, the corpse is washed and shaved, frankincense is burnt about it, 






















































































c> 


OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 


to expel the devil and other evil spirits, which, as the Mohammedans and 
several other nations believe, rove about the dead, no less than about the 
living. This ceremony being over, the body is put into a burial-dress 
without a seam, that it may, as they pretend, kneel with less difficulty 
when it is to be examined in the grave. The coffin is covered with a paJl, 
preceded by imans, who pray, and followed by the relations and friends 
of the deceased, with the women, who lament and shed tears. At the 
grave the corpse is taken out of the coffin, and put into the ground. The 
women stay there to cry. 

The difference between the graves of the Turks and of the Christians in 
those countries consists in a board, which the Turks put over the corpse 
slanting, so that one end of it touches the bottom of the grave, and the 
other leans against the top of the grave. But neither the Turks nor the 
Christians of the East bury their dead in coffins. Moreover, the Turks 
place a stone at the head of the corpse, for the convenience of the angels 
who are to examine the deceased. This civility which is paid to them 
will, as the Mohammedans superstitiously believe, make them more 
indulgent. 

The palls are different, and the tombs variously adorned, according to 
the condition and state of life of the deceased, soldiers or churchmen, 
rich or poor. The burying-places of the Mohammedans are by the high¬ 
road, “in order,” as Thevenot says, “to put travellers in mind to offer 
their prayers to God for the dead, and to obtain his blessing.” For which 
reason, those who build a bridge, or some other public fabric, from an act 
of charity, are likewise buried in or near them. The large stones which 
are erected in the churchyards are so numerous, that a town might be built 
with them. After the funeral, the relations and friends of the deceased 
come several days successively to pray on his tomb, beseeching God to 
rescue him from the torments inflicted by the black angels ; and calling 
the deceased by his name, they say to him, Fear not, but answer them 
bravely. On the Friday following, victuals and drink are brought to the 
grave, of which whoever passes by may freely partake. 

The Persian Mohammedans have a strange notion, that the angel who 
presides at the birth of children mixes some earth with the matter of which 
they are made, and introduces it into the mother’s womb at the instant of 
the conception ; whence they Conclude that every one must endeavour to 
die in the same place from which the angel took that earth. They have a 
more rational custom, grounded on principles of humanity ; which is, that 
whoever meets a funeral must accompany the corpse, and even help to 
carry it, if their help be wanted. 

The same Persians have retained in their mournings the old ceremony 
of tearing their clothes to testify their grief; and, what is much more com¬ 
mendable, they give alms during seven days. But, for the satisfaction of 

















































































RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 




our readers, we shall present them with an abstract of the account which 
Chardin gives of the customs of the Persian Mohammedans from the death 
of the sick person to the end of the mourning for him. 

“At the first signs of an approaching death, small lamps are lighted on 
the terrace or flat roof of the house : this puts the neighbours and passen¬ 
gers in mind to pray for the sick person. Mollas , or priests, are sent for; 
they preach repentance to him, mentioning all the sins of which he may 
have been guilty. He answers Tube, that is, I repent, to each sin that is 
mentioned; and when he has lost his speech, the Koran is read by his 
bed-side, till he gives up the ghost. This is soon notified to the whole 
neighbourhood by excessive outcries and lamentations. The relations and 
other friends rend their clothes from the neck to the girdle, tear off their 
hair, scratch their faces, strike their breasts, and manifest every sign of 
sorrow and despair; but the women exceed all bounds of moderation in 
their grief, not without a mixture of long complaints, tender and moving 
speeches, addressed to the deceased. 

“The cazy, or judge, is now acquainted with the death. They inform 
his porter, such a one is dead; he answers, May your head be sound; 
and then goes to the judge to get from him a sealed piece of paper, by 
which he gives permission to have the body washed. The permission 
costs nothing ; but the porter who delivers it has some perquisite, greater 
or smaller according to the rank and abilities of those who desire it. This 
paper is carried to the Mordichour, or body-washer, which is an office he 
alone, or those whom he appoints, can perform, in order that the number 
of the dead may be known, and the particular distemper of which they 
died. The said mordichour sends men to wash the corpses of men, and 
women to wash the corpses of women. The washer takes off the clothes 
from the corpse, they being his perquisites, for no one can touch a dead 
person without being defiled, and he carries it to the washing-place. There 
are such places in every town, situated in a retired and covered part of it. 
Ispahan, for instance, being divided into two parts, has two mordichours; 
and, among other washing-places, there is a very large one in a back 
court of the Old Mosque, twenty steps under ground. This is done only 
to the poor, for the rich are washed at home in a basin covered with a tent, 
lest any one should see the corpse. When it is washed, all the openings 
are stopped up closely with cotton, to keep in the foul humours, which 
might defile it. 

“This being over, the body is put into a new linen cloth, on which 
those who can afford it cause some passages of their holy books to be 
written. Some contain the Youclien, a book concerning the attributes of 
God, to the number of a thousand and one ; which odd reckoning is to 
show the infinite perfections of God, which are not to be comprehended 
by a thousand ideas, more than by one. The linen about the corpse of 




















































































OF THE MOHAMMEDANS. 


i x 


Saroutaky, a eunuch grand vizier, who was murdered in the reign of 
Abas II., contained the whole Koran, written with holy earth steeped in 
water and gum. They call holy earth, that of those places of Arabia 
which the Mohammedans look upon as consecrated by the bodies of the 
saints who died there. 

“In this condition, the corpse is placed in a remote part of the house ; 
and if it is to be carried to some distant burying-place, they put it in a 
wooden coffin, filled with salt, lime, and perfumes, to preserve it. No 
other embalming is used in the East. They do not take out the bowels, 
a practice apparently to them uncleanly and wicked. Persia being a hot, 
dry country, the bodies are soon put into their coffins, otherwise it would 
not be possible to accomplish it, because they swell immoderately in eight 
or ten hours. The funerals are not accompanied in the East with much 
pomp. A molla comes with the coffin of the next mosque, an ill-contrived, 
rough, unhewn, and ill-jointed box, made up of three boards, with a cover 
which turns by a peg; the corpse is put into it, and, if the deceased were 
poor, carried off without any further ceremony ; only the bearers go with 
it very fast, and almost running, and pronouncing slowly the words Alla , 
Alla! that is God, God! " 

“At the funeral of a person of quality, or one who is rich, the ensigns 
or banners of the mosque are carried before the corpse : they are long pikes 
of different sorts ; some have at the end a hand of brass or copper, which 
is called the hand of Ali; others a half moon ; others, the names of Mo¬ 
hammed, of his daughters, and of his first twelve lawful successors, done in 
ciphers ; the latter are called Tcharde Massoum , that is, the fourteen pure 
and holy ones. More poles are still carried, at the top of which are put 
some brass or iron plates, three fingers broad, and three or four feet long, 
but so thin that the least motion makes them bend ; to them are tied long 
slips of taffety, which hang down to the ground. These banners are fol¬ 
lowed by five or six led-horses, with the arms and turban of the deceased ; 
next to them comes the Sirpare, or the Koran, divided into thirty guisve 
or parts, written in large characters, each letter being an inch in size. 
The chief mosques have a similar one; thirty talebelme, or students, carry 
each one part, and read it, so that the whole is read over, before the body 
be put into the grave. At the burial of a woman, the tcharchadour , 
that is, a pall supported on four long sticks, is placed over the coffin. 
This is the greatest funeral pomp, which the friends and relations cannot 
exceed, unless by an addition of each sort of standards, &c. 

“The neighbours or servants of the deceased carry the corpse, no 
bearers being appointed to perform that last duty ; but the Mohammedan 
law teaches its followers to grant their assistance, and carry the coffin al 
least ten steps. Persons of note alight when they meet a funeral, comply 
with that pious custom, and then remount and proceed on their journey. 





























































134 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


1 


They do not bury any one in their mosques, because, though the corpse be 
purified, yet whatever it touches, or the place in which it is put, is looked 
upon as defiled. 

“In small towns, the burying-places are on the road-side, without the 
gates, as a moral instruction to the living : but in great towns, which are 
situate in a dry air, several churchyards are to be seen. The graves are 
smaller in Persia than in other countries, only two feet broad, six in 
length, and four in depth. On that side of them which is towards Mecca, 
they dig a slanting vault, which is as long and broad as the first grave ; 
they thrust the corpse into it without a coffin, the face towards Mecca, and 
place two tiles to cover the head from the earth, when the grave is filled 
up. If the deceased were rich, or a warrior, his turban, sword, bow, and 
quiver full of arrows, are set by him, and the vault is plastered up with 
tiles. The Sahieds , who pretend to be the descendants of Mohammed, 
have no earth thrown upon them ; their grave is covered only with a stone 
or brick, or that sort of hard, brown marble which is common in Persia. 

“Stones are erected at the end of each tomb, with a turban, if it be a 
man’s grave; but plain, if a woman’s. These tombstones ought not to 
exceed the height of four feet; commonly they are but two feet high; 
the inscription on them does not declare the name nor praises of the de¬ 
ceased—it only contains some passages of the Koran. The common peo¬ 
ple begin to visit the grave at the end of eight or ten days ; the women 
particularly never fail; the churchyards are full of them, morning and 
evening, and on some particular festivals; they bring their children with 
them, and lament the loss of their friends with tears and cries, beating 
their breasts, tearing their hair, scratching their faces, repeating the seve¬ 
ral dialogues and long discourses which they heretofore held with the 
deceased ; every now and then, saying, Rouh, Rouh, soul, spirit, whither 
are you gone ? Why do you not animate this body? And you , corpse, 
what occasion had you to die ? Did you want gold, silver , clothes, plea¬ 
sures, or tender treatment? They are then comforted, and led away by 
their friends: sometimes they leave behind them cakes, fruits, sweetmeats, 
as an offering to the angels, guardians of the grave, to engage them to be 
favourable to the deceased. 

“ People of quality generally order their corpse to be buried near some 
great saint of their sect. They are seldom carried to Mecca or Medina, 
these places being at too great a distance ; but either to Negef, a town in 
the country, called Kerbela, where Ali, the great saint of Persia, lies in¬ 
terred ; or to Metched, near the grave of Iman Reza, or to Com near 
Fatime, (both were descendants of Ali,) or to Ardevil, near Cheik Sephy, 
at the distance of two or three months’ journey. While they prepare 
themselves for this long voyage, the coffin is put in some great mosque, 
where vaults are made for that purpose, which are walled up to keep the 


sp 





































































body from being seen ; and they do not take it out till every thing be 
ready to carry it off. The Persians fancy that corpses, under these cir¬ 
cumstances, suffer no alteration ; for, they say, before they putrify, they 
must give an account to the angels, who stay at the grave to examine them. 
The funeral convoy never goes through a town ; this, as they think, would 
be a bad omen ; the dead must go out hut not come in , is a common say¬ 
ing among the Persians. 

“The mourning lasts forty days at most ; it does not consist in wearing 
black clothes, (that colour is looked upon in the East as the devil’s colour, 
and a hellish dress,) but in loud cries and lamentations, in sitting without 
motion, half-clad with a brown gown or one of a pale colour ; in fasting 
for eight days, as if they were resolved to live no longer. Other friends 
send or come themselves to comfort the mourners. On the ninth day, the 
men go to the bagnio, have their head and beard shaved, put on new 
clothes, return their visits, and the mourning ceases abroad ; but at home 
the cries are renewed now and then, twice or thrice a week, chiefly at the 
hour of the death. These cries diminish gradually till the fortieth day; 
after which, no further mention is made of the deceased. The women are 
not so easily comforted, for the^state of widowhood is generally for life in 
the East. 

“ The motives of consolation alleged in Persia on the death of friends 
and relations are rational, and grounded on solid philosophy. They com¬ 
pare this life to a caravan, or a company of travellers; all come at last to 
the caravansary or inn ; yet some arrive sooner, some later.” 

Friday is kept wholly by Mohammedans, as the Saturday is by the 
Jews, and Sunday by the Christians ; either upon account of the entry of 
Mohammed into Medina, or because God completed the 
creation on that day, or rather out of policy; this being the 
day on which the ancient Arabians held their public and solemn meetings. 
Whatever may have been the cause of the sanctification of that day, it is 
certain that Mohammed always kept it holy; for, as AbuJpharage observes, 
the real motive of establishing festivals was in order, by public assemblies, 
to render the people more united, and to have some rest from their labours. 
The Mohammedans are, however, very profuse in their praises on that day, 
which they call the “chief and most excellent of all days,” for on it is 
supposed that the last judgment will take place. 

Their months are twelve, alternately of thirty and twenty-nine days, iu 
ail 354: according to which computation, their year is eleven days shorter 
than ours; which inconvenience is remedied by adding a month at pioper 
periods. We shall here observe, that by the most exact computation, the 
Mohammedan Hejira began July the 16th, in the year of Christ 622. The 
names of the months are, 1. Moharram. 2. Saphar. 3. Rabia the First. 
4 . A Second Rabia. 5. Sjumada the First. 6. A Second Sjumada. 


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7. Resjeb. 8. Siaban. 9. Rhamadan. 10. Sjewal. 11. Dulkadha. 
12. Dsulkassja, or Dulhaggia. 

Four of them, viz. Moharram, Resjeb, Dulkadha, and Dulhaggia, were 
looked upon as sacred by the ancient Arabians. No war nor hostility was 
lawful, if begun or carried on in these months; and the majority of the 
Arabian tribes observed this law so punctually, that even the murderer of 
their father or brother was not to be punished, nor any violence offered to 
him, at that time. Dulhaggia was sanctified by the pilgrimage of Mecca, 
Dulkadha as a preparation to it, and Moharram as coming from it; Resjeb 
was held still in greater veneration, being kept as a fast by the Arabian 
idolaters, who, on the contrary, spent the month Rhamadan in debauchery 
and drunkenness. Mohammed seems to approve of this institution of the 
sacred months in his Koran, in which he blames those Arabians who, 
being tired with living so long without robbing, deferred of their own au¬ 
thority the sanctification of Moharram to the month following. To defeat 
the artful proceedings of these men, he enforces the keeping of the said 
three months, except in case of a war against infidels. 

The first Feast of which we shall take notice is the Moon, of the month 
Sjewal, because the Bairam celebrated in that month has some affinity 

Feast to the our new Y ear ’ by g°°d wishes and congratulations 

Woon - then in use with the Mohammedans. This Bairam follows 

the Rhamadan Fast, as Easter does that of Lent, and the Mussulmans 
begin it by a solemn and general reconciliation, as our Easter is remarka¬ 
ble by the Paschal Communion. They have two Bairams, the greater one, 
which we are now describing, and the less, which takes place seventy 
days afterwards, viz. on the 10th of Dulhaggia. The latter is called the 
Feast of Sacrifices, on account of the victims offered during the pilgrimage 
of Mecca. The Bairam is published at the first sight of the moon of 
Sjewal, or, if the weather be so cloudy that the moon cannot be seen, as 
expected, the feast begins on the following day; for in that case, they sup¬ 
pose the moon is changed. Among the numerous diversions then in use, 
seats are set in the streets, and contrived in such a manner that those who 
sit in them may swing in the air, accordingly as they are pushed faster or 
slower. These seats are adorned with several festoons. They have also 
wheels, on which people are alternately at the top, middle, and bottom. 
The night betwixt the 4th and 5th day of Resjeb is solemnized, on account 
of the Rhamadan Fast, though it happens two whole months afterwards. 
The night from the 26th to the 27th of the second Rabia is sacred, because 
Mohammed went then to heaven upon the Borak, in the same manner as 
the birth of the Prophet has occasioned the keeping holy the night of the 
11th to the 12lh of Rabia the First. The Rhamadan is, according to 
travellers, a mixture of devotion and debauchery. It begins with a kind 
of carnival, which Thevenot, who was an eye-witness, describes in the 

























































OF TI1E MOHAMMEDANS 


following words:—“ The 12th of June, 1657, was the Turks’ carnival, or 
beginning of their fast. It is called Laylet el Kouvat , that is, the Night 
of Power , because the Mohammedans believe that the Koran then came 
down from heaven. After sunset, lamps are lighted in all the streets, 
chiefly in that called Bazaar, a long, broad, and straight street, through 
which the procession passes. Ropes are hung every ten steps, to which 
are tied iron hoops and baskets, each holding several lamps, thirty at the 
least. All these, being in a direct line, furnish a fine prospect, and give a 
great light. Besides these several figures, the towers or minarets of the 
mosques are likewise illuminated. An infinite number of people crowd 
the streets, and with the Santons, &c., who make part of the ceremony, 
repair to the Cadilesqiier, who informs them whether the JRamesan is to 
be kept that evening. Being informed that the moon has been seen, and 
that this is the night appointed for the solemnity, about two hours in the 
night, the Santons on foot, and armed with clubs, begin the march, each 
of them holding a taper in his hand, accompanied with other men carry¬ 
ing cresset-lights. They dance, sing, bawl, and howl; in the midst of 
them Scheik-el-Arsat, that is, ‘ the Prince of the Cornutos,’ rides upon a 

9 f 

mule; as he passes them, the people make loud acclamations. After him 
several men come upon camels, with drums, kettle-drums, &c., followed 
by others in masquerade-dress, on foot, carrying cresset-lights, or long 
poles, at the end of which are large iron hoops filled with squibs and fire¬ 
works, which are thrown among the mob. Next to these the men of the 
beys proceed on horseback, with their hand-guns, &c.; and the procession 
is closed by other Santons, who celebrate by their songs the beginning of 
Ramesan. The whole assembly is composed of scoundrels met together, 
yet it is on the whole comical and diverting.” Their fast continues the 
whole moon, and while it lasts, eating, drinking, even smoking, and putting 
any thing into their mouths, is absolutely forbidden from sunrise to sunset; 
but in recompense, they are allowed, during the whole of the night, to eat 
and drink whatever they please without any restraint, with the exception 
of wine. Formerly, the law punished those who were convicted of drink¬ 
ing wine, by pouring melted lead into their throats. 

The Persians have three feasts peculiar to themselves, viz. the next day 
after their Lent, the sacrifice of Abraham, and the martyrdom of the 
children of their great prophet, Ali. To these religious 
Persian feasts. f est j va ] Sj a fourth must be added, which is a civil ceremony, 

at the beginning of the new year, and usually lasts three days ; but at 
court it is kept eight days successively. On the first day of the month 
Zilaje, (Dulhaggia,) at the moment of the sun’s entering into Aries, this 
festival is proclaimed. It is called the Royal or Imperial New Year, to 
distinguish it from the real new year, which the Persians begin on the 
d;rv of Mohammed’s flight from Mecca. Chardin gives a full account of 




liiiltfabS 






































































138 


RELIGIOUS TENETS, ETC. 


this feast; but vve shall merely notice, that it had grown into disuse for 
many years, but was re-established from a principle of policy or supersti¬ 
tion, or from the interested views of some astronomers, who were very 
powerful at court, and who pretended that the beginning of a solar year 
was a better omen than that of a lunar year, especially considering that 
the first ten days of it, and of the month Moharrain, are days of mourning, 
in memory of the martyrdom of Ali’s children. 

This last-mentioned solemnity is better known by the name of Hussein, 
or Hossein’s feast. He was the son of Ali and of Fatima, daughter to 
Mohammed, and was killed in a battle, which he lost, dis- 
Hussem s feast. p ut j n g. f or dignity of Khalif. Hassein, his brother, lost 

his life with him. The death of these Mohammedan prophets, or heroes, 
is still mourned for, where some are seen half-naked, and daubed over with 
blood, in memory of their tragical end ; others black their faces and loll 
out their tongue, with convulsive motions of the body and rolling their 
eyes, because these two brothers, as the Persian legend relates, suffered 
so much by drought, that they became black, and their tongues came out 
of their mouths. In the intervals of those pious contortions, they call 
aloud with all their might, Hussein! Hassein! Hassein! Hussein! 

The present state and extent of the Mohammedan religion is most amply 
delineated by Mr. Mills, in the last chapter of his excellent book ; in 
which he traces it through the extensive regions of Tartary; 
the vast empire of China; the various districts of Hindoo- 
stan; from the southernmost point of which this religion is traced through 
the Eastern Islands; along the coasts of the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, 
Java, Borneo, the Manillas, and the Celebezean Islands. The little isle of 
Goram, one of the Spice Islands, (between Ceram and Papua,) is the east¬ 
ern boundary of the Mohammedan world. 

The sword of the Mohammedans has for ages ceased to alarm the world, 
and the fire of their fanaticism has been spent; but their religion has suf¬ 
fered no visible diminution of followers: for although the Christians have 
triumphed over the Moors in Spain, and checked the advancement of 
Islamism in Siberia, yet in the middle and lower Asia, and also in Africa, 
the professors of the Moslems’ creed have gradually increased. It is im¬ 
possible to estimate, with any approach to accuracy, the number either 
of Mussulmans or of Christians ; but, considering for a moment the sub¬ 
ject of religion in a geographical sense, it may be generally remarked, that 
as Christianity has unlimited influence in Europe, so Islamism is the 
dominant religion in Asia ; and that, as the Christian faith has consider¬ 
able weight in America, Mohammedism has its proportionate sway in 
Africa. 


Present state. 

























































vaf(^) / 7C' 






a—! 


PART III. 

RELIGIOUS TENETS, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF 
THE GREEK AND ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES. 


CHAPTER I.—GREEK CHURCH. 




The Greek Church may be considered, in regard to its antiquity, as 
^ coeval with the Roman or Latin Church ; and for the first eight centuries, 
Greek Church the two churches were assimilated, not only in regard to 
Latin Church. ' the peculiar doctrines of their faith, but also to their ac¬ 
knowledgment of the supremacy of the Roman pontiff. The schism of 
these two churches is a most memorable epoch in ecclesiastical history, as 
it forms the most distinguishing picture of the two religions at the present 
day. The members of the Greek or Eastern Church, as contra-distin¬ 
guished to the Roman or Western Church, are to be found in various parts 
of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and are again subdivided into three distinct 
classes:—1st, those who agree on all points of worship and doctrine with 
the Patriarch of Constantinople, and reject the supremacy of the Roman 
pontiff; 2d, those who adopt the doctrines and ceremonies of the Greek 
church, and are entirely independent of the patriarch of Constantinople ; 
and 3d, those who are still subject to the see of Rome, though not con¬ 
forming in all points to the worship of that church. 

The Greek church is considered as a separation from the Latin. In 
the middle of the ninth century, the controversy relating to the procession 
, of the Holy GhosP (which had been started in the sixth 

Rise and sepa- J ' 

ration of. century) became a point of great importance, on account 

of the jealousy and ambition which at that time were blended with it. 
Photius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, having been advanced to that see in 
the room of Ignatius, whom he procured to be deposed, was solemnly 
excommunicated by Pope Nicholas, in a council held at Rome, and his 
ordination declared null and void. The Greek emperor resented— this 
conduct of the pope, who defended himself with great spirit and resolu- 


SECTION I.-GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 
































































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140 


GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


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tion. Photius, in his turn, convened what he called an (Ecumenical coun 
oil, in which he punounced sentence of excommunication and deposition 
against the pope, and got it subscribed by twenty-one bishops and others, 
amounting in number to a thousand. This occasioned a wide breach 
between the sees of Rome and Constantinople. However, the death of 
the Emperor Michael, and the deposition of Photius subsequent there¬ 
upon, seem to have restored peace; for the Emperor Basil held a council 
at Constantinople, in the year 869, in which entire satisfaction was given 
to Pope Adrian : but the schism was only smothered and suppressed for a 
while. The Greek church had several complaints against the Latin; 
particularly it was thought a great hardship for the Greeks to subscribe 
to the definition of a council according to the Roman form, prescribed by 
the pope, since it made the church of Constantinople dependent on that 
of Rome, and set the pope above an oecumenical council: but, above all, 
the pride and haughtiness of the Roman court gave the Greeks a great 
distaste ; and, as their deportment seemed to insult his Imperial Majesty, 
it entirely alienated the affections of the Emperor Basil. Towards the 
middle of the eleventh century, Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Constan¬ 
tinople, opposed the Latins with respect to their making use of unleavened 
bread in the eucharist, their observation of the Sabbath, and fasting on 
Saturdays, charging them with living in communion with the Jews. To 
this Pope Leo IX. replied ; and in his apology for the Latins, declaimed 
very warmly against the false doctrine of the Greeks, and interposed, at 
the same time, the authority of his see. He likewise, by his legates, 
excommunicated the patriarch in the church of Santa Sophia, which gave 
the last shock to the reconciliation attempted a long time after, but to no 
purpose ; for, from that time, the hatred of the Greeks to the Latins, and 
of the Latins to the Greeks, became insuperable, insomuch that they have 
continued ever since separated from each other’s communion.* 

As the numerous sects which are now subsisting in the Levant are of 
Greek origin, and as their principles and ceremonies, except in some few | 

stale of the particular points, are nearly the same, it will be necessary $ 
Greek Church. to treat on the religion of the Greeks (properly so called) 
before we descend to the different branches that have issued from it. 

The Greek church, which is now dependent on the Patriarch of Con¬ 
stantinople, was not formerly so extensive as it has been since the emperors 
of the East thought proper to lessen or reduce the other patriarchates, in 
order to aggrandize that of Constantinople ; a task which they accom¬ 
plished with the greater ease, as they were much more powerful than the 
emperors of the West, and had little or no regard to the consent of the 
patriarchs, in order to create new bishoprics, or to confer new titles and 


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Buck’s Theolog. Die.: art. Greek Church. 


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GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


141 


1 










privileges. Whereas, in the western church, the popes, by slow degrees, 
made themselves the sole arbiters in all ecclesiastical concerns ; insomuch 
lhat princes themselves at length became obliged to have recourse to them, 
and were subservient to their directions, on every momentous occasion. 

There are several catalogues or lists now extant of the churches which 
are dependent on that of Constantinople ; but as most of them are very 
ancient, and do not sufficiently illustrate the vast extent of which that 
church at present boasts, we shall not quote any of them in this place; 
but merely state, that the number of metropolitans amounts to upwards of 
one hundred bishoprics. 

The Greek churches, at present, deserve not even the name of the 
shadow of what they were in their former flourishing state, when they 
were so remarkably distinguished for the learned and worthy pastors who 
presided over them ; but now nothing but wretchedness, ignorance, and 
poverty are visible among them. “ I have seen churches,” says Ricaut, 
“ which were more like caverns or sepulchres than places set apart for 
divine worship; the tops thereof being almost level with the ground. 
They are erected after this humble'manner for fear they should be sus¬ 
pected, if they raised them any considerable height, of an evil inten¬ 
tion to rival the Turkish mosques. It is, indeed, very surprising that, 
in the abject state to which the Greeks at present are reduced, the 
Christian religion should maintain the least footing among them. Their 
notions of Christianity are principally confined to the traditions of their 
forefathers, and their own received customs; and, among other things, 
they are much addicted to external acts of piety and devotion, such as tne 
observance of fasts, festivals, and penances: they revere and dread the 
censures of their clergy ; and are bigoted slaves to their religious customs, 
which have been irrefutably proved to be absurd and ridiculous; and yet 
it must be acknowledged, that although these errors reflect a considerable 
degree of scandal and reproach upon the holy religion they profess, they 
nevertheless prevent it from being entirely lost and abolished among 
them. A fire which lies for a time concealed under a heap of embers, 
may revive and burn again as bright as ever; and the same hope may 
be conceived of truth, when obscured by the dark clouds of ignorance and 


error.” 


I. Thev rebaptize all those Latins who are admitted into 

Tenets of the , J . 

Greek church. their communion. 

II. They do not baptize their children till they are three, four, five, six, 
ten, and even sometimes eighteen years of age. 

III. They exclude Confirmation and Extreme Unction out of the Seven 


Sacraments. 

IV. They deny there is any such place as Purgatory, notwithstanding 

they pray for the dead. 

10 




















































142 


GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 



V. They do not absolutely acknowledge the pope’s supremacy, nor that 
of the Church of Rome, which they look upon as fallen from her supremacy, 
because, as a Greek schismatic historian expresses himself, she had aban¬ 
doned the doctrines of her fathers. 

VI. They deny, by consequence, that the Church of Rome is the true 
Catholic Mother Church. They even prefer their own to that of Rome ; 
and on Holy Thursday excommunicate the pope and all the Latin pre¬ 
lates, as heretics and schismatics, praying that all those who ofFer up 
unleavened bread in the celebration of the Sacrament may be covered with 
confusion. 

VII. They deny that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the 
Son. 

VIII. They refuse to worship the Host consecrated by Latin priests 
with unleavened bread, according to the ancient custom of the Church of 
Rome, confirmed by the Council of Florence. They likewise wash the 
altars on which the Latins have celebrated mass; and will not sutler a 
Latin priest to officiate at their altars, pretending that the sacrifice ought to 
be performed with leavened bread. 

IX. They assert that the usual form of words, wherein the Consecra¬ 
tion, according to the Latins, wholly consists, is not sufficient to change 
the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, without the use of 
some additional prayers and benedictions of the fathers. 

X. They insist that the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper ought to be 
administered in both kinds to infants, even before they are capable of dis¬ 
tinguishing this spiritual food from any other, because it is a divine institu¬ 
tion. For which reason they give the Sacrament to infants immediately 
after baptism, and look upon the Latins as heretics for not observing the 
same custom. 

XI. They hold that the laity are under an indispensable obligation, by 
the law of God, to receive the Communion in both kinds, and look on the 
Latins as heretics who maintain the contrary. 

XII. They assert that no members of the Church, when they have 
attained to years of discretion, ought to be compelled to receive the Com¬ 
munion every Easter, but should have free liberty to act according to the 
dictates of their own conscience. 

XIII. They show no respect, no religious homage, nor veneration for 
the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, even at the celebration of their own 
priests; and use no lighted tapers when they administer it to the sick. 
Moreover, they keep it in a little bag or box, without any further cere¬ 
mony than fixing it to the wall, where they light up lamps before their 
images. 

XIV. They are of opinion that such Hosts as are consecrated on Holy 
Thursday are much more efficacious than those consecrated at other times 




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GREEK CHURCH PROPER 

XV. r lhcy maintain that the Sacrament of Matrimony is a union which 
may be dissolved. For which reason, they charge the Church of Rome 
with being guilty of an error, in asserting that the bonds of marriage can 
never be broken, even in case of adultery, and that no person upon any 
provocation whatsoever can lawfully marry again. But the Greeks preach 
up a wholly different doctrine, and practise it daily. 

XVI. They condemn all fourth marriages. 

XVII. They refuse to celebrate the solemnities instituted by the church 
and the primitive Fathers, in honour of the Virgin Mary and the Apostles; 
and, independently of their different manner of celebrating them, they 
wholly neglect and despise the observance of several Saints’ days which 
are of ancient institution. They reject likewise the religious use ot 
graven images and statues, although they admit of pictures in their 
churches. 

XVIII. They insist that the canon of the mass of the Latins ought to be 
abolished, as being full of errors. 

XIX. They deny that usury is a mortal sin. 

XX. They deny that the subdeaconry is at present a holy order. 

XXI. Of all the general councils that have been held in the Catholic 
Church by the popes at different times, they pay no regard to any aftei 
the sixth, and reject not only the seventh, which was the second held at 
Nice, for the express purpose of condemning those who rejected the use 
of images in their divine worship, but all those which have succeeded it, 
by which they refuse to submit to any of their institutions. 

XXII. They deny auricular confession to be a divine precept, and pre¬ 
tend it is only a positive injunction of the Church. 

XXIII. They insist that the confession of the laity ought to be free and 
voluntary; for which reason they are not compelled to confess themselves 
annually, nor are they excommunicated for the neglect of it. 

XXIV. They insist that in confession there is no divine law which en¬ 
joins the acknowledgment of every individual sin, or a discovery of all the 
circumstances that attend it, which alter its nature and property. 

XXV. They administer the sacrament to their laity both in sickness 
and in health, though they have never applied themselves to their con¬ 
fessors ; and the reason of which is, that they are persuaded all confes¬ 
sions should be free and voluntary, and that a lively faith is all the prepa¬ 
ration that is requisite for the worthy receiving of the Sacrament of the 
Lord’s Supper. 

XXVI. They look down with an eye of disdain on the Latins for their 
observance of the vigils before the nativity of our Blessed Saviour, and 
the festivals of the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, as well as for their fast¬ 
ing in Ember-week. They even affect to eat meat more plentifully at 
those times than at any other, to testify their contempt of the Latin cus- 






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toms. They prohibit likewise all fasting on Saturdays, that preceding 
Easter only excepted. 

XXVII. They condemn the Latins as heretics, for eating such things 
as have been strangled, and such other meats as are prohibited in the 
Old Testament. 

XXVIII. They deny that simple fornication is a mortal sin. 

XXIX. They insist that it is lawful to deceive an enemy, and that it is 
no sin to injure and oppress him. 

XXX. They are of opinion that, in order to be saved, there is no neces¬ 
sity to make restitution of such goods as have been stolen or fraudulently 
obtained. 

XXXI. To conclude: they hold that such as have been admitted into 
holy orders may become laymen at pleasure. From whence it plainly 
appears that they do not allow the character of the priesthood to be inde¬ 
lible. To which it may be added, that they approve of the marriage of 
their priests, provided they enter into that state before their admission into 
holy orders, though they are never indulged in that respect after their 
ordination. 

The Patriarch of Constantinople assumes the honourable title of Univer¬ 
sal or (Ecumenical Patriarch. As he purchases his commission of the 

Patriarch of Grand Seignior, it may be easily supposed that he makes a 
Constantinople. tyrannical and simoniacal use of a privilege which he holds 
himself by simony. The patriarch and bishops are always single men ; 
but the priests are indulged in marriage before ordination ; and this custom, 
which is generally practised all over the Levant, is very ancient. Should 
a priest happen to marry after ordination, he can officiate no longer as 
priest, which is conformable to the injunctions of the council of Neocesa- 
rea; the marriage, however, is not looked upon as invalid ; whereas, in 
the Latin church, such marriages are pronounced void and of no effect, 
because the priesthood is looked upon as a lawful bar or impediment. 

Their Pappas , or secular priests, not having any settled and competent 
livings, are obliged to subsist by simoniacal practices. “ The clergy,” says 
Pappas or Ricaut, “ are almost compelled to sell those divine mysteries 
Priests. which are intrusted to their care. No one, therefore, can 

procure absolution, be admitted to confession, have his children baptized, 
be married or divorced, or obtain an excommunication against his adver¬ 
sary, or the communion in time of sickness, without first paying down a 
valuable consideration. The priests make the best market they can, and 
fix a price on their spiritual commodities in proportion to the devotion or 
abilities of their respective customersadded to which, they are so ava¬ 
ricious and rigid with their parishioners, that they will scarcely part with 
a single drop of holy water without being paid for it beforehand. 

The Greek church has no established fund for the maintenance of their 






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GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


145 


ders. 


clergy; they subsist therefore by the levying of some certain duties, and 
by the charity and benevolence of well-disposed Christians. Each parish 
is obliged to maintain its own curate. Every house is assessed at a cer¬ 
tain annual sum, which must be paid in money or effects. Each diocese 
is likewise taxed for the more honourable support of its bishop, &c. ; 
but the avarice and illegal practices of the collectors countenance and 
encourage the petty shifts and evasions which are daily practised to elude 
them. Regarding the charity of the people, it is so very cold and lan¬ 
guid, that it seems almost a sufficient plea for the simoniacal practices of 
the clergy. 

A monastic life is held in great veneration among the Greeks; and 
Monastic life although there are monks of different orders among them, 

held in great ve- n _ . , . .. 

neration. yet all or them owe their origin to St. Basil, who was the 

sole founder of the monastic state. 

The two principal are styled the Grand and Angelical Habit , and the 
Lesser Habit. Those belonging to the former are persons of worth and 
Principal Or- distinction, and who prefer to lead a more righteous life 
than the rest. Monks of the Lesser Habit are inferior per¬ 
sons, who do not pretend to lead such sanctified lives. The latter live 
uncontrolled, and are left to their own discretion ; for which reason, before 
they take up the habit, they deposit a certain sum of money for a cell or 
small apartment, and other accommodations, belonging to the convent. 
The procurator or steward, indeed, supplies them with bread and wine, 
in the same manner as the rest; but in every other respect they provide 
for themselves; and, being thus free from all the encumbrances of a con¬ 
vent, each one pursues his own particular affairs. 

There is a third order, who are known and distinguished by the name 
of Anchorets ; and, though they do not choose to work, nor to perform the 
other duties of the convent, they are still very desirous of 
passing their lives in solitude and retirement. They pur¬ 
chase, therefore, a cell, or a little commodious apartment exterior to the 
convent, with a small spot of ground contiguous to it, sufficient to maintain 
them ; and they never attend the convent but on solemn festivals, on which 
days they assist at the celebration of divine service. As soon as their 
public devotions are over, they return to their cells, and spend their timo 
in the pursuit of their customary avocations, without being confined to any 
set time for their prayers, or other acts of private devotion. There are 
some of these anchorets, however, who retire altogether from the convent, 
with the license and approbation of their abbot, in order to live still more 
retired and to apply themselves more closely to prayer and contemplation. 
Having no grounds nor vineyards of their own to improve, the convent sends 
them once at least, if not twice, a month, a stated allowance. Those, how¬ 
ever, who decline being dependent on, or pensioners to, the abbot, rent 


Anchorets. 




























































GREEK CHURCH PROPER 


gome small vineyards situate near their cells, and maintain themselves out 
of the profits and product of them. Some live upon figs, some upon 
cherries, and others upon such wholesome fruits of a similar nature which 
they can most commodiously procure. Some sow beans in their proper 
season; and others earn their bread by transcribing books or manuscripts. 

Besides these monks, there are likewise nuns, who form themselves into 
communities. They are confined in convents, and live subject to the rule 
of St. Basil. They are in no degree inferior to the monks 
with respect to their abstemious course of life, their pe¬ 
nances, fasts, prayers, and other acts of devotion which are in general 
practised by recluses. 

These nuns in general wear the same habit, which is black, with a 
woollen gown of the same colour. Their arms and hands are covered to 
their very fingers’ ends. Their heads are all shaved close ; and each of 
them has a separate residence, with a commodious room above and below. 
Those who are in good circumstances are allowed to keep a servant; and 
sometimes they entertain young ladies in their society, and train them up 
in the practice of piety. After the customary duties are over, their leisure 
hours are advantageously spent in all manner of curious needlework. 

The fasts of the Greeks are quite different from those of the Latins ; 
for those of the latter are festival days when compared with the former; 

inasmuch as they not only abstain from eating the flesh 
of animals, and their produce, such as butter and cheese ; 
but they eat no manner of fish, and content themselves with fruits and 
herbs, to which they put a drop or two of oil; allowing themselves but a 
very small quantity of wine. The monks are still more rigorous ; for they 
never taste a drop of wine nor oil, except on Saturdays and Sundays. 

The Greek monks, according to Angelus, are obliged to fast three days, 
that is, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in every week. On which 
days, about two in the afternoon, they go to prayers ; after that, they take 
some small refreshment, which principally consists of a few beans, with a 
little broth, without either oil or butter, or some other relished roots, with 
a small quantity of vinegar. In the evening, they resume their prayers, 
when service is over, they seat themselves round about the church, and the 
procurator distributes to each man a slice of bread and a glass of watei 
This indulgence, however, is shown only to the junior monks ; the seniors 
have no share in this distribution. After a short interval they return to 
their public devotions, which last about half an hour, and sometimes an 
hour. On going out of the church, they pass in review before their 
superior or principal, who stands at the churcn-door, and ask his blessing, 
which he gives to each of them in the following terms, God be propitious 
to thee , my son! After this benediction, each retires to his own cell, 
without speaking a single word upon any occasion. By their rule they 


Fasts 









































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


147 


are enjoined, after this, to spend a whole hour on their knees in private 
prayer. This exercise of devotion is. followed by a very short repose ; for 
about midnight, or soon after, they rise again, and attend their public 
prayers, which are not over till break of day; at which time every one 
withdraws to his particular avocations, till some short interval before 
dinner, which is spent again at church in public devotions. As soon as 
dinner is served, the monks beg their abbot or superior’s blessing, who 
stands at the upper end of the table. If any monk has had the misfortune 
to oversleep himself, and comes too late to church in the morning, as a 
penance for his indolence and neglect he is ordered to stand at the lower 
end of the table, and there repeat over and over, with an audible voice, 
but with an humble and contrite heart, these words, Have compassion , O 
Lord , on thy unworthy servant , according to thy infinite goodness and 
mercy ! till the monks are risen from table, and are ready to go away. 
Then the penitent prostrates himself, with his face to the very ground, 
imploring forgiveness in this humble posture, and crying out, Oh! holy 
fathers , pray for me , who am a poor sinful sluggard! whereupon they 
with one /oice reply, God forgive you , my brother! After which they 
all depart, except the poor penitent, who stays behind and dines by 
himself. None are exempted from this penance, from the highest to the 
lowest. 

The Moscovites, however, having neither wine nor oil, are indulged in 
eating flesh. They abstain from eating flesh, butter, and cheese, on Wed¬ 
nesdays and Fridays, but have the free use of fish. The Greeks and 
other Eastern nations censure the Latins very severely for fasting on 
Saturdays ; since that day, in their opinion, is a festival, as well as Sunday; 
and this they endeavour to prove from their ancient canons and the prac¬ 
tice of the primitive Christians. In short, with respect to ceremonies, it 
maybe said in general,that they observe a much greater number than any 
other Christian country whatsoever. The veneration which they pay to 
images is boundless and extravagant. Upon a solemn festival they plant 
the image of the saint to whom that day is devoted in the centre of the 
church ; which statue, or picture, is always an historical representation 
of some remarkable transaction which they then commemorate, as, for 
instance, the nativity, or resurrection of our Blessed Saviour; at which 
time every devotee then present' salutes the image; and this religious 
adoration is not performed by falling down on their knees, prostration, or 
any other particular gesticulations of the body ; but by barely kissing the 
image. If it happens to be a representation of our Blessed Lord, they 
kiss his feet; if of the Virgin Mary, they salute her hands; and if it be 
only the image of some memorable saint, they approach him with more 
familiarity, and kiss his cheek. 

The supreme head of the Greek church is the Patriarch of Constants 


























































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nople, whom they style the 13th Apostle; and whose usual title, when he 
, subscribes any letter or missive, is, “ By the mercy of God y 

Head of the J _ 

Greek church. Archbishop of Constantinople , the New Rome , and CEcu - 
menical Patriarch .” The right of electing him is vested in the twelve 
bishops who reside nearest that famous capital; but the right of confirming 
the election, and of enabling the new chosen patriarch to exercise his 
spiritual functions, belongs only to the Turkish emperor. 

A patriarch of Constantinople formerly paid but ten thousand crowns 
for his instalment; but subsequently the price was advanced to twenty-five 
thousand. Even fifty and sixty thousand have been given by different 
patriarchs. Independently of this charge, which is so exceedingly heavy, 
the ministers of state often exact other fees, so very enormous, that the 
patriarch becomes always encumbered with debts, and is forced to study 
incessantly new ways and means to satisfy the avarice of his creditors. If 
he once proves deficient in his payments, he is presently deposed. And 
these may be considered as the genuine causes of those revolutions which 
so frequently occur in the Greek church, and which tend to support the 
tyrannical power of the Turks in the election of the clergy. 

The revenues of the Patriarch of Constantinople are very precarious, 
and increase or decrease in value according to the degree of oppression 
which he suffers from the Turks, or to the character which 
he himself bears, of being a virtuous or a dishonest man. 
The following are the sources from which his revenues arise. As soon as 
the patriarch is elected, he disposes of the vacant bishoprics and other 
benefices to the best purchaser ; and, independently of the advantage of 
these sales, each bishopric, benefice, living, and convent, within his juris¬ 
diction, is assessed at a certain annual sum. Every priest in Constanti¬ 
nople pays him annually a crown. The bishops, following the laudable 
example of their patriarch, exact the utmost from those persons whom they 
admit into holy orders; and the priests, again, obtain a supply for their 
pecuniary necessities, by the sale of the blessed Sacraments to the people. 
They likewise make them pay for their holy water, their consecrated 
bread, and the very seats in their churches. Several bishoprics are as¬ 
sessed after the rate of a thousand crowns per annum, and the convents in 
proportion. There are about one hundred and fifty bishops and arch¬ 
bishops who are dependent on the patriarch; and he receives a fee from 
every one whom he ordains in Constantinople, whether he be priest or 
deacon; and those who are constituted bishops or archbishops make him 
a present in proportion to their quality. For every marriage that is 
solemnized in Constantinople, or within the jurisdiction thereof, he has a 
crown. This perquisite at one time amounted to a very considerable sum, 
on account of the vast number of Greeks who settled in Constantinople. 
The fee upon a second marriage is double ; and for the third and last he 





























































GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 

receives a triple gratuity, no fourth marriage being allowed according to 
the tenets of the Greek church. 

One of the principal branches of the patriarch’s revenues arises from 
particular patrimonies, or estates of inheritance. In case a priest dies 
without issue, the patriarch has a just claim to all his effects, as the spi¬ 
ritual father and common heir of the clergy; and those Greeks who die i 

possessed of very large estates generally remember the patriarch in their 
wills, and leave him either lands, houses, or ready money. Once in three 
years, he collects a penny per head of every parishioner in his patriarch¬ 
ate ; to which are added the contributions raised for him during Lent in 
the churches of Constantinople and Galata. Finally, the Czar of Mus¬ 
covy himself makes him a very handsome present as a mark of his pecu¬ 
liar friendship and respect ; and, on the other hand, the Greeks testify an : , 
extraordinary regard for the Russian nation, on account of some particular 
prophecies, which intimate that the Russians will one day deliver the 
Greeks from the tyranny and oppression of the Turks. 

After the Patriarch of Constantinople, ,tjie richest is that of Jerusalem, 
on account of the large sums of money arising from his profits by conse¬ 
crated fires. The Patriarch of Antioch is the poorest of 
Other patriarchs. t k em a jp That 0 f Alexandria is very powerful, with re¬ 
spect to the ecclesiastical government; and he makes himself formidable 
bv the execution of his penal laws. He assumes the grand title of Judge 
of the whole World, as well as that of Pope. But what distinguishes him 
in a particular manner from the Patriarch of Constantinople is, the advan¬ 
tage which he enjoys of being less exposed to the avarice and resent¬ 
ments of the Turks. His election is carried on without those artifices and 
intrigues which are practised in that of the former, and the votes of the 
electors are much more free. 

As to the revenues of the archbishops and bishops, they consist, in like 
manner, in the moneys arising from their respective ordinations. They 
have a fee of a crown upon all marriages; and every house 

Revenues of the . 1 

other clergy. in their particular diocese supplies them with a certain 
quantity of corn, fruits, wine, and oil. The priests live on the revenues of o '/' 

the churches, or on the voluntary bounty and benevolence of their parish¬ 
ioners, and their public collections on solemn festivals. Every time a 
priest says mass, either on a holyday or Sunday, each house pays him 
two-thirds of a farthing ; and, as a grateful acknowledgment, the priest on 
his part is obliged, before the sacrifice is offered up, to say a prayer, and 
beg of God to bless each of his benefactors for this small gratuity. It is, 
however, a custom among the Greeks to enjoy themselves, and to have an 
elegant entertainment on all solemn festivals, at which the priests always 
attend, and give their blessing as soon as the first course comes upon tho 
table. This short religious service entities them to some bread, meat, 





































































150 


GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


wine, and a small sum of money. As their whole maintenance, however, 
depends upon the good circumstances and liberality of their parishioners, 
their income is very uncertain and precarious, which naturally tends to 
make them avaricious and anxious in mind, abject and submissive in theii 
behaviour, and lukewarm in their devotion. If any religious services be 
required of them, whether it be absolution, confession, baptism, marriage, 
divorce, excommunication, or administration of the sacraments to the sick, 
the price of each individual service must be first settled and adjusted. 
The priests make the best bargain they possibly can, always proportioning 
their fees to the zeal and circumstances of the devotees with whom they 
hold this religious commerce. 

The patriarch is elected by the archbishops and bishops, by a majority 
of votes; but this formality carries with it no weight nor importance, 
_ . , , without the consent and approbation of the Grand Seignior, 

patriarch. Before the election begins, it is customary to address the 

Grand Vizier for his license and permission to proceed with it; and this 
minister summons the archbishops, and inquires of them, whether they be 
fully determined to proceed to the election of a new patriarch. He repeats 
the question a second time, and grants his consent, together with the baratz. 
His highness then presents the patriarch with a white horse, a black 
capuch, a crosier, and an embroidered caftan. In this ceremony, the Turk 
retains the ancient custom of the Grecian emperors. After this, the patri¬ 
arch, attended by a long train of Turkish officers, his own clergy, and a 
great concourse of people, repairs to his patriarchal see with all imaginable 
pomp and solemnity. The principal archbishops, and the remainder of 
the clergy, with wax tapers in their hands, receive him at the church door; 
and the Bishop of Heraclea, as chief archbishop, having a right to conse¬ 
crate him, being dressed in his pontifical robes, takes the patriarch by the 
hand, and conducts hin to the throne. Previously to this ceremony, how¬ 
ever, he makes a short harangue to the people, and informs them, that 
such a person has been elected patriarch by the general suffrage of the 
archbishops and bishops, according to the canons of the church ; and then 
invites the patriarch to take possession of the important trust reposed in 
him, who with gravity professes to decline it, as not considering himself 
worthy of so great an honour : however, as it is conferred upon him by 
the will of Heaven, he submits at last to the decisions of the clergy. This 
ceremony being accomplished, he receives the cross, the mitre, and the 
other pontifical ornaments, from the hands of the Archbishop of Heraclea. 
He seats himself on his throne ; and the bishops, inferior clergy, and the 
populace, pay him the usual compliments, exclaiming, Ad multos annos 
Domine . The celebration of the mass, with the usual ceremonies observed 
on solemn festivals, immediately succeed, and close the ceremony. 

According to ancient custom, the patriarch, bishops, and other dignified 























































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER 


clergy, ought to have none but monks for their ministers, and no secular 
assistants. Before the conquest of Constantinople they 
were ecclesiastics, but at present they are all seculars, four 
only excepted ; and this arrangement augments, on the one hand, the 
revenues of the patriarch, and, on the other, gratifies the ambition of the 
seculars. The following are the several officers, ranged in their proper 
order, in regard to their respective functions, both ecclesiastical and civil:— 

At the patriarch’s right hand stands his grand ceconomist, or high 
steward, whose peculiar province it is to collect the revenues, and discharge 
the necessary disbursements, of the patriarchate. He delivers in his ac¬ 
counts twice a year, and assists at the patriarchal tribunal whenever the 
court sits. When a bishop dies, he likewise superintends the affairs of 
the vacant see, and has the first vote in every new election. 

The grand sacellarius, or high-master of the chapel, assists the patriarch 
in the administration of all his judicial affairs, and in the regular perform¬ 
ance of the several ceremonies enjoined by the church. It is a part of 
his office, likewise, to present all candidate'^ to be ordained ; and not only 
the monasteries of the monks, but the convents of the nuns, are subject to 
his inspection. 

The high treasurer , who is keeper of the sacred vessels and pontifical 
ornaments belonging to the church, stands at the door of the vestry, in 
which they are always deposited, and not only delivers out the proper ha¬ 
biliments to the officiating prelate, but takes care that every article be regu¬ 
larly placed upon the altar. When any bishopric is vacant, it is his pro¬ 
vince likewise to take care of the revenues belonging to it. 

The grand official takes cognisance of all affairs relating to benefices, 
and the impediments which obstruct marriages : he likewise introduces all 
those priests who come to receive the Sacrament on solemn festivals. 

The grand logothetes, or high chancellor. He is the speaker, has the 
patriarch’s signet in his custody, and seals all his letters. 

The grand referendary despatches all the patriarch’s orders, is his de¬ 
puty to persons of distinction, and is one of the ecclesiastical judges. He 
was distinguished by the title of the Palatine in the time of the Greek 
emperors. 

The grandprothonotary sits directly opposite to the patriarch, to tran¬ 
scribe and deliver out all his briefs, mandamuses, orders, and decrees. It 
is his province, also, to examine, twice a year, all the professors of the 
canon law. All contracts, and last wills or testaments, are under his in¬ 
spection. Finally, he attends the patriarch in the sanctuary, and brings 
him water to wash his hands during the celebration of divine service. 

All the above-named officers, as well as those who follow, though their 
office be inferior, still preserve their ancient dignity, and stand at the pa¬ 
triarch’s right hand at all public solemnities. 


Order of as^ 
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The thuroferary , or incense-bearer, independently of the duty implied 
in his name, covers the consecrated vessels or implements with a veil 
during the anthem to the sacred Trinity, and assists the celebrant in put** 
tincr on his sacerdotal vestments. 

The next officer is employed in noting down the votes of the bishops, 
and receiving petitions and remonstrances. The protecdice, or advocate, 
determines all petty causes, and his court is held in the church porch. 
The liieromnemoh is intrusted with the care of the ritual, which is called 
contacium , and other church books. It is his province likewise to conse¬ 
crate any new church in the bishop’s absence, and to ordain the readers. 
There is another officer, who takes care of the supergenual of the patriarch, 
and one who has the title of doctor. 

On the left hand of the patriarch attend the protopapas, or high-priest, 
the deutereuon, or second visitor, the prefect of the churches, the ecdices, 
or lateral judges, the exarch, the two domestics, the two laosynactes, the 
two deans, the protopsaltes, or chief singer, the deputy, the grand arch¬ 
deacon, and the secondary deacon. The protopapas, whose dignity is 
entirely ecclesiastical, administers the Holy Sacrament to the patriarch at 
all high and solemn masses, and receives it from him. He is the head 
ecclesiastical dignitary, not only with respect to his peculiar privileges, but 
to his right and title to precedence. The deutereuon, when the protopapas 
happens to be absent, officiates in his stead. The visitor, among several 
other prerogatives belonging to his office, enjoys the privilege of examining 
S into all ecclesiastical debates, and all impediments in matrimonial cases. 
The sacred oil, and what the Greeks call the antimensium, which is a port¬ 
able altar, are intrusted to the sole direction and management of the pre¬ 
fect, or superintendent. He has the honour to erect the cross on such spot 
of ground as is marked out, and set apart for a new church, when the 
patriarch cannot perform this ceremony himself. The exarch revises all 
causes in which sentence has been already passed. The domestics, as also 
the two deans, who sit above the deacons, are ranged on each side of the 
protopsaltes, or master of the choir, and sing with him. The laosynactes 
assemble the deacons and people together. The deputy introduces 
° i strangers into the presence of the patriarch, and clears the way to and 
from his audience. He may be styled, with propriety, the master of the 
ceremonies. Those who stand on the left hand of the patriarch are the 
catechist, who instructs and prepares all those persons for the Sacrament 
of Baptism who renounce their heretical tenets, and desire to be admitted 
into the pale of the church. The periodeutes goes likewise from one place 
to another, to instruct those that are intended to be baptized : the prefect, 
or master of the ceremonies, an office distinct from that of the deputy, 
assigns every person his proper place. 

The protosyncellus is, properly speaking, inspector general of the patri- 





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GREEK CIIURCII PROPER. 


153 


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arch himself. He has a right and title to an apartment in his palace, 
and resides there at night with several other syncelli, who are under his 
direction. His apartment joins the patriarch’s ; and, in fine, he is not only 
the patriarch’s vicar and assistant, but his ghostly father. 

The service of the Greeks consists of nine parts ; viz. the nocturns, or - A \v 4 if 

- - 


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M 


night service ; the morning service, or matins; the laudes, prime, tierce. 

Service Liturgy sexte ’ none » vespers, and complin. After the nocturnal, 
&c - they sing the trisagium, or Holy God, Holy and Omnipo¬ 

tent, Holy and Eternal; and repeat the Gloria Patri three times succes¬ 
sively, &c.; and, at all the hours, perform the same service. 




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The Greeks have four distinct liturgies; the first is that of St. James, 
which has met with a universal reception throughout the Greek church. 
As this particular service is very long, and requires five hours at least for 
the celebration of it, it is read but once a year, that is, on the 23d of 
October, which is St. James’s day. The second is that of St. Basil. 
This Father distinctly perceived, that the unmerciful length of St. James’s 
liturgy tired the people, and damped their dovotion ; and therefore deter¬ 
mined to abridge it. The liturgy of Basil is read every Sunday in Lent, 
Palm Sunday excepted ; on Holy Saturday, on the vigils or eves of Christ¬ 
mas, the Epiphany, and the festival of St. Basil. The third liturgy is that 
of St. Chrysostom; who ascertained that the liturgy of St. Basil, though 
an abridgment, was still too tedious, and that he did not make sufficient 
allowance for the weakness and frailty of the faithful, who are unable 
to support a close attention to the duties of religion for several consecutive 
hours. St. Chrysostom, therefore, made a new reduction of this liturgy, 
or rather extracted the most essential parts from St. Basil’s abridgment, 
and inserted them in his own. This liturgy of St. Chrysostom is used 
during the whole year, except on the days above particularly specified. 
The fourth, which is that of St. Gregory, is called the preconsecrated 
liturgy, because it always follows that of St. Chrysostom or St. Basil. 
The last liturgy of St. Gregory is no more than a collection of prayers 
peculiarly adapted to inspire both the priest and the people with that 
ardent zeal and devotion which are requisite for the Lord s Supper. 

During divine service the Greeks observe several distinct postures, 
which are considered as actually essential, and of the greatest moment in 
the performance of their religious duties ; in general, when they pray, 
they stand upright, and turn their faces to the east; but they may lean, or 
even sit down to rest themselves, when they find it convenient. The laity 
sit, while the priest reads his exhortation to them; but stand, when they 
pray to God or sing an anthem. On reaching their respective places they 
uncover their heads, and make the sign of the cross, by joining the three 
first fingers of their right hand, by which it is implied, that there are 
three persons in the sacred Godhead. In this sign of the cioss, the three 



































































154 GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


fingers placed on the forehead denote, that the three persons in the sacred 
Godhead reside in the kingdom of heaven; when brought below the 
breast, they point out four great mysteries at once, viz. Christ’s incarna¬ 
tion, crucifixion, burial, and descent into hell. When placed on the right 
shoulder, they imply that Jesus Christ, being risen, sits at the right 
hand of God. In short, as the left shoulder is a type or figure of the 
reprobation of the wicked, the Greek devotee, by placing his three 
fingers there, begs of God that he may not be reckoned among the 
number of those abandoned wretches; but be delivered from the power 
of the devil. 

The whole devotion of the Greeks is comprised in the sign of the cross, 
and the collection of prayers, commonly called the Horologium , which are 
much the same as the Hours of the Latins. By this Horologium, it is 
manifest they pray to the saints and the Virgin Mary. The latter is 
therein called the Mother of God , the Queen of the Universe , and the 
Glory of the Orthodox. In one particular prayer of the nocturnal service 
they implore the Blessed Virgin to frustrate the counsels of the ungodly, 
to fight for their rightful sovereign, and intercede for the peace and tran¬ 
quillity of the whole world, &c. 

It is remarkable, that their women, in some certain cases, are not allowed 
to enter their churches ; but are obliged to stand at the door, as if their 
breath were infectious; and they never presume either to approach the 
communion table, or to kiss their images. 

The Greeks celebrate mass, which consists of a round of ceremonies 
somewhat similar to those of the Catholic mass. The laity, as well as the 

clergy, however, among the Greeks, take the sacrament in 

M a^s 

both kinds, and receive from the hands of the priest the 
consecrated bread and wine in the same spoon, which the Greeks call 
Labis. The laity receive the sacrament standing at the door of the sanc¬ 
tuary ; the men first, and then the women. Those who presume to par¬ 
take of this holy banquet must stand in a modest and reverential posture ; 
their eyes must be fixed on the ground, and their head bowed down, as 
persons in the act of adoration, and their arms must be laid across. The 
Greeks follow the example of the Catholics, carry the communion to the 
sick, but with less pomp or grandeur, it being contained in a little box, 
enclosed in a bag. which the priest bears under his arm. This is a small 
parcel or portion of the blessed bread, which they also carry to those whose 
business confines them at home. The Bishop of Vabres says, that they 
take a small portion of consecrated bread, about an inch square, cut in the 
form of a cross and sprinkled with a little blood, (that is, transubstantiated 
wine,) and administer it to the sick, after having moistened it with a little 
water, or a little wine, and this is their viaticum which they give to sick 
and dying persons. 


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GREEK CHURCII PROPER. 


Churches. 


It is a custom among the Greeks, when the foundation of any church is 
to be laid, for the patriarch, or bishop, dressed in all his pontifical robes, to 
repair to the place, and to bless it in the following manner. 
He thurifies or incenses every individual part of the whole 
foundation ; during which ceremony, the clergy sing anthems in honour to 
the particular saint to whom the church is to be devoted. As soon as he 
arrives at the place appointed for the high altar, he says a prayer, in which 
he begs that the Lord will be pleased to bless and prosper the intended 
edifice. After that, the bishop who consecrates it takes a stone, makes a 
cross with it, and lays it on the foundation, saying, The Lord hath laid 
the foundation of this house ; it shall never be shaken. This office 
properly belongs to the bishop, or such other person as the patriarch shall 
think fit to nominate or appoint; as well as another office which the 
Greeks call Stauropegium, i. e. the consecration or dedication of the 
church. A wooden cross is erected behind the communion table, and in 
order the better to certify and assure the faithful that this cross will be able 
to dispel and keep the infernal powers at a’distance, a particular prayer is 
repeated, in which the miraculous rod of Moses is said to be an antecedent 
type of that of our Lord Jesus Christ; as the cross at the consecration is 
its subsequent figure or representation. 

When the Greeks lay the foundation of any edifice, the priest blesses 
both the work and the workmen ; and as soon as the priest has retired, the 
following ceremony is observed: the labourers kill a cock or a sheep, and 
bury the blood of it under the foundation-stone, they being of opinion, 
that there is a kind of magic, or charm, in this ceremony, of singular ser¬ 
vice and importance to the building. This ceremony is called Thusia, 
that is, sacrifice. 

There is, however, a still more remarkable ceremony prevalent among 
the Greeks, and which may be adduced as a strong proof of the gross 
superstition in which they are unhappily immersed. When they enter¬ 
tain any resentment against a particular person, in order to satisfy their 
malice and revenge, they take an exact measure of the height and circum¬ 
ference of his body. This measure they carry to one of the workmen 
employed in laying the foundation of an edifice, who, for a small gratuity, 
buries it under one of the first stones. They flatter themselves, that their 
enemj will die soon after, or languish and fall away by degrees, in the 
same manner as this secret instrument of their revenge perishes and 
decays. 

The churches of Constantinople are generally built in the form of the 
Greek cross, that is, an equilateral square. The choir always fronts the 
east. Some ancient churches, which are still extant, have two naves, 
either sharp roofed, or vaulted ; and their steeples, which are not of the 
least service, there being no bells in them, are erected in the middle of the 



























































156 


GREEK CHURCIl PROPER. 



two roof's. The Greeks are prohibited by the Turks from making use of 
bells, alleging, that the sound of them interrupts and disturbs the reposo 
of departed souls. 

Tht Greeks have four solemn feasts, or Lents. The first commences on 
the 15th of November, or forty days before Christmas. The second is our 
„ a . Lent, which immediately precedes Easter, which they keep 
vais. according to the old style, the Eastern Christians not having 

admitted the Gregorian Reformation of the Calendar. Their third is dis¬ 
tinguished by the title of the Fast of the Holy Apostles , which they ob¬ 
serve upon the supposition, that the apostles then prepared themselves by 
prayer and fasting for the promulgation of the'Gospel. This fast com¬ 
mences the week after Whit-Sunday, and continues till the festival of 
St. Peter and St. Paul. The number of days therefore comprised in this 
Lent is net settled nor determined ; but consists of more or less, according 
as Whit-Sunday falls sooner or later. Their fourth fast commences the 
1st of August , and lasts only until the 15th. It is by this fast that they 
prepare themselves for the celebration of the festival called the Assump¬ 
tion of the Blessed Virgin. This fast is observed so strictly, that the 
Greek monks are not allowed to touch one drop of oil during the continu¬ 
ance of it; and it is looked upon as a duty incumbent on all persons in 
general, except on the 6th of August, which is the festival of the Transfi¬ 
guration, at which time they are indulged in the eating both of oil and 
fish ; but on the following day they are obliged to observe the same rules 
of abstinence as were before prescribed to them. 

The Greeks testify a peculiar veneration for the Blessed Virgin ; and the 
expressions which they make use of in the prayers particularly addressed 
to her are exceedingly extravagant, and border strongly upon the ridicu¬ 
lous. It is the custom of the most zealous devotees to dedicate to her, after 
their meals, a small piece of bread, which they cut in a triangular form, 
and, after thurification, elevate it to her honour. 

To these four general fasts must be added that of the 28th of August, 
in commemoration of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. They pre¬ 
pare themselves by a fourteen days’ fast for the festival of the Exaltation 
of the Cross; during which time the monks preach, and endeavour to 
affect the people with a long and pathetic history of our Saviour’s Passion : 
few, however, excepting the monks, observe the latter fast; they being 
the persons who peculiarly devote themselves to exercises of devotion, and 
the mortification of the flesh : accordingly, they not only abstain from all 
flesh, butter, cheese, and milk, but from all fish that have either shells, fins, 
or blood. They are allowed, however, to eat any kind of fish during that 
Lent which begins the 15th of November; as well as on their ordinary 
fast-days of Wednesdays and Fridays; which days are in general fast- 
days throughout the year, except a few particular ones; and among the 









































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


rest, (hose in the eleventh week before Easter, which they call Artzeburst, 
which, in the Armenian language, signifies messenger; and the cause of 
this exception is at once curious and entertaining. A favourite dog, that 
served in the capacity of carrier or messenger to some particular heretics, 
having died, they immediately accused the orthodox with being the con¬ 
trivers and promoters of his death ; and in commemoration of the good 
services of the dog, and as a public testimony of their unfeigned sorrow at 
his untimely end, the heretics set apart two days of this eleventh week to 
be observed as a fast. These two days were Wednesday and Friday, and 
the orthodox were absolved by the Greek church from fasting on those two 
days, lest they should act in conformity to an erroneous practice established 
by the heretics. The Greeks likewise abstain from all kinds of meats on 
Whit-Monday; on which day the people repair to church early in the 
morning, in order to pray to God for that communication of the Holy 
Ghost which he formerly conferred on the blessed apostles. On the 25th 
of March, which is the festival of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, they are allowed to eat what fish they please, notwithstanding this 
holyday falls in Lent. They are permitted, likewise, to eat meat from Christ¬ 
mas till the Epiphany, or festival of the Three Kings, not excluding Wed¬ 
nesdays and Fridays, which, among the Greeks, are accounted fast days 
throughout the whole year. The Greeks select Wednesdays, because 
Judas on that day took the nine pieces of silver to betray his Master; and 
Friday, on account of Christ’s Passion. 

Lent, with the Greeks, commences on a Monday, and their strict ob¬ 
servance of all their fasts can only be equalled by their superstition. They 
look upon those persons who, without an absolute necessity, violate the 
laws of abstinence, and, consequently, the constitutions of their church, to 
be as infamous and as criminal, in all respects, as those who are guilty of 
theft or adultery. They entertain such an exalted and extravagant idea 
of these fasts, that they imagine Christianity cannot possibly subsist with¬ 
out them, and they hesitate not to suspect the sincerity of those professors 
who presume to neglect or infringe the strict observance of them. This 
partial and more than common regard for fasts induces the Eastern nations 
to believe that the Protestant churches are all heterodox, as they observe no 
days of penance; to which may be added, their total want of a profound 
veneration for the sign of the cross. 

The Greeks are so superstitious and extravagant in the observance of 
their fasts, that they will not admit of any cases of sufficient urgency to 
justify the grant of any dispensations; and the patriarch himself, accord¬ 
ing to their ideas, cannot authorize or empower any person to eat meat 
when the church has enjoined the contrary. They think it their duty 
rather to let a sick man die, than restore him to health, if they could, by 
such an abominable prescription as a mess of broth ; it is true, neverthe- 
11 — 


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GREEK CHURCH PROPER 


love and respect for a person that is indisposed, order and advise him to 
eat meat, and promise him his absolution from the sin, upon his coming 

confession. Upon a general computation, there are only about one hun¬ 
dred and thirty days in the year on which meat is allowed; and neither 
old nor young, sick nor weak, are excused from the strict observance of 
all their fasts. 

In regard to their feasts, Easter is accounted by the Greek church the 
most solemn festival in the year. It is customary for them at this time, 
upon meeting with their friends, to greet them with this formal salutation, 
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead ; to which the person accosted replies. 
He is risen indeed: at the same time, they kiss each other three times— 
once on each cheek, and once upon their lips, and then part. This cere¬ 
mony is observed on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and the three subse¬ 
quent days; and every week till Whitsuntide. According to some 
historians, two priests on Good Friday, in order to commemorate the 
sacred sepulchre, carry in procession at night upon their shoulders the 
picture or representation of a tomb, in which the crucified Jesus, painted 
on a board, is deposited. On Easter Sunday, this sepulchre is carried out 
of the church, and exposed to the public view ; when the priest begins to 
sing, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead; he has triumphed over death , 
and given life to all such as were laid in their graves. After which, it is 
carried back to the church, and there thurified, or incensed, and the ser¬ 
vice is continued. The priest and the congregation repeat almost every 
moment this form of words : Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. In the 
next place, the celebrant, or officiating priest, makes three signs of the 
cross, kisses the Gospel and the image of Jesus Christ. Then the picture 
is turned on the other side, on which Jesus Christ is represented as rising 
out of his sepulchre. The priest kisses it, and in a more elevated strain 
pronounces the same form, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. The 
whole congregation embrace and make their peace with each other, and 
in their transports of joy at the sight of this rough sketch of the resur¬ 
rection, fire their pistols, which frequently singe the hair and beards of 
the reverend Pappas. The ceremony concludes with the benediction, 
pronounced by the officiating priest. The women observe much the 
same ceremony among themselves, in that part of the church which is 
appropriated to their peculiar service, with the exception of the firing of 
the pistols. 

On Holy Thursday, some of the most zealous bishops wash the feet of 
twelve priests, and the following is a description of this solemnity. 
Twelve of the most venerable priests attend the archbishop to church, 
where he is dressed in a purple robe. As soon as one part of the service 
is concluded, he enters into the sanctuary, divests himself of his purple 








































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


Ji>P 


vestment, and puts on another of much greater pomp and splendour. The 
priests, who in this ceremony represent the twelve apostles, have each of 
them a robe of a different colour. The eldest and most venerable father 
is selected to personate St. Peter, and takes the first place on the right 
hand. One of them, who is obliged to have a red beard, in order to ren¬ 
der the ceremony more lively and natural, has the misfortune to supplv 
the place of Judas. All these priests being thus regularly placed, the 
prelate goes out to change his habiliments, and returns with a napkin tied 
round his waist, and a basin of water in his hand to wash the feet of these 
twelve apostles. He who personates St. Peter refuses at first the honour 
intended him, saying, Master, thou shall never wash my feet. But the 
prelate answers him, Unless I wash thee, thou shalt have no part in me. 
Upon which, the priest makes no further resistance, but permits him to 
wash his feet. When the prelate comes to the unhappy representative 
of Judas, he makes a kind of pause, as if to give him time to recollect 
himself, but at last washes his feet also; and the ceremony closes with 
several anthems. 

On the 2d of September, the monks alone celebrate the festival of St. 
John the Baptist, whom they have dignified with the character of tem¬ 
perate and abstemious, as setting the first and glorious example of fasting. 
The 2(5th is consecrated in commemoration of St. John the Evangelist, of 
whom it is a received notion among the Greeks, that he was snatched up 
to heaven like Enoch and Elias. 

According to Christopher Angelus, there are six-and-thirty solemn fes¬ 
tivals in the Greek calendar, twelve of which are devoted to the honour 
and service of the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin ; the remaining 
twenty-four are appropriated to St. John the Baptist, the Apostles and the 
Holy Martyrs. 

The first sacrament of the Greek church is that of baptism, and the 
Greeks take care to bring the children as soon as they are eight days old 
to the church door. This religious custom is very ancient 
Baptism, among them, and may be regarded as an imitation or sub¬ 

sequent figure of the presentation of Jesus Christ in the temple of Jeru¬ 
salem. If an infant, however, be in any apparent danger of death, he 
is baptized immediately, for fear he, should die in darkness, or, as they 
express it, out of the light. The priest goes to the church door, in order 
to receive the infant, and to give him his benediction, as St. Simon for¬ 
merly did to our blessed Saviour. At the same time he marks him with 
the sign of the cross on his forehead, his mouth, and his breast. These 
are the preliminary ceremonies to the sacrament of Baptism, and are 
styled putting the seal upon an infant. The initial ceremony is followed 
by prayer repeated by the priest ^ after which he takes the infant and 
raises him in his arms, either before the church door et the image of the 













































































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GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


Blessed Virgin, making several signs of the cross upon him. This bap¬ 
tism is performed by a threefold immersion ; but before he administers this 
sacrament, the priest breathes three times on the infant, which is looked 
upon as an exorcism, and deliverance from the power and malice of the 
devil; afterwards he plunges him three times all over in the baptismal 
font, and at each immersion names one of the three personages of the. 
Sacred Trinity. The relations, who bring the child to be baptized, take 
care to have the baptismal water warmed, throwing into it a collection of 
the most odoriferous flowers; and wffiile the water is warming the priest 
sanctifies it by a prayer, breathes upon it, and then pours oil into it, and, 
with the same oil, anoints the infant in the form of a cross. The oil is a 
symbol or figure of man’s reconciliation with his Maker, and this unction 
is performed by the priest upon the child’s forehead and breast, all round 
about his ears, and upon his loins, during which he pronounces the fol¬ 
lowing forms of words, in anointing the forehead, The servant of the Lord 
is anointed; in anointing his breast, For the cure of his soul and body ; 
and at the unction of his ears he adds, that the faith may be received by 
hearing. 

After the last prayer in the office of baptism, the infant is confirmed by 
the priest, who, on applying the chrism, in the form of a cross, to the 
forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet of the infant, says, 
Behold the seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Seven days after baptism, the infant is brought to church in order to be 
washed. The priest, pronouncing the prayers directed in their ritual, not 
only w r ashes the infant’s shirt, but cleans his body with a new sponge, or 
a linen cloth prepared for that purpose, and dismisses him with the follow¬ 
ing words: Thou art now baptized , surrounded with a celestial light , 
fortified with the Sacrament of Confirmation , and sanctified and washed 
in the name of the Father , of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost. 

Excommunication excludes the offender from the pale of the Church; 
deprives him of all communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; 

cuts him off from all communion with the three hundred 
and eighteen fathers of the first council of Nice, and with 
the saints; consigns him over to the devil and the traitor Judas ; and, in 
short, condemns his body to remain after death as hard as a flint or piece 
of steel, unless he humbles himself, and makes atonement for his sins by a 
sincere repentance. The whole form of excommunication abounds with 
the most direful imprecations; and if it does not absolutely deprive the 
delinquent of the enjoyment of the four elements, it calls down more curses 
on his head than are requisite to render that enjoyment insupportable. It 
even prohibits his interment after his decease ; and the awful apprehen¬ 
sion of such appalling misfortunes contributes very much, beyond all doubt, 
towards imprinting on the minds of the Greeks a lively sense of their 


Excommunica¬ 

tion. 





















































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


161 


duty; to which may be added, their belief respecting those excommuni¬ 
cated persons, who die in impenitence, that their bodies will never dissolve 
nor moulder away, until such excommunication be taken off. The devil, 
according to a received notion among the Greeks, enters into their lifeless 
corpses, and makes them subservient to his wayward will and pleasure. 

The particular ceremonies and preliminaries of the marriage rites of the 
Greeks are as singular and remarkable as those of other countries, and we 
shall, in the first place, describe those which may, with pro¬ 
priety, be termed religious. In the office of matrimony 
there is a prayer for the bride, who is to be muffled up either in a veil or 
a hood. Those who are inclined to be joined together in the bands of wed¬ 
lock, make their applications to the priest as soon as mass is over for the 
solemnization of their nuptials. The bridegroom stands on the right hand, 
and the bride on the left. Two rings, one gold, the other silver, are depo¬ 
sited near to each other on the right side of the communion table, the latter 
pointing to the right hand, and the former to the left. The priest who 
performs the ceremony, makes several crosses upon the bride and bride¬ 
groom; puts lighted wax-tapers in their hands, thurifies, or incenses them, 
in the form of a cross, and accompanies them to the temple. The choir 
and the deacon pray alternately that the bridegroom and the bride may 
prosper in all their undertakings, and be blessed with a numerous and 
hopeful issue. When these prayers are over, the priest gives the gold 
ring to the bridegroom, and the silver one to his spouse, saying three times 
successively, 1 join (or I tie) N. and N. these servants of the Almighty 
here present, in the name of the Father, &c. Having pronounced this 
form of words, he makes the sign of the cross with the rings over their 
heads, before he puts them on the proper finger of the right hand. Then 
the paranymph, or brideman, exchanges these two rings, and the priest 
reads a long prayer, in which the virtue and dignity of the nuptial ring 
are typically compared to Joseph’s ring, and that of Daniel and of Thamar. 

While the bride and bridegroom are crowned, the same priest accom¬ 
panies the ceremony with several benedictions, and other emphatical 
prayers, which being completed, the bridegroom and his spouse enter the 
church with their wax-tapers lighted in their hands; the priest marches 
in procession before them, with his incense-pot, singing, as he proceeds, 
the 128th Psalm, which consists of a promise to the faithful Jews of a 
prosperous and fruitful marriage. At the close of every verse the congre¬ 
gation repeat the Doxology or the Gloria Fatri. The deacon, as soon as 
the psalms are over, resumes the prayers, and the choir makes the usual 

responses. 

These prayers being concluded, the priest places the crown on the bride¬ 
groom’s head, saying, This man , the servant of the Lord, is crowned , in 
order to he married to this woman, &c. After which, he crowns the 



















































































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


bride, and repeats the same form, which is followed by a triple benediction, 
the proper lessons, and prayers. The priest, in the next place, presents 
the bridegroom and the bride with a goblet, or large glass, full of wine, 
ready blest for that purpose ; after which he takes off their crowns. An¬ 
other prayer, accompanied with a proper benediction, and several compli¬ 
ments paid to the newly-married couple, conclude the solemnity. 

The observance of the following particular customs is looked upon 
among the Greeks as an indispensable obligation, and, in short, a funda¬ 
mental article of their religion. If a priest, after the decease of his first 
wife, marries again, he forfeits his title to the priesthood, and is looked 
upon as a layman. If a layman marries a fourth wife, he is excluded 
from all communion with the Church. When a man has buried his third 
wife, there is no medium for him; he must either continue a lay-widower, 
or enter himself a member of some convent. The general reason assigned 
for this severe prohibition is, that fourth marriages are absolute polygamy. 
The Greeks do not entertain the same idea of three subsequent marriages, 
because, by a most refined subterfuge and evasion, which is scarcely intel¬ 
ligible, they insist that polygamy consists of two copulatives, and that three 
marriages consist but of one plurality and a unity. A much better reason 
for it is, however, assigned by Ricaut, which is, that this custom of the 
modern Greeks is grounded on the rigour of the ancient church, which 
checked and censured (in all probability too austerely) all those who in¬ 
dulged themselves in any sensual enjoyments. Some of the primitive 
fathers were so strict, as not to make allowance for the natural constitution 
of man and the climate in which he lived, nor would they admit of any 
other circumstance as a sufficient plea for indulgence. 

The following are some preliminary marriage-ceremonies observed by 
the Greeks at Athens. The young virgins never stir out of their houses 
before their wedding-day, and their gallants make love by proxy, or a third 
person, who has free access to them, and is some relation or particular 
acquaintance, in whose fidelity and friendship they can properly confide. 
The lover does not therefore so much as see his intended bride till the day 
appointed for the solemnization of their nuptials. On that day, the bride 
is handed about in public for a long time, moving in a very slow and 
solemn pace. The procession between the church and the bridegroom’s 
house occupies at least two hours, and is preceded by a select band of 
hautboys, tabors, and other musical instruments. During this ceremony 
and the procession, the young virgins carry a large crown on their heads, 
composed of filagree-work, decked with costly pearls, which is so cumbrous 
and troublesome, that they are obliged to walk as upright as an arrow. 
This public wmdding would be looked upon with an eye of contempt if the 
parties were not painted, or rather daubed over in a very rude and inele¬ 
gant manner. 


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GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


163 


A striking difference exists between the Greeks and the Latins, in 
regard to the manner of administering the extreme unction, and there are 
Extreme Uuc severa l ceremonies which belong peculiarly to the two unc- 
on - tions of the Greeks. The archbishop, or, in his absence, 

the bishop, consecrates, on Wednesday in holy week, the oil of unction 
for the whole year; and on Maundy-Thursday, the patriarch, or bishop, 
administers the unction publicly to all the faithful. The prelate is 
anointed first by the (Economist , after which he himself anoints the whole 
congregation. 

The other circumstances relating to the unction and extreme unction of 
the Greeks, which are peculiar to themselves, are, that the priest, after he 
has dipped his cotton, which is fastened to the end of a stick, into the 
sacred oils, anoints the penitent or the sick person, in the form of a cross 
upon the forehead, chin, cheeks, the upper side, and palms of the hands 
After which he pronounces a short prayer. The seven assisting priests 
anoint all the sick persons, one after another. The principal lays the gospel 
upon his head, while the others lay their hands upon him. 

The differences which have been observe^ between the unction of the 
Latins and that of the Greeks maybe thus explained. By the laws of the 
Latin church one person alone may administer the Sacrament of extreme 
unction ; whereas the administration of it, in the opinion of the Greeks, is 
irregular, unless three at least assist at the celebration of it. By the Latin 
ritual the bishop only has authority to consecrate the oil; but the Grecian 
priests, as well as their prelates, are invested with that power. Independ¬ 
ently of the parts of the body of their sick which are differently anointed, 
it is customary with the Greeks to anoint their houses also, and to imprint 
upon them at the same time several signs of the cross. 

On the decease of any person, the whole family appear like so many 
actors at the representation of a deep tragedy ; all are in tears, and at the 
same time utter forth the most dismal groans. The body 
of the deceased, whether male or female, is dressed in its 
best apparel, and afterwards extended upon a bier, with one wax taper at 
the head, and another at the feet. The wife, if the husband be the object 
of their sorrow, the children, servants, relations, and acquaintance, enter 
the apartment in which the deceased is thus laid out, with their clothes 
rent, tearing their hair, beating their breast, and disfiguring their faces 
with their nails. When the body of the deceased is completely dressed, 
and decently extended on the bier, for the regular performance of his last 
obsequies, and the hour is arrived for his interment, the crucifix is carried 
in procession at the head of the funeral train. The priests and deacons 
•vho accompany them, reciting the prayers appointed by the church, burn 
incense, and implore the Divine Majesty to receive the soul of the deceased 
in‘o his heavenly mansions. The wife follows his dear remains, drowned 


Funeral solem¬ 
nities. 


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GREEK CHURCH PROPER 


in a flood of tears, and so disconsolate, that, if we might form a judgment 
from her tears and the excess of her cries and lamentations, one would 
imagine that she would instantly set her soul at liberty to fly after, and 
overtake her husband’s. There are some women, however, to be met with, 
who have no taste for these extravagant testimonies of their grief and 
anguish, and yet their mourning is not less solemn than that of their neigh¬ 
bours. It is rather singular that the Greeks have women who are mourners 
by profession, who weep in the widow’s stead for a certain sum, and by 
frequent practice of their art, can represent to the life all the violent emo¬ 
tions and gesticulations that naturally result from the most pungent and 
unfeigned sorrow. 

As soon as the funeral service is over, they kiss the crucifix, and after¬ 
wards salute the mouth and forehead of the deceased. After that, each of 
them eats a small bit of bread, and drinks a glass of wine in the church, 
wishing the soul of the deceased a good repose, and the afflicted family all 
the consolation they can wish for. A widow who has lost her husband, a 
child who has lost his father or mother—in short, all persons who are in 
deep mourning, dress no victuals at their own houses. The friends and 
relations of the deceased send them in provisions for the first eight days; 
at the end of which they pay the disconsolate family a charitable visit, in 
order to condole with and comfort them under their unhappy loss, and to 
wait on them to the church, where prayers are read for the repose of the 
soul of the deceased. The men again eat and drink in the church, while 
the women renew their cries and lamentations. But those who can 
afford to hire professed mourners never undergo this second fatigue, but 
substitute proper persons in their stead, to weep over their husbands’ 
tombs three days after their interment; at which time prayers are always 
read for the repose of his soul. After the ninth day, masses and prayers 
are again read upon the same occasion, which are repeated at the expira¬ 
tion of forty days ; as, also, at the close of six months, and on the ’ast day 
of the year. After the ceremony is concluded, they make their friends a 
present of some corn, boiled rice, wine, and some sweetmeats. This 
custom, which is generally called by the Greeks Ta Sperna , is looked 
upon by them as very ancient. They renew it with increased solemnity 
and devotion on the Friday immediately preceding their Lent, that before 
Christmas, on Good Friday, and the Friday before Whitsuntide ; which 
days the Greek church have devoted to the service of the dead, not only 
of those who have departed this life according to the common course of 
nature, but those likewise who have unfortunately met with a sudden and 
untimely death. 

There is no mass said for the dead on the days of their interment; but 
forty are said in every parish on the following day, at sevenpence per 
mass. As soon as thev arrive in the church, the nriests read aloud the 










































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER 


,service for the dead, while a young clerk repeats some particular psalms 
of David at the foot of the bier. When the service is concluded, twelve 
loaves, and as many bottles of wine, are distributed among the poor at the 
church door. Every priest has ten gazettas or Venetian pence, and the 
bishop who accompanies the corpse three half-crowns. The grand vicar, 
treasuier, and keeper of the archives, who are next to the prelate in 
point of dignity, have three crowns, or a double fee. After this - distribu¬ 
tion, one of the priests lays a large piece of broken pot upon the breast 
of the deceased, on which a cross, and the usual characters I. N. R. I., 
being the initials of four Greek words, signifying, Jesus of Nazareth, King 
of the Jews, are engraved with the point of a penknife, or some other 
tool oi instrument proper for that occasion. After that, they withdraw 
and take their leave of the deceased. The relations kiss the lips ; and 
this is looked upon as a duty so very imperative that the neglect of it 
cannot be dispensed with, although the person died with the most infec¬ 
tious distemper. 

Nine days afterwards, the colyva is sent to church ; which, according 
to the Greeks, is a large dish of boiled whea,t, garnished with blanched 
almonds, raisins, pomegranates, sesame, and strewed round with sweet 
basil, and other odoriferous herbs. The middle of the dish is raised in a 
pyramidical form, adorned at top with a large bunch of Venetian arti¬ 
ficial flowers ; large lumps of sugar or dried sweetmeats are ranged, like 
Maltese crosses, all round the borders ; and this is what the Greeks call the 
oblation of the colyva , which is established among them in order that the 
true believer may commemorate the resurrection of the dead, according 
to those words of our blessed Saviour, recorded in St. John— Except a 
grain of wheat fall into the ground and die , it abideth alone ; but if it die, 
it bringeth forth much fruit. It must be acknowledged that true piety 
and devotion have contributed very much towards the establishment of 
this kind of ceremony : but it must be also allowed, that by a kind of 
fatality, which too frequently attends the most pious institutions, this, as 
well as other ceremonies of a similar nature, has degenerated into super¬ 
stition. It is worthy of remark, that this ceremony of the Grecian colyva, 
which is peculiar to their funeral solemnities, their ninth day’s devotion, 
their quarantains, their anniversaries, and the days appointed for the com¬ 
memoration of their dead, is also observed on their most solemn festivals. 
The comfits, or sweetmeats, and other fruits, are added merely to render 
their boiled wheat a little more palatable. The sexton or grave-digger 
carries this dish of colyva upon his head, preceded by an attendant with 
two large flambeaux made of wood, and gilt, embellished with several 
rows of large ribands, and edged with lace, six inches deep. This grave¬ 
digger is followed by three other attendants, or waiters, one with two large 
bottles of wine in hi* hands, another loaded with two baskets full of 


































































166 


GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


fruits, and the third carrying a Turkish carpet, which is to be spread over 
the tomb of the deceased, and made use of as a table-cloth for their colyva , 
and their funeral entertainment. 

The priest reads the service of the dead, during the time that this cus¬ 
tomary oblation is carried to the church, and he is afterwards complimented 
with a large proportion of it: wine is abundantly served to every person 
of tolerable credit or repute, and the remainder is distributed among the 
poor. As soon as the oblation is carried out of doors, the hired mourners 
repeat their hideous outcries, the same as on the day of the interment, 
and the relations, friends, and acquaintance likewise express their sorrow 
by a thousand ridiculous grimaces. The whole recompense which the 
hired mourners receive for their flood of tears, is five loaves, two quarts 
of wine, half a cheese, a quarter of mutton, and fifteen pence in money. 
The relations are obliged, consistently with the custom of some particular 
places, to pay several visits to the tomb of the deceased, to weep over it, 
and, as an incontestable testimony of their unfeigned sorrow, they never 
change their clothes during the time of their mourning ; the husbands 
never shave themselves, and the widows suffer themselves to be overrun 
with vermin. In some particular islands, the natives mourn constantly 
at home, and the widowers and widows never go to church, nor frequent 
the sacraments, while they are in mourning. The bishops and priests are 
sometimes obliged to compel them to attend church, under pain of excom¬ 
munication, of which the Greeks have a more awful apprehension than 
of fire and sword. 

The idea which the Greeks entertain of purgatory is very dark and 
confused, and in general they leave the decision of eternal salvation or 
condemnation to the day of judgment. They are at a loss to fix and 
determine the place where the souls of the deceased reside till the final 
day of resurrection, and in this state of incertitude, they never omit to 
pray for them, hoping that God, in his infinite goodness, will incline his 
ear to their supplications. 

The first, or lowest order of their priesthood, is the lecturer, whose 
peculiar province is to read the sacred Scriptures to the people on solemn 
Order and ordi- festivals: from this station he is gradually advanced, first, 
priests. to be a chorister or chanter, then sub-deacon, whose office it 

is at mass to sing the epistle ; and then he is ordained deacon, and sings 
the gospel. The last order is that of the priests, who are either seculars 
or regulars. 

According to the orders in the pontifical, when a person is to be ordained 
a priest, two deacons accompany him to the sacred doors , and there deliver 
him into the hands of the priests. The protopapas, and he who is next in 
dignity to him, lead him three times round the altar, singing the hymn of 
the martyrs. The candidate for the priesthood then kneels down, and the 








































































GllEEK CHURCH PROPER. 


1G7 


ordinant makes three times over his head the sign of the cross, repeats the 
prayers adapted to that particular occasion, and Jays his hands upon him. 
In one of the prayers in particular, the ordinant enumerates the principal 
functions of a priest,—viz. those of sacrificing, preaching the gospel, and 
administering the sacrament of baptism, &c. These prayers being con¬ 
cluded, he orders the new priest to rise, and puts the band of the horary, 
which hung down behind, over his right shoulder. He then presents 
him with the epitrachelium, or the stole ; and the phelonium, or the sur¬ 
plice ; the choir singing during the whole of the time this ceremony is 
performing. A deacon afterwards pronounces the following exhortation, 
Let us love one another. Then the patriarch kisses the altar, and each 
priest approaches the sacred table in regular order, according to his rank 
and dignity, and not only kisses it, but also the patriarch’s hand, which 
lies upon it, and then his cheek. The priests salute each other, and the 
deacons follow their example. 

The priests wear a white woollen fillet behind their hats or caps, which 
hangs down upon their shoulders, and is called “ peristera,” that is to say, 
a dove ; and is looked upon as an emblem or figure of the innocence and 
purity of the priesthood. The bishop moves this dove from any priest 
under his jurisdiction, who is proved guilty of any enormous offence; and 
the majority of them are so notoriously vicious, that very few can boast of 
wearing this badge of innocence for any long period of time. 

At the ordination of a bishop, the priests deliver him into the hands of 
two prelates, who oblige him to make a formal procession round the altar, 
as in the preceding ordinations. After these preliminary ceremonies, the 
chartophylax, or archivist, delivers the contacium, which is a small collec¬ 
tion of degrees, forms, &c., relating to the election of a bishop, to the 
patriarch, who takes it in his left hand, and lays his right on the candidate 
for the bishopric, in order to read the form of his election ; after this lesson, 
he opens the book of the gospels, and lays it on the head of the candidate, 
all the assistant bishops laying their hands on the book at the same time : 
all these ceremonies are accompanied with several prayers which are suita¬ 
ble to the solemn occasion. 

The prayers being over, the ordinant takes the book from the head of 
the bishop elect, and having deposited it on the altar, presents him with the 
pallium: this ceremony is accompanied with singing and with holy kisses. 

The Greeks are, in general, an ' ignorant and superstitious people. 

Among their superstitious customs, the following may be 
included, as some of the most extraordinary :— 

They attach a particular sanctity to some fountains, which they look 
upon as miraculous waters, especially when they are devoted to the service 
of any celebrated saint. This superstitious notion appears to be a true 
copy of a pagan original. 


Superstitious 

customs. 












































































GREEK CHURCH PROPER 


They think it a duty incumbent upon them to refrain from blood, and all 
meats that have been strangled ; but notwithstanding this scruple of con¬ 
science, they are not very nice in regard to the kind of provisions which 
ar« set before them. If they be strict, however, in the observance of this 
custom, they are in that respect very nearly allied to the Jews. 

They call the Nile the Monarch of the Floods; and are of opinion, that 
the overflowing of this river is a peculiar blessing, and an indulgence of 
the Almighty to Egypt, on account of our Saviour and the Blessed V \rgin 
having been sheltered and protected in that country from the persecutions 
of Herod. 

Their art of physic, which is generally practised by empirics and igno¬ 
rant pretenders, is accompanied by innumerable superstitions. The follow¬ 
ing may be adduced as a striking instance of the extent of their medical 
knowledge. When their patients’ heads are so very much disordered as 
to cause delirium, they use the same means for their recovery as for a 
demoniac, or one possessed with the devil. The physician in this case 
ceases to prescribe for him ; but his friends make an immediate application 
to an exorcist; that is, to one of their papas, who approaches the patient’s 
bed-side, and not only reads several prayers over him, but sprinkles him 
with holy water. He pours likewise a plentiful quantity of it into the bed 
in which the patient lies, and, in short, sprinkles the room all over. The 
exorcisms ensue, and the papas in the most solemn manner expel the ima¬ 
ginary demons. Conceit effects a cure which was supposed to be beyond 
the skill of the most able physician. 

The Greeks are extremely fond of visiting their churches and chapels, 
especially such as are on precipices, and places very difficult of access ; 
and, indeed, the principal part of their devotion consists in voluntary 
fatigue, which is, in their eyes, a kind of mortification of the flesh. On 
their first arrival at the church or chapel, they repeatedly cross themselves, 
and make numerous genuflexions and profound bows. They kiss the 
image which is erected in it, and present it with three or four grains of the 
•choicest frankincense ; recommending themselves to the protection of the 
Blessed Virgin, or to the saint whom the image represents; but in case 
the saint does not incline his ear, and hearken to their vows, they soon 
make him sensible of their resentment. 

One of the greatest frauds engendered by superstition is the urn of 
Amorgos, which is looked upon as the oracle of the Archipelago. It has 
this in common with the ancient oracles of Greece, that it is indebted to 
the artifice and roguery of the priests for the fame of its predictions. This 
urn, which stands near a chapel consecrated to St. George, fills and dis¬ 
embogues itseif several times in the course of a day, and sometimes within 
so small a period as half an hour, which is looked upon as a miracle, and 
ascribed to the prevailing influence and power of St. George. This is the 


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GREEK CIIURCII PROPER. 


very same St. Georg? who, at Scyros, flies at and seizes upon those impious 
persons who neglect to perform their vows. His image, according to tra¬ 
ditionary report, lays violent hands on the delinquents, jumps upon their 
shoulders, and gives them many severe blows on the head and back, till 
they have discharged the duty incumbent on them. They see him sailing 
in the air, and frisking about from one place to another, till at last he settles 
upon the back of a blind monk, who carries him he knows not whither. 
Those who consult the urn of Amorgos before they engage in any affair 
of the last importance, are sure to prove unsuccessful if, upon their first 
approach, they find the water lower than ordinary. Father Richard 
assures us, that the islanders annually, at Easter, consult this urn of 
Amorgos, which, from its fulness or emptiness, presages a plentiful or a 
bad harvest. 

There is a very particular custom observed in the island of Andros, the 
origin of which, however, has hitherto baffled the most rigid inquiry. At 
the procession on the festival of Corpus Christi, the bishop of the Romish 
church, who carries the body of our blessed Saviour, tramples under foot 
all the Christians, of whatever sect they may be, who lie prostrate before 
him in the streets. The same custom is observed at Naxos, and the 
missionary who relates the story adds, that such as have any sick persons 
in their family bring them out in order to lie in the way of the blessed 
Sacrament; and the more they are trodden, the nearer they approach to 
convalescence. 

The inhabitants of some part of the island of Chios are of opinion that 
a corpse, which is not corrupted in forty days, is transformed into a familiar 
spirit, or hobgofijin, which is very troublesome and impertinent, knocks at 
people’s doors, and even calls them distinctly by their names. If any person 
presumes to answer to his call, they think he will most assuredly die in two 
or three days at furthest. 

At Nicaria, near Samos, the inhabitants, who are all swimmers, will not 
marry their daughters to any but such young fellows who can dive eight 
fathoms deep at least. They are obliged to produce a certificate of 
their diving ability, and when a papa, or some substantial islander, is 
determined to dispose of his daughter in marriage, he appoints a day 
when the best swimmer is to bear away the prize. As soon as the candi¬ 
dates are all stripped naked, the young lady makes her personal appear¬ 
ance, and in they jump. He who continues longest under water is the 
fortunate bridegroom. 

The Greeks of the Holy Land assert, and firmly believe it to be a real 
fact, that the birds which fly round about Jerusalem never sing during 
passion week ; but stand motionless and confounded almost all the time, 
testifying a sympathetic sorrow and compassion for the sufferings of our 
Saviour. 


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The sacred fire of the Greeks is a ceremony more superstitions than 
religious; a whimsical, merry custom, which is very justly a stumbling* 
block and rock of offence to several serious Mohammedans, instilling into 
their minds a most contemptible idea of the Eastern Christians. In short, 
it is nothing but a piece of priestcraft, to cheat the too credulous pilgrims 
out of their money, by making them believe that, on Easter-eve, a fire 
descends from heaven into the sacred sepulchre. The Turks are no stran¬ 
gers to this pious fraud, but connive at it, because it is very advantageous 
to them ; and the patriarchs on their part declare that they could never V5 
pay their taxes, nor their tributes, if this stratagem, however unbecoming 
the practice of a Christian, should be discovered and exposed. Thevenot 
has given us the following description of this religious farce. “About 
eight in the morning the Greeks extinguish all their lamps, and those in 
the sacred sepulchre. Then they run about, staring like persons distracted, 
bawling and making a hideous howling, without any regard or reverence 
to the sacred place. Every time they passed the holy sepulchre, they 
cried out Eleyson! that is, ‘Have mercy upon us!’ It was very diverting 
to see them afterwards jump upon one another’s backs, kicking one 
another’s shins, and flogging each other on the shoulders with knotted 
cords. A whole crowd of them got together, and taking up some of their 
comrades in their arms, ran for some time with them round the sepulchre, 
until, at last, they threw them down in the dirt, and laughed till they hal¬ 
looed again at their own unlucky gambols. Those, on the other hand, 
who had thus been made the laughing-stocks of the crowd, ran in their 
turn after the others, in order to be equally mischievous, and to revenge O ' IQ 

themselves for the affront which they had received ; in short, they all acted 
like a set of idle fools and merry-andrews. Every now and then they 
would lift up their eyes to heaven, and hold up their wax-tapers, with out¬ 
stretched arms, as if they implored the Almighty to send down his celestial 
dfijjjy fire to light them. After this folly and extravagance had continued till 
about three o’clock in the evening, two archbishops and two Greek bishops, , v 
dressed in their patriarchal robes and coifs, marched out of the choir, 
attended by the clergy, and began their procession round the sepulchre: 
the Armenians likewise attended, with their clergy, followed by the Coptan 
/; bishop. After they had taken three solemn tours around the sepulchre, a ; 

] Greek bishop came out of the Chapel of the Angel, which is at the !/ 
entrance of the sepulchre, and informed the individual who personated the ! 

A Patriarch of Jerusalem, that the sacred fire had descended from heaven. 

He then entered the holy sepulchre with a large bundle of wax tapers in 
each hand, and after him the prelate, who represented the Armenian 
patriarch, and the bishop of the Copti. Some short time afterwards, the 


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GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


171 


lapers. As soon as he appeared, the mob crowded upon one another’s 
shoulders, kicking and boxing one another, to reach the prelate, for the 
purpose of lighting their tapers by that which he held in his hand ; because 
that fire which comes immediately from his, is looked upon to be the 
purest and most holy. In the mean time the Janizaries, who were the 
guards of the sepulchre, dealt their blows indiscriminately about them, to 
make room for the archbishop, who used his utmost endeavours to get 
clear of the crowd. At last he came to a stone altar, which stood before 
th3 door of the choir, and opposite that of the holy sepulchre. Immediately 
the populace flocked round about him for some of his sacred fire ; but 
those who had lighted their tapers, in their endeavours to retreat, were 
overpowered by others, who very devoutly struck them with their fists, 
and took away the fire that had cost them so much labour and fatigue to 
procure : in short, the gravest of them all threw down and trampled their 
neighbours under foot, to get close to the prelate. At last, the Greek arch¬ 
bishop withdrew; the Armenian bishop retired to the church of the 
Armenians, and the Coptan bishop to that qf, the Copti. In the mean 
time, the Turks, who kept the door of the holy sepulchre, permitted none 
to enter but those who paid for lighting their wax-tapers at the lamps of 
that sanctuary, as those lamps are the first that are touched by the sacred 
fire. In a few minutes after, the church was illuminated with above 
two thousand branches of blazing torches, while the numerous congie- 
gation, hooting like madmen, began to repeat their former frolics. A 
man, with a drum at his back, ran with all imaginable speed round the 
sacred sepulchre, and another ran after him, and drummed upon it with 
two sticks; when he was tired, a third supplied his place. Devotion, or 
rather custom, enjoins the Greeks not to eat nor drink that day, till they 
have received the sacred fire.” 

Some ascribe the origin of this superstition to a real miracle, which they 
pretend was formerly wrought in the presence of the whole congregation 
on Easter-eve, in the church belonging to the holy sepulchre. The Al¬ 
mighty sent down celestial flame into this divine monument, which kindled 
or lighted again all the lamps, which by the orders of the Church are 
extinguished in passion week, and thereby indulged them with new fire. 
Every one was an eye-witness of the descent of this new flame from hea¬ 
ven, which darted from one place to another, and kindled every lamp and 
taper that was extinguished. It is added, also, that the Almighty, being 
provoked at the irregularities and disorders of the Christian Crusades, 
refused to work this miracle one Easter-eve, when they were assembled 
together in the most solemn manner, to be spectators of the descent of his 
celestial fire ; but that, at last, he vouchsafed to have mercy on them, and 
incline his ear to their fervent prayers and repeated supplicat'ons. The 
descent of this holy fire continued for seven hundred and fifty years after 










































































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GREEK CHURCH PROPER. 


the time of St. Jerome ; but since that period, it has, owing to some reason 
not easily defined, been wholly discontinued: the most probable conjecture 
is, that the whole fraud was discovered, and an end was consequently put 
to the enactment of this religious farce. 

This ceremony of the sacred fire, which is so whimsical and extrava¬ 
gant, and so unbecoming the practice of a Christian, has introduced another 
superstitious custom very conformable to its romantic original. In this 
same church of the holy sepulchre, there are some men and women who 
have several pieces of linen cloth lying before them, which they mark from 
one end to the other with a cross, made by the tapers kindled at the sacred 
fire. Thus marked, they serve for the shrouds or winding-sheets of these 
good devotees, and are reserved for that solemn purpose as the most sacred 
relics. 

Among the superstitious customs of the Greeks, may be included the 
marks which the pilgrims imprint upon their arms, and which they take 
care to produce as a certificate of their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. These 
marks are made with some particular wooden moulds, filled with charcoal- 
dust, and afterwards pressed hard upon the arm. As soon as the part is 
thus stamped, it is pricked with an instrument full of needles ; it is then 
bound up, and a scurf or scab generally rises upon the place, which falls oft' 
again in about two or three days; but the blue impression remains ever after. 

There is a stone still to be seen not far from Bethlehem which is per¬ 
fectly white, and w T hich colour we are told is owing to the extraordinary 
virtue of the Blessed Virgin’s milk. The Greeks assure us, that this 
stone will infallibly fill a woman’s breast with milk ; and even the Turks 
themselves, and the Arabians, are so strongly riveted to the same belief, 
that they oblige their wives, who have sucking infants at their breasts, 
to take a little of the powder of this stone infused in water, in order that 
the above-mentioned desirable effect may be produced. Mount Sinai, !! ^ ] A 
Mount Horeb, the frontiers of the Holy Land, the Holy Land itself, in 
short, all the countries from the Red Sea to Jerusalem, are, as it were, I|\t/ 
so many sources which have immemorially supplied the Greeks with 
fictions, and their bigots with superstition. Upon Mount Horeb the 
Greeks pretend to show the place in which the prophet Jeremiah con¬ 
cealed the tables of the law, and a particular stone, on which are several 
Hebrew characters, carved by the prophet himself. According to this 
idea, they pay to this stone a superstitious homage, which consists of a 
number of prayers and innumerable signs of the cross, performed with 
the utmost hurry and precipitation, and consequently with very little zeal f(®)|W 
or devotion. vV 

The Greeks ascribe to the waters of Jordan, and almost all the foun- /z\ 
tains of the Holy Land, the supernatural virtue of healing several dis- '" V 
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RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


173 




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is, in their opinion, a sure defence against thunder and lightning, and a 
speedy relief for a woman in the time of her travail. A certain traveller, 
MorUon , assures us, with an extraordinary air of piety and devotion, that 
this last quality is owing to the Blessed Virgin, of whom that vegetable is 
the figure or representation. 

SEC. II.-RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES AND CUSTOMS OF THE RUSSIAN GREEK 

CHURCH. 

It is impossible perhaps to settle with any certainty at what period, or 
by whom, Christianity was first introduced into Russia. What we learn 

introduction of with most appearance of probability is, that the Grand- 
RuS anUy mt ° duchess Olga , or, as her name is pronounced, Olha , grand' 
mother to Wladimir, was the first person of distinction converted to Chris¬ 
tianity in Russia, about the year 955, and that she assumed the name of 
Helena at her conversion ; under which name she still stands as a saint in 
the Russian calendar. Methodius, and Cyril the philosopher, travelled 
from Greece into Moravia, about the year 900„to plant the gospel; where 
they translated the service of the church, or some parts of it, from the 
Greek into the Sclavonian language, the common language at that time of 
Mora’via and Russia; and thus it is thought that this princess imbibed the 
first principles of Christianity. And, being herself fully persuaded of its 
truth,‘she was very earnest with her son, the Grand-duke Sviatoslav , to 
embrace it also ; but this, from political motives, he declined to do. In the 
course, however, of a few years, Christianity is said to have made consi¬ 
derable progress in that nation. 

It is fully ascertained that, about the end of the tenth century, the 
Christian religion was introduced into Russia, chiefly through their con¬ 
nection with Greece ; and coming from this quarter, it was very natural 
that the doctrine and discipline of the church of Constantinople should 
become at first the pattern of the church of Russia, which it still continues 
to follow in the greatest part of its offices. Hence likewise the Patriarch 
of Constantinople formerly enjoyed the privilege of a spiritual supremacy 
over the Russians, to whom he sent a metropolitan whenever a vacancy 
happened. 

Little occurred in the ecclesiastical history of Russia, except, perhaps, 
the rise of the sect of the Haskolniki, which excited considerable tumults 
and commotions in that kingdom, till Peter the Great ascended the throne 
of Russia ; who, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, made some 
remarkable changes in the form and administration both of its civil and 
ecclesiastical government. 

This great prince made no change in the articles of faith received 
among his countrymen, which contain the doctrine of the Greek church: 

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but he took the utmost pains to have this doctrine explained in a mannei 
conformable to the dictates of right reason, and the spirit of the gospel; 
and he used the most effectual methods to destroy, on the one hand, the 
influence of that hideous superstition that sat brooding over the whole 
nation ; and, on the other, to dispel the ignorance of the clergy, which was 
incredible, and that of the people, which would have surpassed it had that 
been possible. 

To crown these noble attempts, he extinguished the spirit of persecu¬ 
tion, and renewed and confirmed to Christians, of all denominations, liberty 
of conscience, and the privilege of performing divine worship in the man¬ 
ner prescribed by their respective liturgies and institutions. This liberty, 
however, was modified in such a manner, as to restrain and defeat any 
attempts that might be made by the Jesuits and other members of the 
church of Rome to promote the interests of Popery in Russia, or to 
extend the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff beyond the chapels of that 
communion that were tolerated by law ; and particular charge was given 
to the council, to which belonged the cognisance of ecclesiastical affairs, 
to use their utmost care and vigilance to prevent the propagation of 
Romish tenets among the people. All this caution had, no doubt, arisen 
from the repeated efforts of the designing pontiffs of Rome and their mis- 
sionaries to extend the papal empire over the Greek churches, under the 
pretence of uniting the two communions; and, with this view, a negotiation 
was entered into in 1580, under John Basilides , Grand-duke of Russia, 
who seems to have had political ends to answer in pretending to favour 
this union. But, although the professed object of this negotiation failed, 
the ministry of Possevin , the learned and artful Jesuit, who was charged 
with the mission on the part of the Roman pontiff, was not without 
fruit among the Russians, especially among those residing in the Polish 
dominions. 

Proposals for uniting the two communions have been made by different 
popes, as Hcnorius III., Gregory IX., Innocent IV., Gregory XIII., and 
last of all, by the Academy of Sorbonne in 1718; but the Russian sove¬ 
reigns and the nation have always remained firm and true to their religion ; 
at the same time, all religions, without exception, are tolerated in Russia. 
In the year 1581, in the reign of Czar John Vasilievitz , Pope Gregory 
XIII. proposed to that sovereign that the Lutheran clergy should be ban¬ 
ished from Russia ; but he was answered, that in that country all nations 
have a free exercise of their religions; and now in Russia there are 
Lutherans, Calvinists, Hernhutters, Armenians, Jews, Mohammedans, 
Pagans, Hindoos, &c. &c. &c. Roman Catholics are to be met with in 
almost every government, particularly in those conquered from the Polish 
dominions: their clergy are governed by their own rulers, and are totally 
independent of the Russian ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 




















































RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


175 


Peter likewise introduced a considerable change into the manner of 
governing the church. The splendid dignity of patriarch, which ap¬ 
proached too near the lustre and prerogatives of majesty not to be offensive 
to the emperor and burdensome to the people, was suppressed, in 1721, by 
this spirited monarch, who declared himself (and thus became like the 
British monarch) head of the national church. 

The functions of this high and important office were intrusted wi 
council assembled at St. Petersburg, which was called the Holy Synod; 
and one of the archbishops, the most distinguished for integrity and p 
dence, was appointed as president of it. 

The other orders of the clergy continued in their respective rank a 
offices ; but both their revenues and their authority were considerably 
diminished. It was resolved at first, in this general reformation, to abolish 
all monasteries and convents, as prejudicial to the public, and unfriendly 
to population ; but this resolution was not put in execution ; on the con¬ 
trary, the emperor himself erected a magnificent monastery in honour of 
Alexander Newsky , whom the Russians place in the list of their heroes 
and saints.* 

In her doctrines, the Russian Church agrees with the Greek Church; 
like her, she receives the seven sacraments or mysteries ; allows no 
statues or graven images, but admits pictures and invoca- 

Doctrines. . _ 

tion of saints. 

During the celebration of the mass, the laity, not excepting the prince 
himself, are obliged either to stand or to kneel, and be uncovered; and to 
observe the same position during the performance of all the 
Divine Servlce - other parts of divine service. Bergius , in his State of the 
Russian Church, assures us, however, that “The ancient Russians always 
pray either standing, or prostrate upon the ground ; carefully avoiding the 
posture of kneeling, for fear they should be thought to imitate those soldiers 
who mocked the Lord Jesus Christ.” The grand-duke, who sat on the 
throne in the time of Olearius, always prostrated himself to the ground 
when he attended public worship. For this reason there are no stools or 
benches made use of in the Russian churches, except when there happens 
to be a homily read, or a sermon preached. No dogs are suffered to enter 
the church door ; and every thing which has the least tendency to interrupt 
their devotions is prohibited. None but those who officiate at the altar are 
admitted into the sanctuary. The czar, however, is allowed to enter it at 
the ceremony of his coronation, and when he receives the communion ; 
some others of the laity, who are persons of distinction, are likewise 
admitted into it, provided they take care to keep at a great distance from 
the altar. 

The Russian mass is always performed in the ancient Sclavonian lan- 



* All Religions. 


































































17G RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


guage; and a great part of it is said in a low voice. Like the Greeks, 
the Russians bow down before the host, and adore it. From the preface 
of the mass to the communion, the doors of the sanctuary are shut, and a 
curtain is drawn before it, which covers the altar: in Easter-week, how¬ 
ever, the sanctuary doors are always open, even during mass. To the other 
ceremonies observed at the communion, in conformity with those of the 
Greeks, we must add, according to Olearius, that the Muscovites administer 
the sacrament to those who are deprived of their reason, by touching their 
lips only with the bread dipped in the wine ; that they are not allowed to 
give the communion to a woman who lies in, in the room where she was 
brought to bed ;—those who have taken a false oath before a court of judi¬ 
cature, or have been guilty of any notorious crime, cannot receive this 
sacrament of the eucharist till they are at the point of death; and that it 
is customary to give those who are sick, some water or some brandy, in 
which several of their sacred relics have been first infused, before they 
give them the communion. 

Their Bible is translated into the Sclavonian language from the Greek 
Septuagint; but they never suffer it to be carried into church, for fear of 
profaning it by the several immodest passages that are to be met with in 
the Old Testament. It is the New Testament only, and some particular 
passages extracted from the Psalms and the Prophets, which are read in 
their churches; they are, however, allowed to read the whole Scriptures 
at home in private. 

In Father Le Brun’s Collection of Liturgies, we find the contents of a 
small Muscovite ritual, in which directions are down for the obser¬ 
vance of the following customs :—1. Several prayers to be read on the day 
that a woman is delivered of a male infant. 2. On the eighth day after 
the birth of such infant, being the day on which he is to receive his name. 
3. On the fortieth day after her lying-in. 4. For a woman that has mis¬ 
carried. 5. At an exorcism. 6. At a reconciliation in church. 7. On 
a divorce. 8. When the communion is to be administered to the sick- 
9. Prayers to Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin, for a true believer 
at the point of death. 10. The order or method to be observed at the 
burial of such persons who die during the festival of Easter, or in Holy 
Week. 11. For a priest after his decease. 12. For the burial of an in¬ 
fant. 13. Prayers for a blessing on the provisions made for Easter; for 
their cheese and eggs ; for their first-fruits, and those who offer them ; 
for the consecration of a house, and the entering into possession of it; for 
sinking a well, and the purification of it when any filth has fallen into it. 
14. Prayers for those who have eaten any unclean meats. 15. Prayers 
for the purification of an unclean vessel. 16. For all sorts of grain ; for 
seed-time, &c. It is presumed that the foregoing will be sufficient to give 
the reader a tolerable idea of the several customs which are observed by 















































RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


177 


the Russians on particular occasions, and the observance of which is espe¬ 
cially enjoined by their ritual. 


One peculiar custom, however, we cannot omit: viz. that when they 
take possession of a house, they consecrate it at the same time with salt. 
Cornelius le Brun, in his Travels to Muscovy, gives us the following ac¬ 
count of the consecration of the czar’s palace in 1702 :—“ The floor was 


strewed all over with hay, and on the right hand a table was placed, gar¬ 
nished out with abundance of large and little loaves; over some of them 
was thrown a handful of salt, and a silver salt-cellar, full of salt, set upon 
others.” This custom of consecrating with salt, which is attended by all 
friends and relatives, is repeated for several days together, and is an 
emblem or token of that prosperity and success which they wish may 
attend them, and of their friendly hope that they may never afterwards 
want any of the necessaries of life. When they quit their habitations, 
they leave some hay and bread upon the floor, which are symbols of those 
blessings which they wish may attend those who take the house after their 
departure. 

The constitution of the Russian monks, their fasts, and their profound 
ignorance, are much the same as those of the Greek monks. Peter the 
Great was the first who attempted to lay a duty or tax upon the convents; 
he commanded that no persons should be admitted into them but those who 
were fifty years of age, or upwards, he having observed that a considerable 
number of able young fellows were shut up in them, and thereby rendered 
useless to the state. 

The Russians have a peculiar regard for relics, images, and pictures of 
saints; for the invocation of saints, the crucifix, and the sign of the cross; 

„ . for an infinite number of inclinations, genuflexions, and 

Relics, Images, 0 

&c - prostrations, not only before those objects which are adora¬ 

ble, but those likewise which demand only a common reverence and es¬ 
teem ; and also for numberless processions and pilgrimages. The cathe¬ 
dral church at Moscow is in possession of the garment of Jesus Christ, and 
a picture of the Blessed Virgin, drawn by St. Luke! The Russians look 
upon this picture as the palladium of their state. Other churches boast 
of being possessed of the bodies of several Russian saints; and thirty-six 
gold and silver shrines, full of very valuable relics, are to be seen in the 
churc h of the Annunciation. Thelse shrines, or boxes, are said to con¬ 
tain among other things, some of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, one of the hands of St. Mark, and some of the bones of the prophet 
Daniel, &c. 

Their images or pictures, which are generally painted in oil upon wood, 
must be made by some Muscovite, and are sold, or, according to their pre¬ 
varicating phraseology, exchanged or bartered for a certain sum of money. 
To sell them is looked upon as a sin ; but in the time of Olearius, the 






























































178 


RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


patriarch would not suffer any foreigners to have them in their houses for 
fear they would profane them. This precaution was carried to so high a 
pitch, that a Dutchman having purchased a house that was built with 
stone, the Russian who sold it scraped the wall on which the picture of a 
saint had been painted, and carried the rubbish off the premises. 

Every Russian, whether his condition be high or low, has his own titu¬ 
lar saint, to whom he offers up his morning and evening prayers, and 
whom he neglects not to consult on all occasions of a doubtful or hazardous 
nature. In the shops at St. Petersburg, an image of this titular saint is 
always placed in a conspicuous position, and you cannot possibly pay a 
higher compliment to a Russian when you enter his shop than to make 
your obeisance to his favourite saint. A Russian shopkeeper is a notorious 
cheat, but if you have paid a becoming respect to his saint, it is supposed 
that you are immediately admitted into his good graces ; and although the 
majority of the saints were themselves the most consummate cheats and 
impostors, yet it is believed that they do not sanction similar practices in 
others. For this reason, a familiar nod or a polite bow to a Russian image 
becomes, in many instances, a positive act of good policy, for you thereby 
stand a good chance of escaping from the cheating and exorbitant demands 
of the Russian trader. 

The walls of their churches are all covered with pictures, which are net 
only representations of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, but of St. 
Nicholas and several other saints, whom the Russians have made choice 
of for their patrons and protectors. In all their houses, a picture of some 
favourite saint is hung near one of the windows, with a wax-taper before 
it: several are likewise hung up in the streets, as objects of public devo¬ 
tion ; but the majority of the latter, according to Carlisle, are secured in 
glass-cases, and exposed to public view, either on the city-gates or the 
church-doors; or they are suspended on some cross-road. If a Russian 
be in the greatest haste, he must pay his respects to the pictures of these 
saints; not in a transient, careless manner, but he must stop a minute or 
two, to put up a short ejaculation; standing bare-headed, making half a 
dozen profound bows, and as many crosses. The first thing that must 
be done when any one enters a Russian’s apartment, is to take notice of 
the picture of his saint, making the sign of the cross, at the same time 
repeating the Hospodi, (Lord have mercy upon us ,) and bowing before it; 
after that he pays his compliments to the master of the house. Among 
the poorer sort, with whom the pictures of their saints are generally 
situated in some dark hole or corner, without any wax-taper, or the least 
outward appearance of distinction or respect; the devout Russian, for fear 
he should be in any way deficient in the discharge of his duty, never 
fails to ask where the God is, that is to say, the picture of the saint. This 
religious respect is grounded on that divinity which the Russians ascribe 






























































g 


RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH 


co their images, and on the numberless miracles which they believe to 
have been wrought by them. However, this supernatural power does not 
hinder these images from falling to decay; and in such cases they inter 
them in their churchyards, or in their "gardens ; sometimes indeed they 
put them, with much care and reverence, into some rapid stream, that the 
current may carry them away ; for to throw them in would be looked upon 
as an act of disrespect. 

The invocation of saints constitutes a considerable part of the religious 
worship of the Russians ; but greater demonstrations of respect are shown 
to St Nicholas than to any of the rest. It is customary, in Russia, to 
mention God and the czar at the same time when they have any affair of 
importance to transact; thus they frequently say, God is powerful as well 
as the czar . With God and the czar's permission. But they often 
substitute St. Nicholas in the room of Providence ; as for instance, when 
any one asks them how long they intend to be on a journey, they will 
answer, As long as St. Nicholas shall think convenient. Their devotees 
go in pilgrimage, for the most part, to those places where their saints have 
especially distinguished themselves. The czars themselves are not excused 
or exempted from these religious peregrinations ; at least they were per¬ 
formed by the predecessors of Peter the Great. 

The number of ceremonies and superstitious customs among the Russians 
nearly equals that of the Romish Church. A few of these we shall notice ; 

. , and first we will describe a singular festival which the 

Benediction of ° 

Waters. Russians call the Benediction of the Waters. This solem¬ 

nity is celebrated at the beginning of the year at Petersburg, in the follow¬ 
ing manner:—On the river Neva , upon the ice, which is then strong in 
that country, there is erected for this ceremony a kind of temple, of wood, 
usually of an octagonal figure, painted and richly gilt, having the inside 
decorated with various sacred pictures, representing the baptism of our 
Saviour, his transfiguration, and some other parts of his life, and on the top 
a picture of St. John the Baptist. This is called the Jordan , which name 
used to signify the baptistry or font, or any basin in which holy water is 
consecrated. There the attention of the spectators is drawn to a large 
emblem o the Holy Ghost , appearing to descend from heaven, a decora¬ 
tion common to almost all Greek churches, in which a peristerion or dove, 

v, 

as a symbol of the Holy Ghost, is usually suspended from four small 
columns which support a canopy over the Holy Table. The Jordan is 
surrounded by a temporary hedge of the boughs of fir-trees; and, in the 
middle of the sanctuary or chancel is a square space, where the broken ice 
leaves a communication with the water running below, and the rest is 
ornamented with rich tapestry. Around this temple a kind of gallery is 
erected, and a platform of boards, covered with red cloth, is laid for the 
procession to go upon, guarded also by a fence of boughs. The gallery 


































































180 


RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


communicates with one of the windows of the imperial palace, at w’hich 
the emperor and his family come out to attend the ceremony, which begins 
as soon as the liturgy is finished in the chapel of the imperial palace, 
and the regiments of guards have taken post on the river. Then, at the 
sound of the bells, and of the artillery of the fortress, the clerks, the 
deacons, the priests, the archimandrites, and the bishops, dressed in their 
richest robes, carrying in their hands lighted tapers, the censer, the Gospel, 
and the sacred pictures and banners, proceed from the chapel to the Jordan, 
singing the hymns appointed in the office, and followed by the emperor, 
the grand-duke, the senators, and the whole court. 

When arrived at the place where the ice is broken, the Archbishop of 
Moscow, or other officiating bishop, descends, by means of a ladder, to the 
side of the water. There he reads the prayers appointed in the office,— 
dips his cross three times, and ends the ceremony by an exhortation appro¬ 
priate to it; and the waters are then thought to be blessed. As soon as 
the service is finished, the artillery and soldiers fire; after which the pre¬ 
late sprinkles the water on the company around him, and on the colours of 
all the regiments that happen to be at Petersburg, which are planted round 
the Jordan. He then retires, when the people crowd towards the hole, 
and drink of the waters with a holy avidity. “Notwithstanding the cold, 
the mothers plunge their infants and the old men their heads into them. 
Everybody makes it a duty to carry away some for the purification of their 
houses, and curing certain distempers, against which the good Russians 
pretend this holy water is a powerful specific.” 

No people observe Lent with more scrupulous and excessive rigour than 
the Russians. Travelling the road from Petersburg to Moscow, says Dr. 

Clarke, in his Travels, if at any time, in poor cottages, 
where the peasants appeared starving, I offered them a part 
of our dinner, they would shudder at the sight of it, and cast it to the 
dogs ; dashing out of their children’s hands, as an abomination, any food 
given to them ; and removing every particle that might be left entirely 
from their sight. In drinking tea with a Cossack, he not only refused to 
have milk in his cup, but would not use a spoon that had been in the tea 
offered him with milk, although wiped carefully in a napkin, until it had 
passed through scalding water. The same privation prevails among the 
higher ranks ; but, in proportion as this rigour has been observed, so much 
the more excessive is the degree of gluttony and relaxation when the im¬ 
portant intelligence that “Christ is risen ” has issued from the mouth of the 
archbishop. During Easter, they run into every kind of excess, rolling about 
drunk the whole week ; as if rioting, debauchery, extravagance, gambling, 
drinking, and fornication, were as much a religious observance as starving 
had been before; and that the same superstition which kept them fasting 
during Lent, had afterwards instigated them to the most beastly excesses. 


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Even their religious customs are perfectly adapted to their climate and 
manners. Nothing can be contrived with more ingenious policy to suit the 
habits of the Russians. When Lent fasting begins, their stock of frozen 
provisions is either exhausted, or unfit for use ; and the interval which 
takes place allows sufficient time for procuring, killing, and storing the 
fresh provisions of the spring. The night before the famous ceremony of 
the resurrection, all the markets and sh-ops of Moscow are seen filled with 
flesh, butter, eggs, poultry, pigs, and every kind of viand. The crowd of 
purchasers is immense. You hardly meet a foot passenger who has not 
his hands, nay his arms, filled with provisions; or a single droski that is 
not ready to break down beneath their weight. 

The first ceremony which took place, previous to all this feasting, was 
that of the Paquefleuries , or Palm Sunday, On the eve of this day, all 
the inhabitants of Moscow resort, in carriages, on horseback, or on foot, to 
the Kremlin, for the purchase of palm-branches, to place before their 
boghs, and to decorate the sacred pictures in the streets, or elsewhere. It 
is one of the gayest promenades of the year. The governor, attended by 
the maitre de police, the commandant, and a train of nobility, go in pro¬ 
cession mounted on fine horses. The streets are lined with spectators: 
and cavalry are stationed on each side, to preserve order. Arriving in the 
Kremlin, a vast assembly, bearing artificial bouquets and boughs, are seen 
moving here and there, forming the novel and striking spectacle of a gay 
and moving forest. The boughs consist of artificial flowers with fruit. 
Beautiful representations of oranges and lemons in wax are sold for a few 
copeeks * each, and offer a proof of the surprising ingenuity of this people 
in the arts of imitation. Upon this occasion, every person who visits the 
Kremlin, and would be thought a true Christian, purchases one or more 
of the boughs, called Palm-branches; and in returning, the streets are 
crowded with droskis , and all kinds of vehicles, filled with devotees, hold¬ 
ing in their hands one or more palm-branches, according to the degree of 
their piety, or the number of boghs in their houses. 

The description often given of the splendour of the equipages in Mos¬ 
cow but ill agrees with their appearance during Lent. A stranger, who 
arrives with his head full of notions of Asiatic pomp and Eastern magni¬ 
ficence, would be surprised to find narrow streets, execrably paved, covered 
with mud or dust; wretched-looking houses on each side ; carriages, drawn 
it is true by six horses, but such cattle ! blind, lame, old, out of condition, 
of all sizes and all colours, connected by rotten ropes and old cords, full of 
knots and splices : on the leaders and on the box, figures that seem to have 
escaped from the galleys; behind, a lousy, ragged lackey, or perhaps 
two, with countenances exciting more pity than derision; and the carriage 


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itself like the worst of the night-coaches in London. But this external 
wretchedness, as far as it concerns the equipages of the nobles, admits of 
some explanation. The fact is, that a dirty, tattered livery, a rotten har¬ 
ness, bad horses, and a shabby vehicle, constitute one part of the privation 
of the season. On Easter Monday, the most gaudy but fantastic buf¬ 
foonery of splendour fills every street in the city. The emperor, it is 
true, in his high consideration for the welfare and happiness of his sub¬ 
jects, deemed it expedient to adapt the appearance to the reality of their 
wretchedness ; and in restraining the excessive extravagance of the people 
of Moscow, evinced more wisdom than the world have given him credit 
for possessing. 

The second grand ceremony of this season takes place on Thursday 
before Easter at noon, when the archbishop washes the feet of the apostles. 
This we also witnessed. The priests appeared in their most gorgeous 
apparel. Twelve monks, designed to represent the twelve apostles, were 
placed in a semicircle before the archbishop. The ceremony is performed 
in the cathedral, which is crowded with spectators. The archbishop, per¬ 
forming all, and much more than is related of our Saviour in the thirteenth 
chapter of St. John, takes off his robes, girds up his loins with a towel, 
and proceeds to wash the feet of them all, until he comes to the represen¬ 
tative of Peter, who rises ; and the same interlocution takes place between 
him and the archbishop, which is said to have taken place between our 
Saviour and that apostle. 

The third, and most magnificent ceremony of all, is celebrated two hours 
after midnight, in the morning of Easter Sunday. It is called the cere¬ 
mony of the resurrection, and certainly exceeded every thing of the kind 
celebrated at Rome, or anywhere else. I have not seen so splendid a sight 
in any Roman Catholic country; not even that of the benediction by the 
pope during the holy week. 

At midnight the great bell of the cathedral tolled. Its vibrations seemed 
the rolling of distant thunder ; and they were instantly accompanied by the 
noise of all the bells in Moscow. Every inhabitant was stirring, and the 
rattling of carriages in the streets was greater than at noonday. The 
whole city was in a blaze; for lights were seen in all the windows, and 
innumerable torches in the streets. The tower of the cathedral was illu¬ 
minated from its foundation to its cross. The same ceremony takes place 
in all the churches; and, what is truly surprising, considering their num- 
bei, it is said they are all equally crowded. 

We hastened to the cathedral, which was filled with a prodigious as¬ 
sembly of all ranks and sexes, bearing lighted wax-tapers, to be afterwards 
heaped as vows on the different shrines. The walls, ceilings, and every 
part of this building, are covered with the pictures of saints and martyrs. 
In the moment of our arrival the doors were shut; and on the outside 















































































RUSSIAN GREEK. CHURCH. 


appeared Plato, the archbishop, preceded by banners and torches, and 
followed by all his train of priests with crucifixes and censers, who were 
making three times, in procession, the tour of the cathedral; chanting 
with loud voices, and glittering in sumptuous vestments, covered with gold, 
silver, and precious stones. The snow had not melted so rapidly in the 
Kremlin as in the streets of the city ; and this magnificent procession was 
therefore constrained to move upon planks over the deep mud which sur¬ 
rounded the cathedral. After completing the third circuit, they all halted 
opposite the great doors, which were shut; and the archbishop, with a 
censer, scattered incense against the doors, and over the priests. Suddenly 
those doors were opened and the effect was great beyond description. 
The immense throng of spectators within, bearing innumerable tapers, 
formed two lines, through which the archbishop entered, advancing with 
his train to a throne near the centre. The profusion of lights in all parts 
of the cathedral, and, among others, of the enormous chandelier which 
hung from the centre, the richness of the dresses, and the vastness of the 
assembly, filled us with astonishment. Having joined the suite of the 
archbishop, we accompanied the procession, and passed even to the 
throne, on which the police officers permitted us to stand, among the 
priests, near an embroidered stool of satin, placed for the archbishop. 
The loud chorus, which burst forth at the entrance to the church, con¬ 
tinued as the procession moved towards the throne, and after the arch¬ 
bishop had taken his seat; when my attention was, for a moment, called 
off, by seeing one of the Russians earnestly crossing himself with his right 
hand, while his left was employed in picking my companion’s pocket of 
his handkerchief. 

Soon after, the archbishop descended, and went all round the cathedral; 
first offering incense to the priests, and then to the people as he passed 
along. When he had returned to his seat, the priests, two by two, per¬ 
formed the same ceremony ; beginning with the archbishop, who rose and 
made obeisance with a lighted taper in his hand. From the moment tho 
church-doors were opened, the spectators had continued bowing their heads 
and crossing themselves ; insomuch that some of the people seemed really 
exhausted, by the constant motion of the head and hands. 

I had now leisure to examine the dresses and figures of the priests, 
which were, certainly, the most striking I ever saw. Their long dark hair, 
without powder, fell down in ringlets, or straight and thick, far over their 
rich robes and shoulders. Their dark thick beards also entirely covered 
their breasts. On the heads of the archbishop and bishops were high caps, 
covered with gems, and adorned with miniature paintings, set in jewels, of 
the crucifixion, the virgin, and the saints. Their robes of various-coloured 
satin were of the most costly embroidery, and even on these were miniature 
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RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH 


Such, according to the consecrated legend of ancient days, was the 
appearance of the high-priests of old, Aaron and his sons, holy men stand¬ 
ing by the temple of the congregation in fine raiments, the workmanship 
of “ Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.” It 
is said there is a convent in Moscow where the women are entirely em¬ 
ployed in working dresses for the priests. 

After two hours had been spent in various ceremonies, the archbishop 
advanced, holding forth a cross, which all the people crowded to embrace, 
squeezing each other nearly to suffocation. As soon, however, as their 
eagerness had been somewhat satisfied, he retired to the sacristy ; where 
putting on a plain purple robe, he again advanced, exclaiming three times 
in a very loud voice —Christ is risen! 

The most remarkable part of the solemnity now followed. The arch¬ 
bishop, descending into the body of the church, concluded the whole cere¬ 
mony by crawling round the pavement on his hands and knees, kissing the 
consecrated pictures, whether on the pillars, the walls, the altars, or the 
tombs ; the priests and all the people imitating his example. Sepulchres 
were onened. and the mummied bodies of incorruptible saints exhibited. 


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at the ceremony. They baptize their infants, according to Olearius, as 
soon as they are born ; but according to other historians, those who are ii 
good circumstances are not so strict, but defer the ceremony for some time. 
The godfathers and godmothers of the first child must stand sureties for 
all the other children in that family, however great may be the number. 
After entering the church, these godfathers deliver nine wax-tapers into 
the hands of the priest, who illumines them all, and sticks them in the 
form of a cross about the font or vessel in which the infant is to be 
baptized. The priest then thurifies the godfathers, and consecrates the 
water ; and after that he and the godfathers go thrice in procession round 
it. The clerk, who marches in the front, carries the picture of St. John. 
After this, they all arrange themselves in such a manner that their backs 
are turned towards the font, as a testimony, says Olearius, of their aversion 
to the three questions which the priest proposes to the godfathers ; that is 
to say,—1st, “Whether the child renounces the devil ?” 2dly, “Whether lA 
he abjures his angels ?” and 3dly, “ Whether he abhors and detests their 
impious works ?”—At each question, the godfathers answer yes, and spit 
upon the ground. The exorcism follows, whfdh is performed out of the 
church, lest the devil, as he comes out of the infant, should pollute or pro¬ 
fane it. 

After the exorcism is over, the priest cuts some hair ofF the child’s head 
in the form of a cross, and puts it into a book, or wraps it up in wax, and 
deposits it in some particular place belonging to the church appropriated for 
that purpose. The baptism which ensues is performed by a triple immer¬ 
sion, as we have before observed with respect to the Greeks. The priest, 
tiaving now put a grain of salt into the infant’s mouth, anoints him several 
times in the form of a cross, which may properly enough be called his 
confirmation; and as he puts on him a clean shirt, he says, Thou art now 
us clean as this shirt, and purified from the stain of original sin. To 
conclude this ceremony, a little gold or silver cross, or one of inferior value, 
according to the circumstances of the parent, is hung about the infant’s 
neck, which is the badge or token of his baptism. He must wear this not 
only as long as he lives, but carry it with him to his grave. To this cross 
must be added some saint, appointed by the priest to be his guardian and 
protector, the picture of whom he delivers into the godfathers’ hands, and 
in express terms charges them to instrutt the child in what manner he may 
pay a peculiar respect and veneration to his patron saint. After the bap¬ 
tism is over, the priest salutes the infant and his sponsors. 

It is to be observed, that all matrimonial alliances between godfathers 
and the children for whom they are thus solemnly engaged, are prohibited 
among the Russians ; also, that the water in the font or cistern is changed 
every new baptism ; because they are of opinion that it is defiled or 
tainted with the original sin of those who were previously baptized in it. 



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Those who become proselytes to the Russian religion are baptized in some 
rapid stream, or some adjacent river, in which they are plunged three 
times successively ; and if it happens in the winter season, there is a 
hole broken in the ice for the performance of that ordinance. If, however, 
the person should be of too weak a constitution to undergo such a violent 
initiation , a barrel full of water is poured over his head three times suc¬ 
cessively. 

After the baptism is over, the priest takes the infant newly baptized, and 
with his head makes a cross upon the church-door, at which he knocks 
three times with a hammer; each stroke must be so loud that those who 
were eye-witnesses of the baptism shall hear the sound of it; for otherwise 
they do not look upon the infant as duly baptized. 

In the evening of their wedding-day, the bridegroom, accompanied by a 
numerous train of his nearest relations and acquaintance, proceeds to wait 
on his mistress ; the priest who is to solemnize their nup¬ 
tials riding on horseback before them. After the congratu¬ 
lations, and other compliments, customary on such joyful occasions in all 
countries, the company sit down to table. “ But notwithstanding there are 
three elegant dishes instantly served up,” says Olearius, “no one takes 
the freedom to taste of them.” At the upper end of the table is a vacant 
seat intended for the bridegroom. While he is in earnest discourse with 
the bride’s relations, some young gentleman takes possession of his chair, 
and does not resign it without some valuable consideration. As soon as 
the bridegroom has thus redeemed his seat, the bride is introduced into the 
room, dressed as gayly as possible, but covered with a veil. A curtain of 
crimson taffeta, supported by two young gentlemen, now parts the lovers, 
and prevents them from stealing any amorous glances from each other’s 
eyes. In the next place, the bride’s Suacha, or agent, wreathes her hair, 
and after she has turned up her tresses, puts a crown upon her head, 
which is either of gold or silver gilt, and lined with silk, and of greater or 
less value, in proportion to the quality or circumstances of the person for 
whom it is intended. The other Suacha is employed in setting the bride¬ 
groom off to the best advantage. During this interval, some women ihat 
are present sing a number of little merry catches to divert them, while 
the bridemaids strew hops upon the heads of the company. Two lads 
after this bring in a large cheese, and several rolls or little loaves, in a 
hand-basket, with curious sable tassels to it. Two of the bride’s attend¬ 
ants bring in another cheese, and the same quantity of bread, upon her 
particular account. All these provisions,after the priest has blessed them, 
are carried to the church. At last there is a large silver basin set upon 
the table, full of small remnants of satin and taffeta, with several small 
square pieces of silver, hops, barley, and oats, all mingled together. The 
Suacha, after she has put the bride’s veil over her face again, takes several 




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handfuls of this medley out of the basin, and strews it over the heads of 
all the company. The next ceremony is the exchange of their respective 
rings, which is performed by the parents of the newly-married couple. The 
Suacha now conducts the bride to church, and the bridegroom follows with 
the priest, who, for the most part, indulges himself in drinking to that 
excess, that he is obliged to have two attendants to support him, not only 
while he rides on horseback to the church, but all the time he is there 
performing the matrimonial service. 

One part of the pavement of the church, where the ceremony is per¬ 
formed, is covered with crimson taffeta, and another piece of the same silk 
is spread over it, where the bride and bridegroom are appointed to stand. 
The priest, before he enters upon his office, demands their oblations, which 
consists in fish, pastry, &c. Then he gives them his benediction, and 
holds over their heads the pictures of those saints who weie made choice 
of to be their patrons. After which, taking the right hand of the bride¬ 
groom and the left of the bride within his own hands, he asks them three 
times, “ whether they sincerely consent to and approve of their marriage, 
and whether they will love each other for the'future as is their bounden 
duty so to do ?” When they have answered Yes, all the company in 
general take hands and join in a solemn dance, while the priest sings the 
128 th Psalm, (according to the Hebrew computation,) in which almost ail 
the blessings that attend the married state are enumerated. The priest, as 
soon as the psalm is finished, puts a garland of rue upon their heads; but 
if the man be a widower, or the woman a widow, then he lays it upon 
their shoulders. The blessing attendant on this ceremony begins with 
these words, Increase and multiply ; and concludes with that other solemn 
direction, which the Russians never understand in a rigorous sense— 
Whom God hath joined, let no man put asunder. As soon as this form 
of words is pronounced, all the company light their wax-tapers, and one 
of them presents the priest with a glass of wine, which he drinks, and 
the newly-married couple pledge him. This is done thrice, and then the 
bride and bridegroom dash their glasses down upon the floor, and tread the 
pieces under their feet, denouncing several maledictions on all those who 
shall hereafter endeavour to set them at variance. At the same time, 
several women strew linseed and hempseed upon their heads. 

After this ceremony is over, the usual congratulations are repeated, with 
such other demonstrations of gayety and rejoicing as generally accompany 
the nuptial rites in other countries. We must not omit one circumstance, 
however, which is merry and innocent enough: the women before-men¬ 
tioned take fast hold of the bride’s gown, in order to compel ner, as 
were, to forsake her husband; but the bride usually maintains so strong a 
hoia of him, that all their endeavours prove ineffectual. 

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Russian car or sledge, attended by six flambeaux, and the bridegroom on 
horseback. The company come after them. As soon as they are ad 
within doors, the bridegroom sits down at the table with hi c friends ; bu. 
the women conduct the bride to her bed-chamber, and put her to bed. 
Afterwards some young gentlemen wait on the bridegroom with their wax* 
tapers in their hands, and conduct him to his lady’s apartment. As soon 
as they are within the chamber, they deposit their lights upon the hogs¬ 
heads that surround the nuptial bed. The bride, wrapped up in her night¬ 
gown, now jumps out of bed, approaches her husband with much respect, 
and makes him a very submissive and respectful obeisance. This is the 
first moment, according to Olearius, that the husband has any opportunity 
of seeing his wife unveiled. They then sit down to table, and sup toge¬ 
ther. Among other dishes, there is a roast fowl set before them, which 
the husband tears to pieces, throwing that part which he holds in his hands, 
whether it be the leg or the wing, over his shoulder, and eating the re- j\ 
mainder. Here the ceremony ends. 

The spectators now withdraw, and the newly-married couple go to bed, 
after crossing themselves, and addressing a short prayer to the pictures of 
their patron saints. An old domestic servant stands sentinel at the cham¬ 
ber-door, while some of the company, who are more superstitious than the 
rest, spend the interval in using enchantments for a happy consummation 
of this love adventure. The following days are spent in all imaginable 
demonstrations of joy and rejoicing. The men indulge themselves in 
drinking to excess, while the husband carouses with his friends, and 
drowns his senses in intoxicating liquors. 

The Russian funeral solemnities are as remarkable in all respects as 
their nuptial ceremonies. As soon as a sick person has expired, they send 
_ , „ , for the relations and friends of the deceased, who place 

nities - themselves about the corpse, and weep over it if they can. 

There are women likewise who attend as mourners, and ask the deceased, 

“What was the cause of his death? Were his circumstances narrow and 
perplexed ? Did he want either the necessaries or conveniences of life ?” 

&c. The relatives of the deceased now make the priest a present of some Pj 
strong beer, brandy, and metheglin, that he may pray for the repose of the £ £ 

soul of the deceased. In the next place, the corpse is well washed, dressed 
in clean linen, or wrapped in a shroud, and shod with Russia leather, and 
put into a coffin, the arms being laid over the stomach, in the form of a '$'!(££ 
cress. The Russians make their coffins of the trunks of hollowed trees, 
and cover them with cloth, or at least with the great-coat of the deceased. 

The corpse is not carried, however, to church, till it has been kept eight vjv 
or ten days at home, if the season or circumstances of the deceased will 
admit of such a delay; for it is a received opinion, that the longer they 
stay in this world,, the better reception they will meet with in the next 


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RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


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^ he priest thurifies the corpse, and sprinkles it with holy water, till the 
ery day of its interment. 

The funeral procession is ranged or disposed in the following manner:— 
priest marches in the front, carrying the image of the particular sainr 
•ho was made choice of as patron of the deceased at the time he was 
aptized. Four young virgins, who are the nearest relations to the de 
eased, and the chief mourners, follow him; or, for want of such female 
’iends, the same number of women are hired to attend, and to perform 
at melancholy office. After them comes the corpse, carried on the 
loulders of six bearers. If the party deceased be a monk or a nun, the 
rothers or sisters of the convent to which they belonged perform this last 
•iendly office for them. Several friends march on either side of the corpse, 
lurifying it, and singing as they go along, to drive away the evil spirits, 
d to prevent them from hovering round about it. The relations and 
dends bring up the rear, each having a wax-taper in his hand. As soon 
they are arrived at the grave, the coffin is uncovered, and the image of 
le deceased’s favourite saint is laid over him, while the priest repeats 
me prayers suitable to the solemn occasion, or reads some particu- 
r passages out of the liturgy. After that, the relations and friends bid 
leir last sad adieu, either by saluting the deceased himself, or the coffin 
i which he is interred. The priest, in the next place, comes close to his 
ide, and puts his passport or certificate into his hand, which is signed by 
le archbishop, and likewise by his father confessor, who sell it at a dearer 
cheaper rate, according to the circumstances or quality of those who 
urchase it. This billet is a testimonial of the virtue and good actions of 
le deceased, or, at least, of his sincere repentance of all his sins. When 
person at the point of expiring is so happy as to have the benediction of 
is priest, and after his decease his passport in his hand, his immediate 
ception into heaven is, in their opinion, infallibly secured. The priest 
ways recommends the deceased to the favour and protection of St. Nicho- 
as. To conclude, the coffin is nailed up and let down into the grave, the 
face of the deceased being turned towards the east. The friends and rela¬ 
tions now take their last farewell in unfeigned tears, or at least in seeming 
Drrow and concern, which are expressed by mourners who are hired for 
lat purpose 

The Russians frequently distribute money and provisions among the poor 
ho hover round the grave ; but it is a very common custom among them, 
wording to Olearius, “ to drown their sorrow and affliction in metheglin 
fid in brandy and it too often happens that they get drunk on these 
Ccasions, in commemoration of their deceased friends. 

! Durino- their mourning, which continues forty days, they make three 
(J&neral entertainments, that is to say* on the third, the ninth, and the 
Ciiyen tieffi-jlay- afteiy the -interment, — 

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RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


that purpose, must spend some time in prayer for the consolation and re- 
pose of the soul of the deceased every night and morning, for forty days 
successively in a tent, which is erected on that occasion over the gra v ? of 
the deceased. They commemorate their dead, likewise, once a yeai : tms 
ceremony consists, principally, in mourning over their tombs, and m 
taking care that they be duly perfumed with incense by some of their 
mercenary priests, who, besides the fee or gratuity which they receive 
for their incense, (or more properly the small quantity of wax with which 
they thurify the tombs,) make an advantage likewise of the various 
provisions which are frequently brought to such places, or of the alm^ 
wffiich are left there, and intended by the donors for the relief and main¬ 
tenance of the poor; for the Russian nobility and gentry hope to atone, 
by their charitable donations, for their manifold and inhuman acts of .op¬ 
pression. 

We shall add in this place an interesting account of the burial of Prince 
Galitzin, in Moscow, taken from Dr. Clarke’s Travels, w r ho was an eye- 
„ . . rr> . witness of the ceremony. This ceremony w 7 as performed 
Gali,zin - in a small church near the Mareschal bridge. The body 

w r as laid in a superb crimson coffin, richly embossed with silver and 
placed beneath the dome of the church. On a throne, raised at the head 
of the coffin, stood the archbishop, wffio read the service. On each side 
were ranged the inferior clergy, clothed, as usual, in the most costly robes, 
bearing in their hands w r ax-tapers, and burning incense. The ceremony 
began at ten in the morning. Having obtained admission to the church, 
w r e placed ourselves among the spectators, immediately behind his grace. 
The chanting had a solemn and sublime effect. It seemed as if choristers 
w 7 ere placed in the upper part of the dome, which, perhaps, w r as really the 
case. The words uttered were only a constant repetition of “Lord have 
•mercy upon us!” or, in Russian, “ Ghospodi pomilui /” When the arch¬ 
bishop turned to give his benediction to all the people, he observed us, and 
added in Latin, “Pax vobiscum!” to the astonishment of the Russians; 
who, not comprehending the new words introduced into the service, mut¬ 
tered among themselves. Incense was then offered to the pictures and to 
the people ; and that ceremony ended, the archbishop read aloud a decla* 
ration, purporting that the deceased died in the true faith ; that he had 
repented of his errors, and that his sins were absolved. Then turning to 
us, as the paper was placed in the coffin, he said again in Latin, “This is 
what all you foreigners call the passport; and you relate, in books 
of travels, that we believe no soul can go to heaven without it. Now I 
wish you to understand wffiat it really is ; and to explain to your country¬ 
men upon my authority, that it is nothing more than a declaration, or cer¬ 
tificate concerning the death of the deceased.” Then laughing, he added, 
“I suppose you commit all this to paper; and one day I shall see an 




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RUSSIAN GREEK CHURCH. 


engraving of this ceremony, with an old archbishop giving a passport to 
St. Peter.” 

The lid of the coffin being now removed, the body of the prince was 
exposed to view; and all the relatives, servants, slaves, and other attend¬ 
ants, began their loud lamentations, as is the custom among the Russians ; 
and each person, walking round the corpse, made prostration before it, and 
kissed the lips of the deceased. The venerable figure of an old slave pre¬ 
sented a most affecting spectacle. He threw himself flat on the pavement, 
with a degree of violence which might have cost him his life and, quite 
stunned by the blow, remained a few seconds insensible ; afterwards, his 
loud sobs were heard; and we saw him tearing off and scattering his white 
hairs. He had, according to the custom of the country, received bis 
liberty upon the death of the prince ; but choosing rather to consign him¬ 
self for the remainder of his days to a convent, he retired for ever from 
the world, saying, “since his dear old master was dead, there was no one 
living who cared for him.” , 

A plate was handed about, containing boiled rice and raisins; a cere¬ 
mony I am unable to explain. The face of the deceased was covered by 
linen, and the archbishop poured consecrated oil, and threw a white 
powder, probably lime, several times upon it, pronouncing some words 
in the Russian language ; which, supposing us not to understand, he 
repeated aloud in Latin: “ Dust thou art; and unto dust thou art 
returned /” The lid of the coffin was then replaced ; and, after a re¬ 
quiem, “sweet as from blest voices,” a procession began from the church 
to a convent in the vicinity of the city, where the body was to be interred. 
There was nothing solemn in this part of the ceremony. It began by the 
slaves of the deceased on foot, all of whom were in mourning. Next came 
the priests, bearing tapers ; then followed the body on a common droski ; 
the whip of the driver being bound with crape ; and afterwards a line of 
carriages, of the miserable description before observed. But, instead of 
that slow movement usually characteristic of funeral processions, the 
priests and the people ran as fast as they could; and the body was jolted 
along in an uncouth manner. Far behind the last rumbling vehicle were 
seen persons following, out of breath, unable to keep up with their com¬ 
panions. 

Sect of Raskolniki, or Ibraniki. —This is the only sect that has sepa¬ 
rated from the established church in Russia. They are supposed to 
amount to about one million. The date of their separation was about the 
year 1666. They pretend to be ardent lovers of the Holy Scriptures, and 
distinguished for their piety. Its members assume the name of Ibraniki , 
that is, the multitude of the elect; or, according to others, Straoivertsi , 
that is, believers in the ancient faith ; but the name given them by their 
adversaries, and that by which they are generally known, is Raskolniki 











































































SEC. III.-OTHER BRANCHES OF THE GREEK CHURCH 


gn Bible Society has, within a few years, directed 


^2>X ( 


OTHER BRANCHES OF 

Hat is, schismatics, or the seditious faction. In defence of their separa* 
on, they allege the corruptions, in both doctrine and discipline, that have 
een introduced into the Russian church. They profess a rigorous zeal 
ir the letter of the Holy Scripture, which they do not understand ; and 
le transposition of a single word in a new edition of the Russian Bible, 
lough this transposition was intended to correct an uncouth phrase in 
V TV' 16 trans ^ at * on comm only received, threw them into the greatest tumult. 

ney will not allow a priest to administer baptism after having tasted 
jirituous liquors; and in this, perhaps, they act rightly, since it is said, 
that the Russian priests seldom touch the flask without drinking deep.” 
'hey hold that there is no subordination of rank, no superior or inferior 
( ajmong the faithful; that a Christian may kill himself for the love of 
Christ; that Hallelujah must be only twice pronounced, that it is a great 
In to repeat it thrice ; and that a priest must never give a blessing except 
with three fingers. They are regular, even to austerity, in their man¬ 
ors ; but, as they have always refused to admit Christians of other deno¬ 
minations into their religious assemblies, they have been suspected of com¬ 
mitting in them various abominations ; this, however, ought not to be 
lieved without the strongest demonstrative proof. They have suffered 
uch persecution; and various means have been used to bring them back 
Bin®to the bosom of the church, but in vain ; and arguments, promises, 
ireatenings, dragoonings, ‘he authority of synods and councils, seconded 
racks and gibbets—in a word, all the methods that artifice or barbarity 
mid suggest, have been practised ; but these, instead of lessening, have 
creased their numbers, and, instead of closing, have widened the breach, 
me wealthy merchants and great lords are attached to this sect; and it 
widely diffused among the peasants. It ought to be added, that the 
members of this sect consider the worship of images as gross idolatry ; 
id, perhaps, this practice, real or supposed, in the Russian church, was 
ie reason of their separating from it. 














































































THE GREEK CHURCH 


i of Asia. The former of which 
and the latter between Circass:^ 
n the south. The former we s 
ter in part the ancient Colchis 
The inhabitants of both these countries are sunk in poverty, ignorance, 
and semi-barbarism. Yet an interest attaches to them on account of the r 
religion, which was once more flourishing than at present. They are a 
branch of the Greek Church. These two people are said to profess the 
same faith, with this difference, however, that the Mingrelians, residing ii 
the mountains and woods, are more vicious and depraved in morals than 
the Georgians. 

Each of these nations has a pontiff at its head, whom they call CatholicoA 
or the Catholic—who is obliged to pay a certain tribute to the Patriarch 
of Constantinople—but is, in every other respect, indtfr 
pendent of any foreign jurisdiction. They have bishops, 
and priests, who are not only ignorant, but exceedingly dissolute and coi^ 
rupt. Some of their bishops are able neither to read nor write, and i i| 
order to discharge their duty learn to say mass by heart; which, how¬ 
ever, they are never inclined to do without being very well paid for thei,r 


Situation of 
Georgia and Min 
greha. 


Their Pontiffs 


Their Priests 




’<*: '1 1 [ 



























































































OTIIEK 




w 


some acceptable < blation to the incensed image,—that is to say, some valu¬ 
able present in money or effects, which he always takes care to apply to 
his own private advantage. 

In regard to their baptismal ceremonies,—as soon as an infant is born, 
the papas, or priest, makes the sign of the cross on his forehead, and eight 
_ davs afterwards anoints him with the Myrone—that is, their 

Baptismal Cere- J 

monies. consecrated oil; but he never baptizes him till two years 

after; and the following form is observed:—The child is brought to the 
church, and presented to the papas, who immediately asks his name, and 
lights a little wax-taper; after which he reads a long lesson, and repeat3 
several prayers suitable to the occasion. After that, the godfather un¬ 
dresses the infant, and plunges him naked into a kind of font or bathing- 
vessel, full of lukewarm water, mixed with walnut-oil, and washes his 
body all over, the papas taking no share in this part of the ceremony, nor 
pronouncing a single syllable during the whole of the time. After this 
general ablution, however, he advances towards the water-vessel, and gives 
the Myrone to the godfather, to anoint the infant. The godfather accord¬ 
ingly anoints his forehead, nose, eyes, ears, breast, navel, knees, soles of 
the feet, heels, hams, loins, shoulders, and the crown of his head. After 
this ceremony is over, he plunges him again into the font, or water-vessel, 
and offers him a bit of blessed bread to eat, and a small portion of sacred 
wine to drink. If the child swallows them, it is looked upon as a happy 
omen. In conclusion, the godfather returns the infant to its mother, saying 
three times, “Tow delivered him into my hands a Jew , and I return him 
to you a Christian .” 

We shall now proceed to the nuptial ceremonies of the Georgians, 
which are, in fact, nothing more than a mere contract, by way of bargain 
and sale. The parents bring their daughters to market, 
and agree with the purchasers for a particular sum, which is 
greater or smaller, according to the value of the living commodities. A 
female who has never been married commands a much higher price than 
a widow, and a virgin in her bloom more than an antiquated maid. As 
soon as the purchase-money is raised and ready, the father of the bride¬ 
groom gives an entertainment, at which the son attends with his cash in 
hand, and deposits it on the table, before he offers to sit down ; at the same 
time, the relations of the bride provide an equivalent, which is generally 
as near the value of his money as possible, consisting of all manner of 
necessary household goods, cattle, clothes, slaves, &c. This custom appears 
to be very ancient; and after the entertainment is over, the bride repairs to 
the bridegroom’s house, attended by her relations, friends, and acquaint¬ 
ance. The procession is enlivened by a concert of instrumental music; 
the contractors going before, to inform the family that the newly-married 
couple will arrive soon at home. These messengers, on their first arrival, 


Nuptial Ceremo¬ 
nies. 



















































































iV2)l 


<■/ 


i 


It 

:'a)J 

K 




are presented with bread, wine, and meat; without offering to enter the 
house, however, they take the flagon of wine, and pour it lavishly round 
about it. This libation is consecrated by their hearty wishes for the health, 
prosperity, and peace of the newly-married couple. After this they return 
to the bride, and conduct her home to her husband’s apartment, in which 
the other relations and friends are all assembled. In the middle of the room 
a carpet is spread upon the floor; and a pitcher of wine, with a kettle-full 
of dough, called Gom, with which they make their bread, are set upon it. 
Soon after her entrance, the bride kicks down the pitcher, and scatters the 
paste with both her hands all over the room. We are at a loss to deter¬ 
mine the mystical design of this practice, unless it be emblematical of the 
plenty and fruitfulness of the marriage state. The ceremony is attended 
with the usual pastimes and demonstrations of joy which are customary on 
such public occasions. 

The essential part of the nuptial mystery, however, is not solemnized 
here, but in a private apartment, for fear the sorcerers should cast a spell 
upon the newly-married couple. The bridegroom and his bride stand 
with their godfather before a priest, who reads ,over the marriage words 
by the light of a wax-taper; and two garlands of flowers, either natural 
or artificial, are set close to each other on an adjoining table, with tufts of 
various colours ; a tavaiole, that is, a veil; a glass of wine, a piece of 
bread, and a needle and thread. The godfather now throws a veil over 
the bridegroom’s head, and, while the priest is reading the ceremony, 
sews the garments of the bride and bridegroom together. This godfather 
likewise puts crowns upon their heads, changing them three or four 
times, successively, according to the tenor of the prayers repeated on the 
occasion. After this, he takes the glass and the pieces of bread into his 
hands, and gives the bridegroom one bit, and the bride another: this he 
repeats three times, and eats what is left himself. He now gives them the 
glass three times a piece, and then drinks the remainder, which concludes 
the ceremony. 

The veil made use of on this occasion, is the emblem or image of the 
nuptial bed : and the thread, with which the bridegroom and bride are 
sewed together, the symbol of the conjugal knot; but as the Georgians 
and Mingrelians are addicted to divorce and to discard their wives, and as 
they are frequently guilty of fornication and polygamy, the fragility of the 
thread is looked upon as a lively representation of the precarious and un¬ 
certain duration of this happy union. The bread and wine denote their 
community, or having things in common together. The godfather eats 
and drinks the remains, to intimate that he has contracted a kind of 
relationship with them, and that he ought to be an impartial judge, or to 
be the arbitrator, in any controversies that may afterwards arise between 

them. 







>d&1 
























































































pT 




ssS^i 


OTHER BRANCHES OF 



@) 


W] 


.'aVo, 

The mourning of the Mingrelians, according to the accounts of severar-'j 
travellers, is like that of persons in the very depth of despair, and consist 

Funeral Cere not on ly in weeping, or rather howling, in honour of their 
dead, but also in shaving their beards and eyebrows. More 
over, when a wife loses her husband, or some other near relation, she rend£ 
her clothes, strips herself naked to the waist, tears her hair, scarifies he 
body, and scratches her face all over. The men likewise behave nearly 
in the same manner, and are more or less violent, as necessity, inclination 
or the circumstances of their mourning prompt them. This continues 
forty days, with a gradual diminution of their sorrow, as that term draw;; 
near to its expiration. 

On the first ten days, the relations and intimate friends and acquaint 
ance meet constantly to weep over the deceased. Their cries and howl 
ings, their transports of sorrow, and their silence and serenity of mind 
alternately succeed each other. On the iast day they inter the corpse, on 
which occasion the catholicos puts upon the breasts of those who die in th 
faith a letter or petition, in which he humbly beseeches St. Peter to open' 
the gate of heaven for them, and to admit of their entrance. This cer 
mony is sometimes performed even before they put them in their shrouds . \ 

On the fortieth day of their mourning, the Georgians have a funeral enter 
tainment for the relations, friends, and acquaintance of the deceased 
which the men sit at one table, and the women at another. The bisho 
now reads a mass for the dead, and takes, for his fee or gratuity, ever 
thing that was allotted to the service of the deceased. 

Sec. 2 .—Nestorian Churches. 

There are several sects of Christians in the Levant, who are known an 
distinguished by the name of Chaldeans or Syrians: but the most consi 
derable part of them are those who pass under the denomi¬ 
nation of Nestorians , and in reality revere Nestorius, wh 
was Patriarch of Constantinople in the beginning of the fifth century, b 
mvoking him in their prayers. 

The occasion of the fatal controversy in which Nestorius involved th 
church, was furnished by Anastasius, who was honoured with his frient 
ship. 

This presbyter, in a public discourse, delivered in 424, declaimed' 
warmly against the title of Mother of God, which was then frequently 
attributed to the Virgin Mary in the controversy with the Arians, givin 
it as his opinion, that the Holy Virgin was rather to be called Mother o 
Christ, since the Deity can neither be born nor die, and, of consequence 
the Son of man alone could derive his birth from an earthly parent. Ne 
torius applauded these sentiments, and explained and defended them i 
several discourses. 


!(Qj 

x 



























































































In opposition to him, Eutyches, an abbot at Constantinople, declared tha 
these natures were so united in Christ, as to form but one nature, that o 
the Incarnate word. It was an age when men were fast losing sight of th 
Gospel, and contending about modes and forms ; and these opposite opi¬ 
nions threw the whole Eastern world into bitter contention, and gave ris 
to that great division which continues to this day among the miserabl 
remnant of the Eastern churches. The followers of the former are ealle 
Nestorians ; the latter, Monophysites. 

The Nestorians early became the chief propagators of the Gospel in th< ? 
East. They enjoyed the patronage of the Persian monarch, Pherazes, b; 
whom their opponents were expelled from his kingdom, and their patriarc i 
was established at Seleucia. They established a school at Nisibis unde): 
Barsumas, a discipline of Nestorius, from whence proceeded, in the fift 
and sixth centuries, a band of missionaries, who spread abroad their tenets, 
through Egypt, Syria, Arabia, India, Tartary, and China. In the twelft t 
century, they won over to their faith the Prince of Tartary, who wa> 
baptized John ; and because he exercised the office of presbyter, was, wit 
his successors, called Prester John. They made converts, also, of th 
Christians on the coast of Malabar, who, it is supposed, received th 
Christian faith from the Syrian Mar Thomas, in the fourth or fifth ce 
tury. 

They formed, at one time, an immense body, but dwindled away befori 
the Saracen power, and the exasperated heathen priests and jealou 
Chinese emperors. They acknowledged but one patriarch until 1551 
who resided first at Bagdad, and afterwards at Mousul. But at thi 
period, the Papists succeeded in dividing them, and a new patriarch wab 
consecrated by Pope Julius III., and established over the adherents to tbs 
pope, in the city of Ormus. The great patriarch at Mousul, called Elias, 
has continued, however, to be acknowledged to this day by the greater 
part of the Nestorians, who are scattered over Asia. 

Throughout this long period, they have maintained considerable purit; 
of doctrine and worship, and kept free from the ridiculous ceremonies o 
the Greek and Latin churches. Of their present number and religious 
character we know but little. Probably they are very ignorant, debasec 
and corrupt.* 

We shall now proceed to such religious customs among the Nestorian 
as may be more properly thought an essential part of this history. Befor 
the sixth centurv, the Patriarch of the Nestorians was did 

Dress of their J t • i i ' 

clergy. nified and distinguished by the title of Catholic, which h 

has retained ever since. His clergy, as well as those of the Greeks i 
Constantinople, consist of married and monastic priests. The latter, i 




* Marsh’s Ecc. History. 
















































































m 


OTHER BRANCHES OF 


Syria and Mesopotamia, are dressed in black, with a capuche, or hood ; 
which covers the crown of their head like a calot, and hangs down upon 
the shoulders like a veil. Over this they wear a turban, the cap and the 
linen cloth of which are of a deep blue. The patriarch and the bishops 
are not distinguished from the priests by any particular dress, but by their 
pastoral staff and a cross, which they carry in their hands, and hold out 
for the devotees to kiss. The head of the former is made either like a 
crutch or a crosier. Ti.e vestments of their married priests are all black 
likewise, or at least dark gray ; but, instead of wearing a capuche upon 
their heads, they have a round cap with a large button upon the top of it 

Besides the regular monastic priests there are several convents in Meso¬ 
potamia, the monks of which are not priests, but style themselves monks 
of the order of St. Anthony. The habit of these Nestorian monks is an 
open black cassock, which is girt round them with a leathern surcingle, 
and a gown over it, the sleeves of which are very large. They wear no 
capuche, but a purple turban instead of it. At midnight, morning, and 
evening, they repeat the church service, but spend the remainder of the 
day in tilling their grounds. 

The churches belonging to the Nestorians are divided by balustrades, 
or rails; and one part of them is always allotted for the peculiar service 
of the women. The font is erected on the south side. 
When they say their prayers and pay their adoration to the 
Supreme Being, they always turn their faces towards the east. Before the 
entrance into these churches, there is, generally, a large court, with a very 
small door. This court was originally the place appointed for the recep¬ 
tion of penitents, and was made use of as a bar to the profane, in order to 
prevent them hearing and seeing the different proceedings and ceremonies 
of the Christian assemblies. 

Independently of the fasts which are generally observed by the Chris¬ 
tians of the Greek church, the Nestorians keep one in particular, which 

Fast of Nine con ^ nues three days; it is called the Fast of Nineveh, 
veh * because they therein imitate the repenting Ninevites, who 

did penance for their sins for three days after the preaching of the prophet 
Jonas. This fast is the introduction to their Lent. 

The Christians of Syria and Mesopotamia have added to their calen¬ 
dar one festival in commemoration of the penitent thief, which is not 
observed by the Roman Catholic church; it is called by them Lass-al- 
jemin, that is, the Thief on the right hand. This falls upon the octave of 
Easter. 

The bathing of the Syrian Christians in the river Jordan must be 
reckoned among their religious customs, but the ceremony itself is very 

Reli 'ous Bam- anc ^ ridiculous. These people, however, practise it as 
in s- an act of devotion, and Christians of all denominations, as 













































































THE GREEK CHURCH. 


Hi 




Greeks, Nestorians, Copts, &c., wash themselves naked in the river with 
great solemnity, in commemoration of Jesus Christ and his baptism. In 
this instance, they concern themselves as little in regard to the difference 
of the sexes, as of the sects ; for men and women jump promiscuously 
into the river, and plunge down to the bottom. Some of the most zealous 
devotees dip their handkerchiefs in the sacred stream ; others carry a 
quantity of the water away with them in bottles; and the very dirt, sand, 
and grass that grows upon the banks, are all looked upon as sacred 
relics. 

The nuptial ceremonies of the Syrians are very singular and remark¬ 
able. The bridegroom is conducted to the house of the bride on horse- 

Nuptiai Ceie- back, between two drawn swords, which are carried by two 
monies. men, one before and the other behind him. The relations, 

friends, and acquaintance of the bride receive him with their flambeaux 
lighted, and music preceding them, accompanied with songs, acclamations, 
and other testimonies of general joy. On the wedding-night the bride¬ 
groom gives his spouse an uncourteous kick, and commands her to pull 
off his shoes, as a token of her submission and obedience. 

When a Christian dies at Bagdad, the neighbours assemble, in order to 
perform his funeral obsequies. At their return from the place of inter- 
Funerai Obse ment > a handsome collation is always prepared for their 
< i lues - refreshment at the house of the deceased, where every one 

is welcome without distinction, insomuch that sometimes a hundred and 
fifty, or more, appear at these funeral entertainments. The next day, the 
company meet in order to pray together over the grave of the deceased, 
which is likewise repeated on the third day; when there is another public 
entertainment provided for them, and in general the same welcome is given 
to all as before. These ceremonies are repeated on the seventh day, the 
fifteenth, the thirtieth, and the fortieth, after the decease. 

At Damas, the Christian women sing and weep over their dead. The- 
venot saw a company of these female mourners, accompanied by two men 
with lighted candles in their hands, howling over the dead, and beating 
their breasts to express their sorrow. Every now and then they made a 
halt; then fell into a ring, and snapping their fingers, as if they were 
playing with castanets, danced and sung to the sound, while others kept 
time in hideous howlings. The ceremony concluded with mutual testimo¬ 
nies of respect; after which they departed, dancing and snapping their 
fingers as before. Nearly the same ceremonies are observed at Rama on 
similar occasions. Father Le Brun says, “that they weep for about half 
an hour over the grave of their deceased friends; then rise and fall into a 
ring, as if they were going to dance to the brawls .”—Two of them after 
this quit the ring, and planting themselves in the middle, there make a 
thousand grimaces, howling and clapping their hands After this frightful 


91Q 














































































200 


OTHER BRANCHES OF 


noise, they sit down to drown their sorrow in tears. All the female 
mourners that LeBrun saw, relieved each other. Those who had finishe 
went home, and others supplied their place. When these women stoo 
up in order to form themselves into a ring, they covered their heads with 
black veil. 

Sec. 3 .—Christians of St. Thomas. 

With regard to the origin of the Christians of St. Thomas, who inhabi 
the coast of Malabar and Travancore, there exists much difference of opi 
nion. The Portuguese, who first opened the navigation 
Origin. j n( jia, j n th e fifteenth century, and found them seatec 

there for ages, assert that St. Thomas, the apostle, preached the gospel n 
India, and that these are the descendants of his proselytes. 

The Christians of St. Thomas declare themselves descendants of one 
Mar Thomas or Thomas Cana, an Armenian merchant, who settled a 
Opinion of the Congranor. Mar Thomas married two wives, and hai 
Thomas" 8 ° f St ’ issue by each. The children by the former were heirs to 
all his effects and lands, which were situate in the southern part of th 
kingdom of Congranor; and those of the latter, who was a negro slav< 
converted to the Christian faith, inherited the settlement of which thei 
father died possessed in the north. In process of time, his descendant!! 
became very numerous, and constituted two considerable branches, whicl 
were never united nor allied to each other. The issue of his first wife 
from whom the nobility are descended, look down with disdain on thfi 
Christians of the other branch, and carry their aversion to so high a pitch 
as to separate themselves from their communion, and to contemn the mi 
nistry of their priests. Mar Thomas, whom these Christians look upo 
as their common parent, flourished, according to the general notion, in th 
tenth century; but M. la Croza thinks that he lived in the sixth. Thes 
Christians enjoyed so many valuable privileges under the sovereigns of the 
country, and grew so powerful, that they at length elected kings out o 
their own nation and religion. They continued in this state of independ 
ance till the death of one of their sovereigns, who leaving no heir to th 
throne, they adopted a young idolatrous prince who was his neighbour, an 
appointed him to be his successor. 

The Rev. Dr. Buchanan, vice-provost of the college of Fort Willia 
who visited these Christians in 1806, and counts fifty-five churches i 

Dr Buchanan’s Malay ala,* denies that they are Nestorians, and observe 
account. that their doctrines “are contained in a very tew articles 

and are not at variance in essentials with the doctrines of the church o 


m, 


D A © 


* Malay ala comprehends the mountains and the whole region within them, from Ca 
Cormorin to Cape Illi: whereas the province of Malabar, commonly so called, contains only 
the northern districts, not including the country of Travancore. 


































































































THE 


GREEK 


CHURCH. 


ugland. They are usually denominated Jacobitx ,* but they differ in 
remonial from the church of that name in Syria, and indeed from any 
listing church in the world. Their proper designation, and that which 
sanctioned by their own use, is Syrian Christians or The Syrian 
/lurch of Malay ala.” Yet the Doctor remarks, that they acknowledge 
the Patriarch of Antioch,” and that they are connected with certain 
lurches in Mesopotamia and Syria, 215 in number, and labouring under 
rcumstances of discouragement and distress; but he does not say whe- 
er it is to the Greek or the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch that they are 
ibject.f 

In respect to their religious ceremonies they observe at Easter a kind 
public collation, which bears some affinity with the Agapse of the pri- 
Reiio-ious Cus- m *ti ve Christians. This feast or entertainment consists 
generally of nothing but a few herbs, fruits, and rice; and 
made in the fore-court before the church-porch. The priests at those 
imes have a double, and the bishop a triple portion of what is provided, 
'o these Agapx , we must add another ceremony, called by the Christians 
St. Thomas their Casture, which is said to be an emblem, or symbol, 

’ brotherly love. During the time they are in the church, they take hold 
the hands of one of their most ancient Cacanares, or priests, and in 
lat posture receive his benediction. 

(in These Christians have holy water placed at their church-doors, with 
which they make the sign of the cross, repeating at the same time a prayer 
commemoration of Nestorius . It is merely a little common water mixed 
ith a small quantity of mould, taken out of the road through which St. 
homas had travelled. In case they have no such mould, they throw a 
w grains of frankincense into it. We have before observed, that they 
|ave not only crosses, but pictures or representations of them, hung up in 
eir churches ; and the priests likewise carry a crucifix in procession, 
; obliging the devotees who assist to salute it. This act of devotion has 
en embraced even by the Pagans. There are also crosses erected not 
l! ,^nly in their streets and high roads, but in the most solitary places. They 
re erected on a pedestal, in which there is a hole or cavity, large enough 
contain a burning lamp ; and the Indians frequently contribute towards 
oil that is spent to support these lamps. 

The use of bells is prohibited among those Chaldeans who live under 
e authority and jurisdiction of the Indians; because the sound of those 
struments, in their opinion, is offensive and incommodious to their idols: 
e ancient Pagans were no strangers to this idle notion. 


* Their Liturgy, Dr. B. tells us, is derived from that of the early church of Antioch 
/'Wiled “ Liturgia Jacobi ./tpostoli.” —And, according to Mr. Gibbon, the “ Jacobites tiiem- 
ves had rather deduce their name and pedigree from St. James the Apostle ” 

±_AJ 




42 ! 


\ra 




p 







































































gSTt 



202 


OTHER BRANCHES OF 


7 \, 




General 

count. 


ac- 




It is a common practice among the Indian Christians, out of devotion, to 
lie all night in their churches; and the same custom was frequently ob¬ 
served by the ancient idolaters. The posture of these Indians, when they 
say their prayers, is prostration with their faces to the ground. 

A description of their dances may be properly enough introduced in this 
place. The men dance by themselves, and the maidens and married 
women also by themselves, with all imaginable modesty and decorum. 
Before they begin, they not only make the sign of the cross, but sing the 
Lord’s Prayer, with a hymn in commemoration of St. Thomas. The 
Indians, likewise, among whom these Christians live, make dancing a part 
of their divine worship ; and it is well known that it was a principal orna¬ 
ment, and an essential act of devotion, at the festivals of the ancient 
Pagans. With regard to their songs, the subject of them is always either 
the virtues of their saints, or the heroic actions of their ancestors. 

Sec. 4 .—Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Jacobites. 

Were we to include under the denomination of Jacobites all the Mono- 
thysites of the Levant,—that is, all those who are charged with the 
heresy of acknowledging but one nature in Jesus Christ,— • 
it must be acknowledged that their sect would be very 
extensive ; for then we must reckon the Armenians, Cophti , and the Abys- 
sinians , among the number. But there are very few who can strictly 
and justly be termed Jacobites, and they, for the most part, reside in Syria 
and Mesopotamia. There are not above 40 or 45,000 families of their per¬ 
suasion ; and even they themselves are divided in point of principle ; 
some of them being reconciled to the Church of Rome, and others con¬ 
tinuing in a state of separation. The latter have two patriarchs, who 
generally act in direct opposition to each other : one of them resides at 
Caremit, and the other at Derzapharam ; independently of whom, there is 
another patriarch attached to the Church of Rome, who resides at Aleppo, 
and is dependent on, and absolutely under the jurisdiction of the court of 
Rome. 

As to the articles of their belief, the Monophysites, in general, (whether 
Armenians, Cophti, or Abyssinians,) maintain the doctrine 
of Dioscorus, with respect to the unity of the nature and 
person of Jesus Christ, and to that degree of exactness, that, in order the 
more clearly to express their belief, they make the sign of the cross, 
according to Brerewood, with one finger only, whereas the other Easterns 
make use of two: for this reason, they are looked upon and treated as 
heretics, though in reality there is no other difference but in point of terms 
between them and the divines of the Latin church. This is readily acknow¬ 
ledged by the most learned men among them at this very day; and is evident 
from the conferences w hich Father Christopher Roderic. the pope’s legate 


Doctrines. 


i 





































































THE GREEK CIIURCTI. 


20 ‘4 


* n Egypt, had with the Cophti, on the subject of reconciliation between 
the two churches. They ingeniously confessed, that the only reason of 
their making use of such terms, was purely to testify their abhorrence and 
detestation of the Nestorians ; for that, in reality, they were of the same 
opinion with the Latin church, and freely owned the two natures of Jesus 
Christ. They further insisted that the mystery of the Incarnation was 
more clearly explained by their asserting the unity of Christ's nature: 
Decause there is but one Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. On 
the contrary, the Latins speak of these two natures as if they were severed 
from one another, and did not constitute one real whole. 

It is in this sense, likewise, that Dioscorus, who softened some of the 
harsh terms which were made use of by Eutyches, declared his opinion 
that Jesus Christ was a compound of two natures: although he was not 
in himself two distinct natures, “which,” says Father Simon, “appears 
an orthodox notion for they will not acknowledge that there were two 
distinct natures in Jesus Christ, for fear of establishing two Christs. 
The whole of this mighty disagreement arises, however, from the different 
construction which each party puts on those two terms, nature and person. 
To which may be added, the ambition of not swerving in the least from a 
position once laid down, and which was the principal reason why Euty¬ 
ches maintained his opinion with so much obstinacy : from which it ap¬ 
pears, that the terms he uses ought not to be understood in their most strict 
and rigorous sense, but be construed and restrained to that idea which he 
entertained of admitting but one Christ, and consequently but one nature, 
after the union of the two natures, the divine and human, in such a man¬ 
ner as is incomprehensible to our weak understandings. 

In regard to all other points, relating either to the faith or ceremonies 
of the Jacobites, the accounts which Brerewood has given us of them are 
not always strictly just. For instance, they neither deny a 
state of purgatory, nor reject prayers for the dead, as he 
peremptorily asserts upon the authority of Thomas the Jesuit; but their 
notions in those particulars are the same as those of the Greeks and other 
oriental nations. Neither is it true that they consecrate the sacrament 
with unleavened bread ; the Armenians, and, according to AJvares, the 
Ethiopians, only excepted; for the true Jacobites, of whom we are speak¬ 
ing, make use of leavened bread. Gregory XIII., who purposed to found 
a college at Rome for the Jacobites, there being one antecedently erected 
for the encouragement of the Maronites, would no doubt have indulged 
them, as well as the Greeks, with the administration of the sacrament with 
leavened bread ; but in regard to confession, the assertion that it is no^ 
practised among them, is likewise a gross mistake ; for as it is not looked 
upon by them as of divine institution, it is consequently very much neg¬ 
lected. Brerewood snys, that they confess their sins to God alone, and not 


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a priest, except upon some extraordinary occasion. His assertion, how- 
ver, about circumcision, must be false, unless he means to refer to a few 
mong the Cophti and the Abyssinians ; and even they look on it rather 
s an ancient custom than a religious ceremony. 

A great distinction ought, however, to be made between the Jacobites, 
hen the Cophti, Abyssinians, and Armenians are included under that 
c enomination, and those who are strictly and properly so called; for 
trough they are all followers of that St. James, from whom they derive 
t leir title, yet, they do not all observe the same ceremonies. James was 
jtie disciple of Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, in the sixth century. He is 
revered as a saint by the Jacobites, as well as Dioscorus, who was his con- 
mporary. Abrahamus Ecchellensis insists that the Jacobites, as well as 
t re Latins, acknowledge that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father 
And the Son; but Father Simon says, that “he is very much mistaken in 
'n, W ii s particular, as well as in several others relating to the customs and 

Itenets of the Eastern Christians.” 

Before baptism the Jacobites imprint the sign of the cross, not only 
the arm, but on the face of the infant to be baptized. It is like¬ 
wise a received notion among them, that the souls of the righteous re- 
de on earth till the day of judgment, waiting for the second coming 
f Jesus Christ ; also, that the angels consist of two substances, fire and 
ght. 

The Jacobites, who are scattered throughout Syria and the parts adjacent, 
re computed to amount to more than fifty thousand families. There is a 
uotation in Brerewood, in which the number was then said to be advanced 
i a hundred and sixty thousand. 

Sec. 5 .—Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Copts. 

The Copts , according to Scaliger and Father Simon, derive their name 
fVom Coptos, once a celebrated town of Egypt, and the metropolis of The- 
baid ; but Volney and others are of opinion, that the name 
Copts is only an abbreviation of the Greek word Aigouptios, 
; n Egyptian. The Copts have a patriarch, whose jurisdiction extends 
Oj/ v (ver both Egypts, Nubia, and Abyssinia, who resides at Cairo, but who 
takes his title from Alexandria. He has under him eleven or twelve 
fishops, besides the abuna, or bishop of the Abyssinians, whom he appoints 
ind consecrates. The rest of the clergy, whether secular or regular, are 
Composed of the orders of St. Anthony, St. Paul, and St. Macarius, who 
have each their monasteries. Their arch-priests are next in degree to 
j|lbishops, and their deacons are said to be numerous ; and they often confer 
., Vtjhe order of deacon even on children. Next to the patriarch is the bishop 
M* or titular patriarch of Jerusalem, who also resides at Cairo, because there 


General account. 




























































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of Cairo, except that he goes to Jerusalem every Easter, and visits some 
other places in Palestine, within his own jurisdiction. To him belongs 
the government of the Coptic church, during the vacancy of the patri¬ 
archal see. The ecclesiastics are said to be in general of the lowest rank 
of the people; and hence that great degree of ignorance which prevails 
among them. 

They have seven sacraments ; baptism, the eucharist, confirmation, 
ordination, faith, fasting, and prayer. They admit only three oecumenical 
Rites and Cere- counc ^ s ? those of Nice, Constantinople, and Ephesus. 
niomes * They observe four Lents, as do the Greeks and most 

Eastern Christians ; but it is said by Brerewood and Ross, that they do 
not keep the Lord’s-day. There are three Coptic liturgies ; one attributed 
to St. Basil, another to St. Gregory, and the third to St. Cyril. These are 
translated into Arabic for the use of the clergy and the people. The 
Copts are fond of rites and ceremonies. During the time of service, they 
are always in motion. In particular, the officiating priest is in continual 
motion, incensing the saints, pictures, books, &c. every moment. They 
have many monasteries, in which the monks bury themselves from society 
in remote solitudes. Their nunneries are properly hospitals ; and few 
enter them except widows reduced to beggary. During the first three 
ages of the church, r\o country exhibited more sincere or greater Christian 
piety than Egypt, and the north of Africa in general. At present, how¬ 
ever, little more than the mere shadow of Christianity can be seen in 
Egypt ; and in point of numbers, not more than fifty thousand Christians 
in all can be found in this country. There are not more than three Christian 
churches at Cairo. 

In respect to this people, we shall only add a brief account of their 
nuptial ceremonies, which, however, do not essentially differ from those 
practised by the Greeks. After midnight service, or, as the 
Romans would express it, after matins, the bridegroom in 
the first'place, and then the bride, were conducted from their own apart¬ 
ments to church, accompanied by a long train of attendants with wax- 
tapers, and other lights. During the procession several hymns were sung 
in the Coptic language, aud the performers beat time, or accompanied the 
vocal with instrumental music, by striking little wooden hammers upon 
small ebony rulers. The bridegroom wasvconducted into the inner choir 
of the church, and the bride to the place appointed for the women. Then 
the priests and the people began several prayers, interspersed with 
hymns, within the choir. This ceremony was very long. At the con¬ 
clusion, the priest who solemnized the nuptials went up to the bridegroom, 
and read three or four prayers, making the sign of the cross both at the 
beginning and at the conclusion of each prayer. Alter that, he made him 

sit down upon the ground, with his face towards the Heikel. The priest 
14 


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206 


OTHER BRANCHES OF 


who stood behind him held a silver cross over his head, and in that posture 
continued praying. 

Whilst this ceremony was performing in the inner choir, the sacristan 
had placed a form or bench at the door of the outer choir, for the bride to 
sit on with one of her relations. The priest having finished in the inner 
choir what the Copts call the Prayer of the Conjugal Knot , the other 
priest, who solemnized the nuptials, dressed the bridegroom in an alb, tied 
it with a surcingle about his waist, and threw a white napkin over his head. 
The bridegroom thus equipped was conducted to his spouse. The priest then 
made him sit down by her side, and laid the napkin, which before covered 
the bridegroom’s head, over them both. After this, he anointed each of 
them on the forehead, and above the wrist. To conclude the ceremony, 
he read over to them, after their hands were joined, an exhortation, which 
principally turned on the duties incumbent on all those who enter into the 
holy state of matrimony. Then followed sundry prayers ; and after them 
the mass, at which the bridegroom and the bride received the blessed sacra¬ 
ment, and then departed. 

Sec. 6 .—Doctrines and Customs of the Abyssinians and Ethiopians. 

Having treated of the religion of the Copts, and as there is little or no 
difference between them and the Abyssinians in point of 
principle, we shall say but little on that topic. 

The country known to the ancients by the name of Ethiopia, is now 
called Abyssinia, and the natives thereof are distinguished by the name of 
Abyssinians. They are subservient only to the power and authority of 
one bishop, who is the metropolitan, or archbishop of all Ethiopia, and is 
dignified and distinguished by the title of Abuna, that is to say, Our Father. 
This bishop is sent by the Patriarch of Alexandria to preside over them, 
and his place of residence is at Cairo; so that they resemble the Copts in 
all their ecclesiastical concerns, except in some few ceremonies which are 
peculiar to themselves. They have likewise a language of their own, 
which they call the Chaldaic, because they are of opinion that it was ori¬ 
ginally spoken in Chaldea, though very different from the vulgar Chaldaic. 
For this reason, it is likewise called the Ethiopic tongue, and they always 
make use of it in their liturgies, and other religious offices. Such as are 
versed in the Hebrew language may easily attain a competent knowledge 
of the Ethiopic, because there are many words which are the same in 
both languages: they have characters, however, peculiar to themselves ; 
and in the Hebrew language the points which supply the place of vowels 
me never joined to the consonants; while on the other hand, in the Ethio¬ 
pic language, there is no consonant, but what at the same time includes its 
own vowel. 

The Abyssinians are dependent on the Patriarch of Alexandria, who 


General ac¬ 
count. 










































































207 


THF. 


GREEK 


CHURCH. 


Patriarch of 
Abyssinia. 


Orders 

Clergy. 


of 


makes choice of, constitutes, and appoints that person to be Metropolitan 
of Abyssinia whom he thinks most able to fill the office ; 
which ability is generally estimated according to the extent 
of the douceur which he is enabled to give. It is for this reason, that the 
Abyssinian priests mention in their prayers the Patriarch of Alexandria 
before their own metropolitan ; who, after his election, is always accounta¬ 
ble to that patriarch for his conduct, and the due administration of his 
office. This metropolitan must not be a native of Abyssinia, neither has 
he power to constitute or establish any other metropolitans; so that, 
although he has the honour to be called their patriarch, he has neither 
the authority nor the power belonging to that august character. He 
alone, however, issues out dispensations, and is possessed of very consi¬ 
derable revenues, which pay very little, if any, duty or contribution to the 
government. 

There are both canons, or prebendaries, and monks, in Abyssinia ; and 
among the latter there are two sorts of hermits. The canons are allowed 
to marry, and their canonships frequently descend to their 
children: this custom is the more remarkable, for there is 
no other religion, except that of the Jews, which can produce any instances 
of hereditary succession to any ecclesiastical dignities. The Jcomos, or 
hegumene , is reputed the first dignitary, or principal person in the order 
of priesthood, after the archbishops and bishops, both by the Copts and 
the Abyssinians. Their monks never marry. Of these there are two 
kinds; one, that have a General, and form a regular body; the other, 
who live under one common rule ; but their convents are independent of 
each other. These monks are men of credit and reputation, and are fre¬ 
quently intrusted with the most important affairs of state. None but the 
priests and deacons have any right to enter into the sanctuary where the 
altar stands; the emperor himself is denied that privilege, unless he has 
been before admitted into holy orders ; for this reason their monarchs are 
frequently ordained, and take either deacon’s or priests orders on the day 
of their coronation. 

The Ethiopian princes insist that they are descendants of Solomon by 
the Queen of Sheba; and this royal extraction, whether true or false, is 
supported by several historical testimonies, interspersed with 
0ngm ' a thousand extravagant fictions. But if this really be so, it 
readily accounts for that Judaism which is so universally blended with the 
Christianity of this empire, and which seems to be originally derived from 
this royal race of the Abyssinian monarchs. Indeed, the Abyssinians are 
so confirmed, beyond all contradiction, in this belief, that their monarchs 
assume the title of Kings of Israel. The people are divided into tribes, as 
were the ancient Hebrews, and they preserve many Jewish names; indeed, 
their very singers boast that they are descended from the ancient Scribes 


-• /•*' 


■ 

































































208 


OTHER BRANCHES OF 


We shall next notice some of their rites and ceremonies; and first, in 
respect to baptism ; the mother being dressed with great neatness and 
_ decency, attends with her infant in her arms at the church- 
, ' monies - door. There the priest who officiates, pronounces several 

long prayers for a blessing on them both, beginning with those peculiarly 
appropriated to the mother. Afterwards, he conducts them into the 
church, and anoints the infant six several times with the oil consecrated 
for their exorcisms. These first unctions are accompanied with thirty-six 
others, administered with galilaeum, each on a distinct part of the infant’s 
body. After this, he blesses the font, pouring consecrated oil into it twice, 
and making, each time, three different signs of the cross with meiron ; all 
which ceremonies are accompanied with several long prayers. As soon 
as the benediction of the font is over, he plunges the infant into it three 
times successively. At the first, he dips one-third part of the infant’s 
body into the water, saying, I baptize thee in the name of the Father; he 
then dips him lower, about two-thirds, adding, I baptize thee in the name 
of the Son; at the third operation, he plunges him all over, saying, 1 
baptize thee in the name of the Holy Ghost. The sacraments of Confir¬ 
mation and of the blessed Eucharist are administered after this baptism 
which is solemnized before mass ; and the Communion is administered to 
the infant towards the end. 

The confirmation of the Copts consists in several long prayers, and re ■ 
peating the unctions on the infant, the same as after baptism. The priests 
among the Abyssinians perform their unction with chrism 
in the form of a cross, upon the forehead of the baptized 
infant, saying, May this be the unction of the grace of the Holy Ghost; 
Amen. When he anoints the infant’s nose and lips, he says, This is the 
pledge of the kingdom of heaven. At the application of the ointment to 
his ears, he uses this form, The sacred unction of our Lord Jesus Christ; 
in anointing the arms, knees, and legs, I anoint thee , says he, with this 
sacred unction , in the name of the Father , fyc. To conclude, the priest 
repeats a prayer over the infants that have been baptized, and afterwards 
confirmed, in the form of a benediction, puts crowns upon their heads, and 
then gives them the communion. 

When the Abyssinians celebrate the eucharist, the sacramental bread is 
prepared in a convenient place, contiguous to the church, but no woman is 
permitted to touch the flour from which it is made. The 
bread is brought from the vestry to the altar by proper 
officers, who go in solemn procession before it, with crosses, censers, and 
little bells. During the celebration of mass, a curtain is drawn, to conceal 
what is done at the altar from the eyes of the congregation. 

They administer the communion in both kinds; but with these restric¬ 
tions according to Father le Brun :—that in the Ethiopian, as well tta 



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in all other Eastern churches, the celebrant gives the blood or wine, in 
the chalice, to none but the priests; he administers it to the deacons, in a 
small spoon ; and the laity receive only some particles of the body dipped 
in the blood ; the king excepted, who receives the communion in both 
kinds. 

1 he Abyssinian churches are all situated directly from west to east, that 
tlio people, when they pray, may turn their faces eastward. The altar 
stands by itself, within the sanctuary, under a kind of dome, 
supported by four pilasters; and is called, by the Ethiopians, 
their ark, the form or figure of it being, according to their tradition, the 
same as that of the Jews, which they pretend is actually in existence, and 
is to be seen at this very time in the church of Axuma. There are two 
curtains before the sanctuary, with little bells at the bottom of them, on 
which account nobody can go in, nor come out, without making them 
ring. As the congregation always stand during the performance of divine 
service, they have no seats in their churches ; they are allowed, however, 
to rest themselves upon supporters or crutches, a great number of which 
are provided for that purpose, and deposited on the outside of the churches. 
The people always go into the church barefooted ; and for this reason the 
pavement is covered with tapestry. No person presumes to talk, blow 
his nose, nor so much as to turn his head aside, whilst at church. The 
men are separated from the women, and the latter are placed as far distant 
as possible from the sanctuary. They have lamps burning in their churches 
even in the day-time, and they frequently illumine a great number of wax- 
tapers. 

They are very strict and severe in the observance of their fasts. During 
their Lent, they eat but once a day, and that after sunset. On Wednesdays 
and Fridays they sit down to table at three o’clock ; and, in 
order not to be in the least mistaken in point of time, they 
measure their shadows, which when they are just seven feet in length is 
the critical minute. The Abyssinian priests are so precise, that they defer 
the celebration of the mass until the evening, upon a fast-day, for fear of 
transgressing the injunction of fasting, by receiving even the elements. 
They do not think themselves obliged, however, to fast, till they have 
children of a marriageable age ; but as the heat of the climate soon brings 
the natives to maturity, there are but very few at twenty-five who are 
exempt from this penance. 

Among the Abyssinians, the particular person for whose spiritual com¬ 
fort this benediction of the lamp* is pronounced, is obliged, according to 
the direction of the ritual, if his strength will permit him, 
to draw near to the celebrant, who places him in a con¬ 
venient seat, with his face towards the east. The priests then hold the book 
of the Gospels and a cross over his head, and lay tbmr hands upon him. 




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210 


The senior priest then reads the prayers appointed for that particular occa¬ 
sion ; after which they raise the sick person up, give him a blessing with 
the Book of the Gospels, and rehearse the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, &c. 
Then they raise the cross above his head, and at the same time pronounce 
the general absolution over him which is inserted in their liturgy. If time 
will permit, there are several other prayers added, and a formal procession 
is made all round the church, with the sacred lamp, and several lighted 
wax-tapers, to beg of God that he would graciously vouchsafe to heal the 
person for whom their prayers are desired. If the patient happens to be 
so far indisposed as to be incapable of approaching the altar himself, some 
friend is substituted in his room. When the procession is over, the priests 
perform the usual unctions upon the sick person, and afterwards a single 
unction upon one another. 

A writer gives the following description of one of their weddings, at 
which he was personally present. The bridegroom and the bride attended 

. T . . „ at the church-door, where a kind of nuptial-bed, or couch, 

Nuptial Ceremo- 1 1 1 

nies - was erected for that purpose. The abuna, or patriarch, 

seated them both upon it, and then went in procession round them 
with the cross and censer. After that he laid his hands upon their 
heads, and said, As ye this day become one flesh, ye must be both of one 
heart and one will. After a short harangue, suitable to the foregoing 
words, he proceeded to the celebration of the mass, at which the newly- 
married couple attended, and, after it was over, he pronounced the nuptial 
benediction. 

Gaia has furnished us with some other ceremonies observed by them 
in their nuptials among which the following are the most remarkable:— 
“ The celebrant, after he has cut a lock of hair from the heads of the 
bridegroom and the bride, and dipped them into wine mingled with honey, 
exchanges the locks, and places that which belonged to the former on the 
head of the latter, and so vice versa , in the very same place from whence 
they were taken, sprinkling them at the same time with holy water. 
After this ceremony is over, the newly married couple, attended by 
their friends, go home, and never stir abroad for a month. When the 
bride goes out, she wears a black veil over her face, which she never 
turns up till after the expiration of six months, except she proves with 
child.” We have before taken particular notice of the nuptial crowns 
among the ceremonies of the Greeks; and among the Abyssinians, these 
crowns are put upon the heads of the newly-married couple, and they 
wear them for the first eight days: after which, the priest who put 
them on takes them off again, Avith much formality, and pronounces several 
prayers. 

Each monastery has two churches, one for the men and the other for 
women. Their musical instruments are little drums, which they han s 














































































THE GREEK CHURCH 


about their necks, and beat with both hands. The gravest ecclesiastic 
among them looks upon this drum as an ornament, and always wears one. 
They have, likewise, pilgrim’s staffs, which they strike upon the ground, 
regulating the motion of their bodies to the cadence. They always begin 
with a beat of the foot, and, then, play gently on these drums ; after which, 
they lay them aside in order to clap hands, jump, dance, and bawl as loud 
as their power will permit them. These acclamations are intended as an 
act of devotion, the merit of which is grounded on a passage in the Psalms 
of David, in which he invites all nations to cry aloud, and clap their hands 
for joy ! 

To conclude, the Abyssinians commemorate their deceased friends, and 
have proper prayers for them. The collection of canons which they make 
use of, enjoins them to offer the sacrifice of the mass, and to pray for the 
dead, on the third and seventh day, at the month’s end, and at the conclu¬ 
sion of the year. They have prayers, likewise, for the invocation of the 
saints, as well as legends, relics, and miracles, without number. 


Sec. 7 .—Religious Tenets and Customs of the Armenians. 

The Armenians , from Armenia, a province of Asia, consisting of the 
modern Turcomania, and part of Persia, were formerly a branch of the 

„ , Greek church. They professed the same faith, and ac- 

General ac- J . 

count. knowledged the same subjection to the see of Constanti¬ 

nople, till nearly the middle of the sixth century, when the supposed 
heresy of the Monophysites spread through Africa and Asia, and compre¬ 
hended the Armenians among its votaries. But, though the members of 
this church still agree with the other Monophysites in the principal doc¬ 
trine of that sect, respecting the unity of the divine and human nature in 
Christ, they differ from them in so many points of faith, worship and 
discipline, that they hold no communion with that branch of the Mono¬ 
physites who are Jacobites in the more limited sense of that term, nor with 
the Copts or the Abyssinians. 

The Armenians allow and accept the articles of faith according to the 
council of Nice, and use the Apostles’ Creed. With respect to the Tri¬ 
nity, they agree with the Greeks in acknowledging three 
lenels ' persons in one divine nature, and that the Holy Ghost pro¬ 
ceeds only from the Father. They believe that Christ descended into 
hell, and liberated thence all the souls of the damned, by the grace and 
favour of his glorious presence; that this liberation was not for ever, nor 
by a plenary pardon or remission, but only till the end of the world, 
when the souls of the damned shall again be returned into eternal 
flames. 

The Armenians believe, that neither the souls nor the bodies of any 
saints or prophets, departed this life, are in heaven, except the blessed 


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OTHER BRANCHES OF 


Virgin and the prophet Elias. Yet, notwithstanding their opinion, that 
the saints shalfc not be admitted into heaven till the day of judgment, by 
a certain imitation of the Greek and Latin churches, they invoke those 
saints with prayers, reverence and adore their pictures and images, and 
burn to them lamps and candles. The saints commonly invoked by 
them are all the prophets and apostles, and also St. Silvester, St. Savo- 
i ich, &c. 

They worship after the Eastern manner, by prostrating their bodies, 
and kissing the ground three times. When they first enter the church, 
they uncover their heads, and cross themselves three times; 

Worship ^ ut a ft erW ards they cover their heads, and sit cross-legged 
on carpets. The greatest part of their public divine service is performed 
in the morning, before it is light. They are very devout on vigils to feasts, 
and on Saturday evenings, when they all go to church, and, after their 
return home, perfume their houses with incense, and adorn their little 

pictures with lamps. In their monasteries, the whole Psalter of David 

is read over every twenty-four hours; but in the cities and parochial 
churches, the Psalter is divided into eight portions, and each portion into 
eight parts, at the end of each of which is said the Gloria Patri, &c. 

The rites and ceremonies of the Armenian church greatly resemble 
♦.hose of the Greeks. Their liturgies also are essentially the same, or at 
, least ascribed to the same authors. The fasts, which they 

monies. observe annually, are not only more numerous, but kept 

with greater rigour and mortification than is usual in any other Christian 
community. They mingle the whole course of the year with fasting ; 
and there is not a single day which is not appointed either for a fast or a 
festival. They commemorate our Lord’s nativity on the 6th of January, 
and thus celebrate in one festival his birth, epiphany, and baptism. 

The Armenians practise the trine immersion, which they consider as 
essential to baptism. After baptism, they apply the enyrop or chrism , and 
anoint the forehead, eyes, ears, breast, palms of the hands, and soles of 
the feet, with consecrated oil, in the form of a cross. Then they admi¬ 
nister to the child the eucharist, with which they only rub its lips. The 
eucharist is celebrated only on Sundays and festivals. They do not mix 
the wine with water, nor put leaven into their bread, as do the Greeks. 
They steep the bread in the wine, and thus the communicant receives both 
kinds together,—a form different from that of the Latin and Greek, and 
Reformed churches. They differ from the Greeks in administering bread 
unleavened, made like a wafer; and from the Romans, in giving both 
kinds to the laity. 

Before any persons, whether men or women, presume to enter their 
churches, they pull their shoes off at the church-door, where there are 
chests to lock them up in, during the time of divine service. On entering, 


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THE GREEK CHURCH 


thev cross themselves three times, but after the same form, according to 
Father le Brun, as is observed in the Latin church. The men are all 
uncovered. The clergy themselves are without shoes in the ciioir; but 
those who officiate in the sanctuary put on black slippers. During the 
celebration of the mass and other parts of divine service, all the commu¬ 
nicants either stand, or sit upon the ground, the men cross-legged, and 
the women upon their heels. Many of the people stay a long time in the 
church, and are often there by break of day. Father Monier relates, that 
he was very much affected w T ith the modest deportment observed in the 
exercise of their devotion ; and Ricault says, his heart was melted with the 
warmth and ardency of their piety, which is considerably augmented at 
certain seasons, particularly in the Holy Week. 

In their fasts they are much more rigorous than the Greeks, and no dis¬ 
pensation is allowed on any account. During the forty days of their 
Lent, which precedes their Easter, they must eat nothing 
but herbs, roots, beans, peas, and the like, and no greater 
quantity of them than is just sufficient to support nature. The Arme¬ 
nians, however, according to Tournefort, are allowed'to eat fish on Sun¬ 
days. To these acts of self-denial, we must add another, which is the 
natural result of an habitual practice of such long and severe fasts, viz.— 
their abstinence from women. Their most rigid devotees look upon a 
breach of this mode of mortification as a crime of the most enormous 
nature. They have an established custom of having no mass on fast-days 
and during their Lent; but on Sundays only there is a kind of spiritual 
humiliation. This mass is celebrated at noon, and is called low-mass ; 
because there is a curtain drawn before the altar, and the priest, who is 
unseen, pronounces nothing with an audible voice, but the gospel and the 
creed. All their fasts in general are observed with the same strictness 
and austerity as their grand Lent. 

Their churches have the front towards the east, in order that the priest, 
who celebrates mass, and the whole congregation, may stand with their 
faces directly to that quarter. The church is divided gene- 
Churches. ra py j nt0 f our p ar t s —that is to say, the sanctuary, the choir, 

the space peculiarly allotted for the laymen, and that appropriated to the 
service of the women, which is always the nearest to the door. The choir 
is divided from the place allotted for the me# by rails about six feet high. 
The sanctuary is five or six steps higher than the choir. In the centre of 
the sanctuary stands the altar, which is small and insulated, in order that 
the priest may thurify and go round it. The majority of the churches 
have a dome, with several windows in it, to give light to the sanctuary. 
There are no seats in that part of the church, because both the celebrant 
and his assistants are obliged to stand all the time of divine service in that 
holy place. According to the directions, however, in their liturgy, the 


Fasts 





























































2 


OTHER BRANCHES 01 


priest is ordered to sit down during the lesson out of the prophets and the 
epistle, and then, in case the celebrant should be a bishop, or a priest well 
stricken in years, he is indulged with a chair. Generally there are small 
rails between the two staircases leading from the sanctuary to the choir; 
and those who serve at the altar are allowed to lean against or rest them¬ 
selves upon them. The vestry stands on the left side of the sanctuary on 
entering the church ; and on the right side opposite to it there is, in all 
great churches, another vestry, which is made use of as a treasury. There 
is but one altar generally in each church. The choir is the place pecu¬ 
liarly appropriated to the service of the clergy ; and the laity are never 
admitted into that division. There is no seat but the bishop’s, which is 
erected on the left-hand side of the door; but when there are several 
bishops present, there are stools brought for them, and set on each side of 
the episcopal chair :—the others either stand all the time of divine service, 
or sit cross-legged on the ground, according to the custom of the country. 
The choristers have neither stool nor desk, but when the lessons are to be 
read, there is a folding-desk brought out, and set in the centre, which is 
covered with an embroidered veil. Neither is there any fixed pulpit 
erected for the preacher; but when there is a sermon a movable pulpit is 
generally placed at the door of the choir: the patriarch, however, preaches 
in the sanctuary. As to the third and fourth divisions of the church, there 
is nothing worthy of notice in either of them. Such churches as are poor 
have their pavements covered with matting, but those which are rich, with 
fine carpets; and to prevent the people from soiling them, a sufficient 
number of spitting-pots are provided. A similar reason may be assigned 
for pulling off their shoes at the church-door. 

In those cities where the Armenian merchants carry on a great trade, 
the churches are embellished with beautiful pictures and rich tapestry; 
particularly the sanctuary, which, at all times, when there is no celebration 
of the mass, is concealed by a fine curtain. The sacred vessels and vest¬ 
ments are equally grand and magnificent; and while the Greeks have 
only two insignificant lights, scarcely sufficient to enable the priest to read 
mass, the Armenian churches are surrounded with illuminations in great 
abundance. 

The altar is uncovered at all times, when there is no divine service; but 
always covered during the celebration of their mass. The altars are but 
small, and without relics: formerly the cross, and the book of the gospels 
only, were placed upon them. The Armenians, in imitation of the Latins, 
have for many years past placed their candlesticks there, and very fre¬ 
quently a great number of them; and fill up the steps with crosses. A 
number of lamps are always burning during the celebration of mass; and 
one particularly in the centre of the sanctuary, which is never extin¬ 
guished. The faithful offer wax-tapers to be burnt in mass time. Accord* 
































































THE GREEK ClIURCII. 215 

* _ 

ing to Father Monier, two masses are very seldom said in one day at the 
same church, or if there should, there is but one at each altar. Nothin^ 

a 

but high mass is celebrated among them, and that at break of day, except 
on the vigil of the Epiphany and Easter-eve, when it is celebrated in the 
evening. 

Children generally leave the choice of the person whom they are to 
marry, as well as the settlement of the marriage articles, to their parents 
Nuptial Cere- or nearest relations. Their marriages, according to Tourne- 
momes ‘ fort, are the result of the mother’s choice, who very seldom 

advises with any persons upon the subject except her husband ; and even 
that deference is paid with no small reluctance. After the terms of 
accommodation are settled and adjusted, the mother of the young man 
pays a visit to the young lady, accompanied by a priest and two venerable 
matrons, and presents her with a ring, as the first tacit promise of her 
intended husband. He generally makes his appearance at the same time, 
with all the seriousness he is able to assume, or perhaps with all the per¬ 
plexity of one who has not the liberty to make his own choice. Tourne- 
fort assures us, that this serious deportment is carried to such a pitch, that 
at the first interview even a smile would be looked upon as indecent, and 
even the young virgin at that time conceals either her charms or defects 
under an impenetrable veil. The priest who attends on this occasion is 
always treated with a glass of good liquor. The Armenians never publish 
the banns of matrimony, as is customary with other Christian churches. 
The evening before the wedding, the bridegroom and the bride send each 
other some presents. On the wedding-day, there is a procession on horse¬ 
back, and the bridegroom rides in the front, from his mistress’s house, 
having on his head a gold or silver network, or a flesh-coloured gauze veil, 
according to his quality. This network hangs down to his waist. In his 
right hand he holds one end of a girdle, whilst the bride, who follows him 
on horseback, covered with a white veil, which reaches down to her horse’s 
legs, has hold of the other. Two attendants walk on each side of her horse, 
and hold the reins. The bride is sometimes conducted to church between 
two matrons, and the bridegroom walks on foot accompanied by a friend, 
who carries his sabre. 

The relations and friends, (generally young men and maids,) either on 
horseback or on foot, accompany them to the phurch with great order and 
decorum in the procession, having wax-tapers in their hands, and a 
band of music marching before them. They alight at the church-door, 
and the bridegroom and bride walk up to the very steps of the sanctuary, 
still holding the ends of the girdle in their hands. They there stand 
side by side, and the priest having put the Bible upon their heads, pro¬ 
nounces the sacramental form; he then performs the ceremony of the 
ring, and says mass. The nuptial benediction is expressed in the follow- 





































































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Z/m, 0 Zord/ Mis marriage with thy everlasting bene¬ 
diction; grant that this man and this woman may live in the constant 
practice of faith, hope, and charily ; endow them with sobriety ; inspire 
them with holy thoughts, and secure their bed from all manner of pollu¬ 
tion, $r. 

When an infant dies under nine years of age, the father, or his nearest 
relation, provides prayers to Almighty God, eight days successively, for 
the soul of the deceased ; and during all that time pays the 
expenses of the priest to whose care that act of devotion is 
intrusted. On the ninth day the solemn service for the soul is performed. 
Those who are pious and in good circumstances have a particular day set 
apart for the commemoration of their relations, and for the due celebration 
of all the requisite offices. Father Monier assures us also, that it is a 
received custom among them to visit the monuments of the dead upon 
Easter Monday ; at which time the men sigh and groan, but the women 
actually howl; and this they call the visible testimonies of their sorrow 
and concern. These sighs and groans of the men, and these bowlings of 
the women, however, are soon over; and a more agreeable scene imme¬ 
diately succeeds; they all withdraw under the refreshing shade of some 
luxuriant tree, where an elegant entertainment erases the idea of affliction; 
sorrow is now drowned in liquors, and the diversions of the afternoon are 
altogether as extravagant and excessive as their morning lamentations 


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CHAPTER II. 

RELIGIOUS TENETS, CUSTOMS, CEREMONIES, ETC., OF THE ROMAN 

CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

SEC. I.-TENETS, CUSTOMS, ETC. 

The Roman Catholics hold all the fundamental tenets of the Christian 
religion. They worship one God in three persons; viz. the Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost: and they maintain that they are to put 
their confidence in God alone , through the merits of his 
incarnate Son, who was crucified and rose from the dead for our justi¬ 
fication. They receive with the same certainty all the other articles of 
the Apostles’ creed. The Protestants do not differ with them in relation 
to the fundamentals of this belief; but object that the Catholics have made 
a great number of additions, some of which are repugnant to the Apostles 




Roman Catho¬ 
lics. 




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.Honor .'.dp* 




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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


217 


creed, and tend very much to weaken the fundamental tenets. They 
further affirm that the Roman Catholics are too indulgent in their tolera¬ 
tion of an infinite number of customs, which deviate from the spirit of 
Christianity. 

The following is a summary of the tenets held by the Roman Catholic 
church, according to Mr. Bossuet’s Exposition of the Catholic Catechism, 

Tenets of the an d on good authority is alleged to be conformable to 

Homan Catholics, ^e decrees of the famous Council of Trent. 

“To begin,” says he, “with the adoration which is due to God, the 
Catholic Church teaches, that it principally consists in believing that he is 
the Creator and Lord of all things ; and that it is the duty 

Worship of God. ^ 0 a tR o ij cs a dhere to him with all the faculties of their 

souls, through faith, hope, and charity, as being the sole object that can 
make them happy by the communication of that sovereign good, which is 
himself. 

“This internal adoration which they render unto God in spirit and in 
truth, is attended with its external signs, of which sacrifice is the principal, 
and can be offered to God aloiie ; because sacrifice was ordained to make a 
public and solemn acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty over us, and of 
our absolute dependence upon him. 

“ The same Church teaches, that all religious worship ought to terminate 
in God, as its necessary end ; and that if the veneration which is paid to 
the Blessed Virgin and the saints may be termed religious, 

Adoration of the & J 

Blessed virgin. jt i s because it relates of necessity to God. 

“The Catholic Church, in telling us that it is beneficial to pray to the 
saints, teaches us to pray to them in that spirit of charity, and according to 
that order of brotherly love, which inclines us to request the 
assistance of our brethren living upon earth ; and the cate¬ 
chism of the Council of Trent concludes from this doctrine, that if the 
quality of Mediator, which the Holy Scriptures attribute to Jesus Christ, 
received the least prejudice from the intercession of the saints who dwell 
with God, it would receive no less an injury from the mediation of the 
faithful, who live with us upon earth. 

“This catechism demonstrates the great difference there is between the 
manner of imploring God’s aid and assistance, and that of the saints ; for 
it expressly declares, that the Catholics pray to God either to bestow on 
them some blessing , or to deliver them from some misfortune; but since 
the saints are more acceptable in his sight than they are , they beg of them 
to be their advocates only , and to procure for them such things as they 
want. For which reason , the Catholics make use of two forms of prayer 
widely different from each other, for when they make their applications to 
God himself, they say, ‘Have mercy on us, hear us!’ But when they 
address themselves to the saints, they only say, ‘Pray for us 


Veneration of 
Saints. 


!’ By which 


























































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


‘J18 


we are to understand, that in whatever terms those prayers which arc 
directed to the saints are conceived, the intention of the church and of her 
faithful servants always reduces them to that form.” 

Considering, however, that this honour which the Catholic Church pays 
Reverence for to the saints principally appears before their images and 
cmpReilcs. " a sacred relics, it will be proper to explain the belief of the 
church in both these particulars. 

In regard to images, the Catholics are expressly forbidden by the 
Council of Trent to believe there is any virtue in them of so heavenly 
a nature as to prove an inducement to pay divine adoration to them: and 
they are enjoined to ask no favours of them , to put no trust nor confidence 
in them , but to reverence them only in honour of the originals which they 
represent. 

The respect which is paid to relics, in imitation of the primitive Church, 
must be understood in the same manner. They look upon the bodies of 
the saints as having been victims offered up to God by martyrdom or 
penance, without in any way diminishing that duty and respect which 
they owe to God himself, &c. *. 

As to the point of justification, they believe That their sins are freely 
remitted by the divine mercy, for the sake of Jesus Christ ; and that they 

Justification of are f ree ly justified, because neither faith nor good works, 
Sinners. which precede their justification, can merit that favour. 

As to the merit of good works, the Catholic Church teaches, that 
eternal life ought to be proposed to the children of God, both as a grace 
u . mercifully promised them by the means and mercies of our 

Sanctifying j o i a j 

prace opposed Lord Jesus Christ, and as a reward faithfully bestowed 

to good works v jo 

and free will. on them for their good works and merits, in consequence 
of that promise. These are the express terms of the Council of Trent, 
But that the pride of mankind should not flatter itself with the idea of a 
presumptuous merit, the same Council teaches, that the whole worth and 
value of Christian works arise from a sanctifying grace, which is freely 
granted us in the name of Jesus Christ, and is the result of that constant 
influence which this divine Head has upon his members. 

The Catholics openly declare, that they cannot be acceptable to God, 
but in and through Jesus Christ; nor do they apprehend how any other 
Salvation sense can be imputed to their belief. They place all the 

through Jesus . ~ . . , _ .... , , , 

Christ only. hopes or their salvation so perfectly in him alone, that they 


i • 

I M 


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re 

V 




if, 


daily direct the following petition to God in the sacrifice: Vouchsafe, O 
God! to grant unto us sinners, thy servants who trust in the multitude 
of thy mercies, some share and society with thy blessed apostles and 
martyrs, into the number of whom we beseech thee to receive us, having 
no regard to our own merit; but pardoning us through thy grace in the 
name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


219 


The Catholics, without exception, teach that Jesus Christ only, who 
was both God and man, was able, by the infinite dignity of his person, to 

Nature of the °^ er U P a sufficient satisfaction to God for our sins; but 
Atonement. having made an abundant recompense for them, he had 

power to apply that infinite satisfaction to us in two several ways; either 
by an absolute remission, without the least reserve of any penalty; or by 
exchanging a greater for a less, that is to say, an eternal for a temporal 
punishment. As the first is the most perfect and conformable to his divine 
goodness, he makes use of that, first of all, in the sacrament of baptism ; 
and they believe that he uses the second in the forgiveness which he grants 
to those who after baptism relapse into sin, he being in some measure 
compelled thereto, through the ingratitude of those who have abused his 
first favours; for which reason they are to suffer some temporal punish¬ 
ment, though the eternal be taken off. 

In order to satisfy the duties imposed upon them by their religion, the 
Catholics are subject to certain penances, which ought to be performed on 
n . their parts with repentance and humiliation ; and it is the 

indulgences. necessity of these works of expiation, which obliged the 
primitive Church to inflict those punishments upon penitents, that are 
termed canonical. 

When the church, therefore, imposes those painful and laborious pen¬ 
ances upon sinners, and they undergo them with patience and humility, 
it is called satisfaction ; and when the church shows any regard either to 
the ardent devotion of the penitents, or to other good works which she 
prescribes, and remits any part of the punishment due to them, it is termed 
indulgence. 

The Council of Trent proposes nothing more relating to indulgences, 
than that the Church had the power of granting them from Jesus Christ, 
and that the practice of them is wholesome: which custom, that Council adds, 
ought still to be preserved, though with moderation, lest ecclesiastical disci¬ 
pline should be weakened by too great a toleration: from whence it is mani¬ 
fest that the articles of indulgences only regard discipline. Certain it is, 
however, that indulgences have been, and still are, carried to a length 
of extravagance and sin in the Roman Catholic community. 

It is the belief of the Catholics, that those who depart this life in peace 

«•*> 

and charity, and are, notwithstanding, subject to those temporal punish¬ 
ments which divine justice has reserved for them, must 
Purgator) . su ff er them in the other world ; and for that reason the whole 
Christian church in the earliest ages offered up both prayers, alms, and 
sacrifices for the faithful who have died in peace, and in the communion of 
the church, with a lively hope and expectation of their being relieved by 
those acts of devotion. This is what the Council of Trent proposes that 
the Catholics should believe with respect to souls confined in purgatory, 






















































ROMAN CATHOLIC CIIURCH. 




2°0 


without determining either the nature of their punishments, or several other 
things of the like kind; in regard to which that holy council exacts con¬ 
siderable precaution, and particularly condemns those who say any thing 
that is uncertain and precarious. 

The sacraments of the New Testament are not only in the creed of the 
Catholics sacred tokens of grace, or seals by which it is confirmed to them, 
„ but they are also instruments of the Holy Ghost, which 

Sacraments. apply and confer it on them by virtue of the words pro¬ 

nounced, and the outward action performed on their behalf, provided they 
do not prevent the effects of it by their own evil dispositions. 

When God annexes so high a prerogative to external signs, which in 
their nature bear no proportion to such excelled effects, he plainly signifies, 
say the Catholics, that, independently of all that the Catholics can do 
inwardly through their good inclinations, a special operation of the Holy 
Ghost, and a particular application of the merits of our blessed Saviour, 
represented to us by the sacraments, must still intervene to sanctify them. 
This doctrine, therefore, cannot be rejected without offering an indignity to 
the merit of Jesus Christ; and to the influence of the divine power in 
their regeneration. 


They acknowledge seven signs or sacraments, ordained by Jesus Christ 
as the ordinary means by which the new man is sanctified and made perfect. 
Their divine institution, they say, appears from the sacred Scriptures, either 
by the express words of Jesus Christ himself, or by grace, which is ac¬ 
cordingly annexed to them, and necessarily denotes an order from God. 

As infants cannot supply the defects of baptism, by acts of faith, hope, 
and charity, or by any vow hereafter to receive that sacrament, the Catho¬ 
lics believe, that if they do not actually receive it, they are 
Baptism. * n now j se partakers of the grace of redemption; and so 
dying in the guilt of Adam, have no share at all in Jesus Christ. 

The Catholics say that imposition of hands, practised by the blessetf 
apostles for the confirmation of the faithful against persecutions, having its 
chief effect in the internal descent of the Holy Ghost, and 
the infusion of his gracious gifts, ought not to have been 
rejected by their adversaries on pretence that the Holy Ghost does not at 
present descend visibly upon them. Indeed, all Christian churches, 
from the time of the apostles, have religiously preserved that practice, 
making use likewise of the sacred ointment in baptism, to show the virtue 
of that sacrament by a more express representation of the unction of the 
Holy Ghost. 

They believe that it was the will of Jesus Christ, that those who have 
submitted themselves to the authority of the Church by baptism, and have 

Confession ami a f tenvai 'ds violated the laws of the Gospel, shall be subject 
Absolution. t 0 the decision of the same Church in the tribunal of 


Confirmation. 


















































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


penance, at which it exercises the full power granted to it of absolution 
and remission of sins. 

The terms of the commission which is given to the ministers of the 
Church to forgive sins are so general, that it would be presumptuous to 
reduce it only to public sins, and as, when they pronounce absolution in 
the name of Jesus Christ, they only observe the express terms of that 
commission, so the sentence is looked upon as passed by Jesus Christ 
himself, in whose name they are appointed judges. He is the invisible 
high priest, who absolves the penitent inwardly, whilst the priest performs 
the same office externally. 

The Holy Ghost having annexed to extreme unction, an express pro¬ 
mise of remission of sins, and the relief of the sick, nothing more can be 

Extreme Uac- rec l u i re d to make this sacred ceremony a real sacrament. 
Uon - It is to be observed, however, that the sick person, accord¬ 

ing to the doctrine of the Council of Trent, receives more consolation and 
relief in soul than in body; and as spiritual benefit is ever the principal 
object of the new Jaw, it is that which the Catholics chiefly expect from 
this holy unction, in case they are duly prepared for it; whereas corporeal 
relief in sickness is only granted unto them with respect to their eternal 
salvation, according to the secret designs of Divine Providence, and the 
different degrees of preparation and faith, which are to be met with in the 
faithful. 

Upon considering that Jesus Christ has given a new turn to the holy 
state of marriage, (see Matthew, xix. 5,) by reducing it to the constant 
and indissoluble union of two persons only; and likewise 
reflecting that this inseparable union is a mark or token of 
his eternal union with his church, it will be very easy to comprehend that 
the marriage of the faithful is attended by the Holy Ghost and the Grace 
of God. 

The imposition of hands, which the Catholic spiritual ministers receive 
at their ordination, being attended, according to their belief, with so 
immediate an influence from the Holy Ghost, {see 1 Timo¬ 
thy iv. and 2 Timothy i.,) and wuth so perfect an infu- 
snn of grace, ought to be reckoned also among the number of sacra¬ 
ments. 

Catholics believe in the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus 
Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist , for they maintain that there is 
not any thing in the words which Jesus Christ makes use 

rhe Eucharist. * n t he institution of this mystery, that induces them to 

take them figuratively; and this reason is sufficient, in their opinion, to 
determine them in favour of the former. 

The ceremony of the Eucharist may be considered as one of the funda¬ 
mental pillars of the Catholic religion, and we shall therefore give the 


I kfm 

/ \Wliy 1 


Imposition of 
Hands. 


(iSrTliU: 


























































223 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


© 


exposition of it, as laid down by the Romish ritual. “ It is evident,” say 
the Catholics, “that these words of our Saviour, Take , eat , this is my 
body which is given for you , show us, that as the ancient Jews were not 
only united in spirit at the sacrifice of the victims which were offered up 
for them, but were also partakers of the flesh which was sacrificed, and 
which was also a sign to them of the share they had in that oblation ; so 
Jesus Christ having offered up himself a sacrifice for us, it was his plea¬ 
sure that we should, in reality, partake of the flesh of that adorable victim; 
in order that the actual communication of it might be a lasting testimony to 
each of us in particular, that he had not only assumed his body, but made 
a sacrifice of it for us. 

“Thus the eating of the body, and drinking of the blood of the Son of 
God, is as real at the holy communion, as grace, expiation of sins, and par¬ 
ticipation of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, is actual and effectual under the 
new covenant. 

“As he was willing, however, to try our faith in this mystery, and free 
us at the same time from the horror of eating his flesh, and drinking his 
blood, under their proper species, it was necessary for him to give them to 
us disguised under a species of another nature ; and if these considerations 
induced him to let us eat the flesh of our sacrifice, in a manner different 
from the Jews, yet he was not for that reason obliged to subtract any thing 
from its reality and substance. 

“It appears, therefore, that for the accomplishment of the ancient types, 
and in order to put us in the actual possession of the sacrifice that was 
offered up for our sins, it was the intention of Jesus Christ to give us, in 
reality, his body and blood, and this does not admit of any denial. We 
can never agree that these words should be received only in a figurative 
sense, because the Son of God, who was so careful to explain every thing 
to his apostles which he taught them under parables and figures, said no¬ 
thing of that kind to explain this matter; and it is thence evident that he 
left these words in their natural signification. It is as easy for the Son of 
Gcd to cause his body to be in the Eucharist, by saying, This is my body , 
as to cure a woman of her disease by saying, Woman , be thou free from 
thine infirmity; or to preserve a young man’s life by saying to his fatht r. 
Thy son liveth; or, in short, to pardon the sins of him who was siek of 
the palsy, by saying to him, Thy sins are forgiven thee.” 

Having thus laid down the tenets of the Church relating to these words 
of Jesus Christ, This is my body , the following is the opinion of the 
Catholics concerning those which he added to them, This do in remem¬ 
brance of me. “It is evident,” they say, “that it was the design of the 
Son of Gcd to oblige us thereby to commemorate the death which he suf¬ 
fered for our salvation ; and St. Paul concludes from this passage, that we 
exhibit the death of the Lord in that mystery. Now we must not persuade 


















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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ourselves that this commemoration of our Lord’s death excludes the real 
presence of his body; on the contrary, if we reflect on what we have just 
explained, it will evidently appear, that this remembrance is grounded upon 
the real presence ; for as the Jews, at the eating of their peace-offerings, 
remembered that they had been sacrificed for them ; so likewise when we 
eat the flesh of Jesus Christ, our victim, we ought to remember that he 
died for us. It is the same flesh, therefore, eaten by the faithful, which 
not only revives in us the memory of his being offered up for us, but con¬ 
firms us in the truth of it; and from being able to say that this solemn 
confirmation which Jesus Christ enjoins us to make, excludes the real pre 
sence of his flesh, we find, on the contrary, that this affectionate remem¬ 
brance of him, required of us at the holy table, as being offered up for us, 
is grounded upon that same flesh being really taken there ; since, in reality, 
we cannot possibly forget that he gave his body as a sacrifice for us, when 
we see that he still gives us daily the same to eat.” 

On this head the Catholics say, “As it was not meet and just that our 
senses should perceive any thing in this mystery of faith, so neither was 
„ . . it convenient that any thins: should be changed, with regard 

tion - to them, in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Upon 

which account, as we perceive the same species, and feel the same effects 
as before, in that sacrament, we ought not to be in any way surprised, if 
sometimes, and in some sense, it should go under the same denomination. 
Yet our faith acknowledges no other substances on this occasion, than that 
which is meant by those very words; that is to say, the very body and 
blood of Christ, into which the bread and wine are changed ; and this is 
what we call Transubstantiation. 

“ It is to be observed, that there are two actions in this mysterious sacra¬ 
ment, really distinct, though relative to each other. The one is the coiise- 
cration of the bread and wine, which are thereby changed into the body 
and blood ; and the other is the manducation , whereby we are made par¬ 
takers of that heavenly food. 

“ Thus, the Son of God is set on the sacred table, by virtue of those 
words, clothed in the signs which represent his death ; and this is wrought 
by the consecration. This religious action, moreover, carries with it an 
acknowledgment of the divine sovereignty, inasmuch as Jesus Christ 
whc is actually present, renews and perpetuates the memory of his obedi¬ 
ence, even to his dying on the cross ; for which reason nothing can be 
wanting to make it a true sacrifice. 

“ When we consider what Jesus Christ performs in this mystery, and 
that we see him, through faith, actually present on the holy table under 
these sio-ns of death, we unite ourselves to him in this condition ; we pre- 
sent him to God as our only oblation, and our only propitiator through his 
blood, protesting that we have nothing to offer up to him, but Jesus Christ 


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and the infinite merit of his death. We consecrate all our prayers through 
that divine sacrifice, and when we offer up Jesus Christ to God, we are 
at the same time instructed to offer up ourselves as living sacrifices to the 
Divine Majesty, in and through him. 

“The Church being instituted by God to be the guardian of the Scrip- 
, . , , tures and of tradition, from her it is that we receive the 

Authority of the 

Church - canonical writings. 

“Being thus inseparably united to the sacred authority of the Church 
by means of the Scriptures, which we receive from her; so from her like¬ 
wise we do receive our tradition, and by means thereof are taught the 
true sense of the Scriptures. Whence it comes to pass that the church 
professes to teach nothing as coming from herself, nor to invent any new 
doctrine, but only follows and declares divine Revelation by the inward 
direction of the Holy Ghost, graciously given to her for her guide and 
instructor. 

‘‘ The dissension which arose, relating to the ceremonies of the law, in 
the Apostles’ time, demonstrates that the Holy Ghost makes the Church 
his interpreter; and their acts have taught all ages to come, by the manner 
of deciding that controversy, the authority by which all dissensions of that 
kind are to be concluded. So that, whenever there shall arise any dis¬ 
putes, which may create a division among the faithful, the Church shall 
always interpose her authority; and her bishops being assembled, shall say 
after the Apostles, It seemed good to the Holy Ghost , and to us ; and 
when she hath once spoken, her children shall be taught not to make new 
inquiries into the articles she hath resolved, but humbly to submit to her 
decisions. In complying herewith, we shall imitate St. Paul and Silas, 
who delivered that first decree of the Apostles to the faithful, and who, 
far from suffering them to re-examine what had been determined upon, 
went from town to town , and charged them to keep the institutions of the 
Apostles. 

“This is the manner in which the children of God submit to the deci¬ 
sion of the Church, believing they hear the oracles of the Holy Ghost 
from her mouth ; for which reason in the creed, after we have repeated. 
I believe in the Holy Ghost , we immediately after add, the holy Catholic 
Church. By which article we oblige ourselves to acknowledge a perpetua' 
and infallible truth in the universal Church, since that very Church, ir 
which we believe at all times, would cease so to be, should she cease to teach 
that truth which God was pleased to reveal. Whoever, therefor;, suspects 
that the Church makes an ill use of her authority, to establish the spirit 
of untruth, has no faith in him by whom the Church is governed.” 

According to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the Roman Catho¬ 
lic Church is one, visible, holy, and catholic, or universal, established by 
the hand of God, on a solid basis, who has bestowed on it the power of 


























































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Supremacy of 
the Pope. 


opening the gates of heaven to all true believers, and shut¬ 
ting them to all heretics and infidels. It likewise has the 
power of pardoning and absolving sins, and excommunicating all those 
who are disobedient. This church is both triumphant and militant. The 
former portion is the illustrious society of those blessed spirits and saints, 
who, having triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the devil, enjoy 
everlasting happiness in peace and security. The latter is the congrega¬ 
tion of all true believers upon earth, who are constantly obliged, during 
their whole lives, to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus Christ 
is the immediate governor of that part of the church which is triumphant 
in the heavens ; but, as the church militant required a visible head or di¬ 
rector, he has substituted one in his room, who is accounted by all Catholics 
as the sole and sovereign depository of the faith, and perpetual director of 
the belief of all true Christians. 

This visible head is called the pope; but the Catholics are divided in 
their notions with regard to his power: some considering him to be inferior 

Homage paid to to a & enera ^ council. The pope takes place of all Christian 
him by Emperors, princes, as the vicar of Jesus Christ here upon earth. The 

emperors, who in former times were the first princes in the Christian world, 
went to Rome to receive the imperial diadem from the hands of his holi 
ness, and there solemnly promised and bound themselves by the Trinity, 
by the wood of the cross, and by the relics of the saints, to exalt and sup¬ 
port the church and its head to the utmost of their power. The emperors, 
before their entrance into the city of Rome, took the oath ; the form of 
which the ceremonial of the Roman church has preserved and transmitted 
to us. At length, after the church and its head had perfectly secured their 
own rights and privileges, the emperor was admitted ; upon which occa¬ 
sion the clergy went out to meet him in their ceremonial habits, and 
tendered him the cross to kiss. His holiness, sitting on a throne, received 
him before the first portico of the church of the Apostles. There his 
imperial majesty uncovered himself, and knelt down as soon as he saw 
the pope, who styled himself the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Afterwards he 
approached him gradually, with one knee always on the ground; and, 
lastly, he kissed the feet of his holiness in a very devout manner, as a 
testimony of his respect to the Saviour of the World. But before his 
imperial majesty could be crowned, he was obliged to take a new oath, in 
which nothing was omitted that could establish the pope’s prerogative, and 
the security of the church’s domains. After the coronation there was a 
solemn procession, in which his imperial majesty appeared, for the first 
time, with his crown on his head, his sceptre in one hand, and a globe in 
the other; but as he went out of the basilica, he put all his regalia into the 
hands of one of his officers, in order to hold the stirrup, while the pope 
mounted his horse ; he even took the bridle, and for some time led the 



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horse of the servant of the servants of Jesus Christ; who, to testify his 
humility, pretended he could not admit of so extraordinary a submission; 
nor did he consent till after several compliments on both sides, to receive, 
for the sake of Jesus Christ, the honour which his imperial majesty con¬ 
ferred upon him. 

We may here observe, that after the emperor had taken the oath to his 
holiness, he was usually clothed in the amice and surplice. The canons 
of St. Peter did him the honour to admit him as a brother, and to look on 
him as a subject of the pope, to whom all preferments belonging to the 
hierarchy of the church are subject. Whenever it pleased his holiness to 
be carried on his servants’ shoulders, the emperor was to be one of the 
assistants; he was to pour out water to wash the hands of his holiness 
before he sat down to table, and to give him his first plate, &c. 

The Holy Father, being, in the opinion of the Roman Catholics, far 
above ail kings, is accounted the vicegerent of God, and regent of the 

. . , universe. Under this denomination he divided the new 

vicegerentofGod world between Spain and Portugal; he has a right to St. 
Paul’s sword, and with it to give apostolical chastisement to those who 
despise of disregard his decisions relating to the Christian faith. He never 
rises from his pontifical throne, nor uncovers himself to any person whom¬ 
soever ; nor does he ever condescend to honour any one with a salute, by 
the least inclination of his head. To his imperial majesty, however, he 
rises a little on his admittance to the kiss of peace, after he has paid his 
respects to the pope’s feet. His holiness, however, sometimes salutes those 
princes who have the honour of an audience of him, with a slight inclina¬ 
tion of his head ; but then he is not in his pontifical robes ; and although 
he may condescend to be courteous and complaisant, yet he is under no 
obligation to adopt that mode of conduct. The pope’s nuncio and legates 
take place of the ambassadors of all crowned heads. 

An oecumenical council is an assembly which represents the whole body 
of the universal church. The name of council is given, likewise, to pro- 
. , vincial and national assemblies of the clergy, who, at such 
Counci1 - times, however, represent only a part of the church. (Ecu¬ 

menical councils are composed of ecclesiastical deputies from the sovereign 
powers of Christendom, who represent their respective nations, and also 
of other prelates, doctors, &c. of particular churches, all assembled in a 
free place, where, without constraint, they may apply themselves to the 
reformation not only of manners and of doctrine, but also to the regulation 
and establishment of church discipline, &c. Thus assembled, they have 
authority to censure bishops, cardinals, and even his holiness himself, if 
his conduct be blameworthy ; they also possess power to depose any of 
them, when the good of religion requires it. In short, they form an 
assembly, which by its superiority, being able to check the unjust pro- 
































































































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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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ceedings of popes, by subjecting them to the church in points of faith, and 
declaring them schismatics and heretics whenever they deviate from it, 
has more than once proved fatal to the see of Rome. The assemblies of 
Pisa, of Constance, and Basle, are incontestable instances of the truth of 
this assertion. 

In regard to the ceremonies observed at the calling of a council, as there 
has not been one since that of Trent, we shall describe them as they are 
Ceremonies oh- found in Father Paul’s history of that council, who assures 

served at the call- , , . , , . 

ing of a council. us that there was not less debate nor less embarrassment m 
settling the rank and precedency of the bishops, than if they had been 
convened to arrange affairs of the last importance to the state, &c. The 
fathers of the council also insisted upon having the assembly-room hung 
with tapestry, without which they were apprehensive that the council 
might be deemed a body of tradesmen and mechanics. Pope Paul III. 
issued out one bull for calling the council, and a second for opening it; 
both of which were read and registered the first session. After a fast of 
three days, the legates and bishops, dressed in their pontifical robes, 
accompanied by their divines, the clergy of Trent, and all the people, 
went in solemn procession to the cathedral, where the first legate sung the 
mass of the Holy Ghost. Then the legates, in the pope’s name, made an 
harangue, in which, after speaking of the occasion of that august assembly, 
they exhorted the fathers to lay aside all passion and prejudice, to judge 
righteously, to have no other view but the glory of God and the good of 
the church. After this exhortation they all knelt down, prayed awhile to 
themselves, and then the president recited the prayer which begins with 
Adsumus Domine, Sancte Spiritus. By this comprehensive and devout 
prayer, immediate aid is asked of the Holy Ghost, that he would please 
to guide and direct the council, to inspire the fathers with just judgments, 
to banish the spirit of disorder and discord far from them, and not to suffer 
them through ignorance to fall into error, or to be biassed by bribes, or to 
be surprised by outward appearances. The litanies were now sung; the 
deacon then read the gospel, Si peccaverit frater turn ; and after this the 
Veni Creator was likewise sung, and then the fathers seated themselves 
according to their respective ranks. The president having read the decree 
with an audible voice and asked them if it was their pleasure to order and 
direct that the General and Holy Council of Trent should be opened to the 
glory of God, &c., each of the fathers, in his turn, answered Placet; the 
legates first, then the bishops, and the rest of the fathers; of the whole of 
which the notaries drew up a public act. Lastly, the Te Deum was sung, 
and the legates returned home after the first session, the cross being carried 
before them, and attended by the fathers, who had laid aside their pontifical 
habits. The ceremonies were almost the same at all the other sessions. 
In case the pope appears in person at the council, he and the fathers of 




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seuled with lead. The camerlengo now orders money to be oined in his 
own name, with the device of the vacant see, which is that of two keys in 
the form of a cross, under the flag of the church ; with this motto, Sede 
vacante. 

Policy exerts all her arts, and sets every spring in motion, at the elec¬ 
tion of a pope; nor do the electors always wait for the death of the pre¬ 
sent chief or head of the church, to begin those cabals and intrigues which 
are proper for advancing him whom they esteem a fit person to succeed to 
the pontifical throne; and although the college invariably and unanimously 
invoke the aid and assistance of the Holy Ghost, to direct them in the 
choice of a Vicar of Jesus Christ, yet their eminences use all the precau¬ 
tions imaginable to prevent him from being in any way concerned in the 
election. The cardinals are obliged to enter the conclave ten days after 
the death of the pope; but before that time they hear the Mass of the 
Holy Ghost in the Gregorian Chapel, and some bishop makes a Latin 
harangue, exhorting them to make choice of a person who is worthy to fill 
the chair of the prince of the apostles. After this, their eminences march 
in procession to the conclave, two by two, according to their rank, attended 
by the Swiss Guards and a vast crowd of people, the chorus all the while 
singing the “ Veni Creator .” Being arrived at the conclave, they take 
possession of their cells by lot, after which they all go to the Paulin 
Chapel, where the bulls for the election of the pope are read, and the dean 
of the sacred college exhorts the assembly to act in conformity to them. 
When this is over, the cardinals are allowed to go home to dine, but must 
return to the conclave before three at night; at which time the master of 
the ceremonies acquaints them that they ought not to shut themselves up, 
unless they are determined to continue there as long as the conclave shall 
last, consistently with the order and direction of the bulls, in which it is 
regulated that those who go out shall not be permitted to return. The 
governor and marshal of the conclave now post their soldiers in such order 
and in such places as they judge most requisite for the safety of the elec¬ 
tion. The ambassadors of princes, and all those who have any interest in 
the election of a future pope, are allowed to continue in the conclave for 
the first twenty-four hours. When the clock strikes three, the master of 
the ceremonies rings the bell, after which all, except the electors, retire: 
the doors are then shut, the conclave is walled up, and guards are posted 
at all the avenues. The cardinal-dean, and cardinal-camerlengo, now visit 
the conclave, to see if it be well shut, and an act thereof is drawn up by 
an apostolical notary. 

None but the cardinals, and two conclavists for each, (one an ecclesiastic, 
and the other a soldier,) remain in the conclave. Those cardinals who are 
princes, or who are old, or infirm, are sometimes allowed three. The other 
persons appointed for the service of the conclave are the sacristan, the under- 


































































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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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sacristan, a secretary, an under secretary, a confessor, who is always a 
Jesuit, two physicians, a surgeon, two barbers, an apothecary, and their 
apprentices, five masters of the ceremonies, a bricklayer, a carpenter, and 
sixteen porters or valets, for hard labour. 

Tnough the office of a conclavist be incommodious and uneasy, yet on 
account of its privileges it is very much sought after; for a conclavist is 
sometime* the secret agent of the ministers of crowned heads. Every 
officer, however, of the conclave takes an oath not to reveal any of its 
secrets. He must be shut up in a little corner of his master’s cell, and do 
every menial office for him. He must fetch his victuals and drink, which 
the cardinal’s officers give him from without, tw r ice every day, through an 
inlet that communicates with his cell; he waits on his master at table; 
Keeps every thing very clean ; and when he has done, serves himself. 

According to the order of Innocent III., there are three several methods 
of electing a pope, viz. by scrutiny, compromise , and inspiration. The 
. election by scrutiny, which is the only way that has been 
of electing a pope. use d f or a l on g -while, contains all the formality that appears 
most essential for making the election canonical. Still it is no more than 
a mere ceremony, as the several factions of the cardinals have united be¬ 
forehand in the choice of the person. This harmony is brought about by 
the most refined and delicate strokes of policy, and for the most part comes 
on after their eminences have found out, by several scrutinies, the disposi¬ 
tion of the sacred college. Then, if the votes for any of the candidates 
come near the number required, it is a very common practice for the other 
factions to fall off and coalesce with the others, and thereby contribute to 
the pope’s election, fearing to draw on them his hatred by a fruitless and 
unseasonable opposition. 

The scrutiny consists in collecting and examining votes, given in by 
printed billets, which the cardinals put into a chalice that stands on the 
altar of the chapel, at which they have met to choose the 
pope. These billets are prepared by the masters of the 
ceremonies, who put them into two golden basins, placed at each end of a 
long table, which stands on the side of the high altar. Each of these 
billets is a span or palm long, and half a span broad, and are divided into 
eight equal parts, by parallel lines taking up the whole length of each 
billet, as w'ell on the inside as the out; that is, the reverse of the billet 
when rolled up. On the first space, rolled inward, these two words, “Ego 
Cardinalis,” stand at a small distance from each other to make room for 
the proper name. The second is a blank, in which the cardinal writes his 
surname and titles. The third has two O’s at each end, for the cardinal’s 
seal, which is generally made on purpose; for he never uses his coat of 
arms on this occasion. The fourth is filled up with “ Eli go," &c. The 
fifth is for the surname and titles of the cardinal proposed to be pope. The 


Election by 
scrutiny. 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 231 

sixth is as the third. The seventh continues a blank, and the eighth is 
filled up with a motto, which the cardinal, whose name the billet bears, 
makes choice of out of the sacred Scriptures. The reverse of each billet is 
divided likewise into eight equal parts, and almost all of them are filled up 
with flourishes, that the writing on the other side may not appear through. 
Before the scrutiny begins, little bills, having the names of all the cardi¬ 
nals on them, are put into a bag, with an intent to draw, thence, three scru¬ 
tineers, three overseers of the sick, and three revisors. 

The cardinals use all the art imaginable to disguise their hands. They 
write what we have just mentioned on the scrutiny billets ; or, if they 
have not skill enough to conceal their hands, they make use of an unknown 
hand, that it may not be known for whom they vote. These billets are 
wrapped up with all possible dexterity and address, that it may be a secret 
to whom they belong; after which they close them in their hands and 
take their places; and then the scrutiny begins in the following manner: 
—Each cardinal takes the billet, thus written and folded up, between the 
thumb and the forefinger of his right hand, and holding it up to the view 
of the other members of the sacred college, carries it to the high altar, 
kneeling down upon the first step, where he repeats an ejaculatory prayer. 
He then goes up to the altar, and takes the oath aloud ; after which he 
puts his billet upon the paten which covers the chalice, and from thence 
slides it into the chalice ; he then returns to his place. This office is 
performed by the overseers of the sick for those cardinals who are indis¬ 
posed. They present the scrutiny billets to such cardinals, together with 
a box in the form of an urn, with a very small hole in it, at which the 
sick man puts in his billet. The billet cannot be got out again but by 
opening the box, which is carried to the chapel, opened before all the car¬ 
dinals present, and then the billet is put into the chalice in the manner al¬ 
ready described. 

Before the scrutiny begins, the sacristan, who is always an Augustine 
friar, says the mass of the Holy Ghost. The scrutineers then stand near 
the great altar, to mix and open the billets in the chalice, and to see that 
the scrutiny proceeds in due form. The last scrutineer takes these billets 
one after another, and first showing them to the cardinals, puts them into 
another chalice. If there be a greater or less number of billets than there 
are cardinals, the scrutineer burns all he finds in the two chalices, and 
each cardinal makes a new one, till the scrutiny comes right. When the 
billets are equal to the number of cardinals, the scrutiny is published in 
the following manner:—The heads of the three orders of cardinals go up 
to the high altar, take the chalice in which the billets are put, carry it to 
the table beforementioned, and then retire, and the three scrutineers 
come and seat themselves at the table, with their faces towards the cardi¬ 
nals. The first scrutineer turns the chalice upside down upon the table. 




























































































232 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



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opens each billet in the place where the vote is written, and looks upon 
t he name of the cardinal who is therein voted for; and still, as he opens 
them, he puts them into the hands of the second scrutineer, who looks 
likewise on the name, and gives it to the third, who reads the name aloud. 
Meanwhile, the cardinals mark each name upon a sheet of paper, on which 
all their names are printed. Those who are named set down also the votes 
giien them, to see if they have a sufficient number to be elected. This 
number must be at least two-thirds. 

The last scrutineer files all these billets, that none of them may be lost 
and the file is kept in view till he has put it into a chalice set apart for 
that purpose. When the scrutiny is over, the billets are again told over, 
and three revisors examine them. They are burned when the election 
has been approved as canonical. If the votes do not rise to a sufficient 
number, billets are taken in order to choose the pope by way of accessus; 
and there is scarcely ever a scrutiny without this accessus. The accessus 
is intended to correct the scrutiny. In this, they give their votes by other 
billets, on which is written “ Accedo Domino ,” &c., when they join their 
vote to another’s; or, “ Accedo Nemini ,” when they adhere to their first 
vote. The accessus is performed in the same manner as the scrutiny, 
only they do not take the oath again. The scrutineers examine the bil¬ 
lets of the accessus, as they did those of the scrutiny, and the cardinals, 
after the same manner, set down the votes which are gained thereby to 
any of the candidates. 

After the reviso^s have very accurately examined the votes of the acces¬ 
sus, and find the election to be perfectly canonical, they send for three 
apostolical notaries into the chapel where the election was made, who, 
upon inspecting the billets and other pieces which the scrutineers and 
revisors lay before them, draw up a memorandum of the election. All 
the cardinals who have assisted at the conclave, sign and seal this record ; 
after which, the scrutineers burn all the billets, both of the scrutiny and 
the accessus, in the presence of all the cardinals. 

The pope is elected by compromise , when the cardinals, disagreeing in 
their choice, engage by mutual compromise to refer the election to some 

Election by com- P art i cu ^ ar cardinals of probity, and to acknowledge him 
promise, &c. whom they shall nominate as duly elected, by virtue of the 
power given to them for that purpose. The election by way of inspira¬ 
tion is in some measure riotous and tumultuary. A select number of car¬ 
dinals of different factions, who have determined to put every thing to the 
last push, begin to cry out, “such a one is pope,” as it were by inspira¬ 
tion. Adoration is the same as inspiration , which is, when two-thirds ol 
the conclave, being agreed in the person, go in a body and adore and 
acknowledge the pope they approve of, as head of the church. The 
elections by way ol’ compromise, inspiration , and adoration , but sel- 












































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CIIURCU. 


233 


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dom happen. The scrutiny and accessus are the methods generally ob 
served. 

As soon as the pope is elected, it is customary for his domestics and the 
populace to plunder his cell in the conclave, and the palace in which he 
resided. 

As soon as the pope is elected, the cardinals who are the heads of their 
respective orders, ask the consent of his holiness, and the name which he 

Adoration paid * s determined to assume, in this alteration of his state, 
to the pope elect. This alteration of his name is perhaps the most singular 

act which takes place in the election of the supreme pontiff. Sergius the 
Fourth, who was before called “Os Pom,” that is Swine’s face , was the 
first pope who thought proper to change his name on his exaltation to the 
pontificate; and this custom has been invariably followed by his successors. 
The elected pontiff’s new appellation being made known, the fisherman’s 
ring is immediately given him. After which, the masters of the ceremonies 
draw up a formal instrument of his declaration, and deliver in a duplicate 
of it to the college. The two first cardinal-deacons then conduct the 
new pope behind the altar, where, with the assistance of the masters of 
the ceremonies and the sacristan, (who is always an Augustine monk,) 
they take off his cardinal’s habit to put on the pontifical, which is a white 
taffeta cassoc ; a linen rochet; a camail, and a cap, both of red satin ; 
with shoes made of red cloth embroidered with gold, and a golden cross 
on the upper part. Thus pompously dressed, the pope is carried on his 
chair before the altar of the chapel appointed for the election, and there 
the cardinal-dean, first, and after him, the remainder of the cardinals, 
adore his holiness upon their knees, kissing his foot, and his right hand ; 
after which the holy father takes them up, and gives them the salute of 
peace on the right cheek. After this, the first cardinal-deacon, preceded 
by the master of the ceremonies, who carries the cross, and by a choir 
of musicians who sing the anthem, Ecce sacerdos mcignus , $*c. —Behold 
the high-priest so acceptable to God , and so just —goes to the great lodge 
of St. Peter, where the master mason takes care to have the door opened, 
mat the cardinal may pass into the balcony, to acquaint the people of the 
pope’s election, crying with an audible voice, Jinnuntio vobis gaudhim 
magnum , habemus papam , fyc.—I bring you glad tidings , we have a 
pope , 8,'C. Then one of the large culverins of St. Peter’s is discharged, 
to give the governor of the castle of St. Angelo notice to discharge all 
his artillery : all the bells of the city begin to ring at the same time, and 
the air resounds with the cheerful sounds of drums, trumpets, and kettle¬ 
drums. 

During the roar of the artillery, the sound of the bells, and the melody 
both of vocal and instrumental music, the Romans incessantly break out 
into solemn vows and loud acclamations for the new pope. The same day. 


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234 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


about two hours before night, the pope, having his cope and his mitre on, 
is carried and set upon the altar of Sixtus’s chapel, where the cardinals, 
in their purple copes, come, and a second time adore the new pontiff, who 
is seated upon the relics of the altar stone. This adoration is celebrated 
in the same manner as the former, the musicians all the time singing 
anthems suitable to the solemn occasion. 

In the mean time, the enclosures of the conclave are broken, or taken 
down, and the cardinals, preceded by music, descend into the middle of 
St. Peter’s church. The pope follows them, carried in his pontifical chair 
under a red canopy embellished with gold fringe. His bearers now seat 
him on the great altar of St. Peter, where the cardinals pay their adora¬ 
tion to him a third time, and the foreign ambassadors after them, before a 
prodigious number of spectators, with whom this spacious church is gene¬ 
rally crowded to the utmost extent of the very porch. Te Deum is then 
sung, and the cardinal-dean, who is on the epistle-side, reads the verses 
and prayers appointed for that purpose in the Roman ceremonial. After 
this, his holiness is set down on the highest step of the altar. A cardinal- 
dean takes off his mitre, and then he solemnly blesses the people. His 
pontificalia are then taken off, and twelve chairmen, in long scarlet cloaks 
hanging down to the ground, place him in his chair, and convey him on 
their shoulders into his apartment. 

Stephen II. is said to be the first pope who was carried on men’s 
shoulders after his election : but, as we know that the illustrious men of 
Rome were carried on litters by their slaves, we may conclude that this 
custom is merely a remnant of the habits of the ancient Romans. 

In regard to the kissing of the feet of his holiness, it is doubtless a very 
ancient custom. Baronius gives an instance of it in the year 204; and it 
appears that after that time, the Emperor Justin I., Pepin, king of France, 
Frederic Barbarossa, and others, all kissed the pope’s feet. The time, 
nowever, when this custom became constantly practised is not exactly 
known ; although we may justly suspect, that it was only the same mark 
of respect which was formerly paid to the ancient Roman emperors, who 
were, at the same time, the supreme pontiffs of the religion of the Romans, 
and the sovereigns of the state. Though this ceremony be considered, in 
the opinion of the vulgar, as an instance of the veneration and esteem 
which Christians entertain for the pope, it will appear, upon the whole, 
that it is to Jesus Christ alone. For we are to observe, that the pope’s 
slipper has a cross upon it, which is the emblem of Christ crucified. 
The successors of St. Peter have invariably ordered that their sandals 
should have this cross on the upper-leathers: so that it is not the feet of 
his holiness, but the cross of Jesus Christ cruciried, that is kissed. Faithful 
Catholics affirm that the pontiff’s feet ought to be kissed after the same man¬ 
ner, and with the same respect, as the cross and other holy images are kissed 
















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


‘ 2:55 


The pope being the head of the Catholic or universal Church, wears the 
keys as a sign of the power with which he is invested, to open the gates 
The pope’s co- heaven to true believers; and the triple crown, to 
ronation. instruct and inform the Christian world, that he is both high- 

priest, emperor, and king. 

The preparations for his coronation are in no degree inferior to those of 
the most, august princes of the universe. If he be a deacon only, the 
cardinal-dean, after his election, constitutes him both priest and bishop in 
Sextus’s chapel, to which, on the day of his coronation, he repairs in his 
cardinal’s habit; that is, the white cassoc, the rochet, the short mantle, or 
cope of red satin, and the red capuch, supported by two prelates, who are 
the gentlemen of his bed-chamber and his cup-bearer, who are dressed in 
a red cope, with a capuch lined with red taffeta. The pages of the privy 
chamber, and the pages of honour, also the chaplains to the pope, who 
walk with his holiness, are preceded by those who are called the pages 
extra muros , (that is, without the walls,) and the squires of the deceased 
pope. The ambassadors, the general of the church, the princes of the 
throne, the governor of Rome, the captains of the light horse, of the Swiss, 
and the ancepesados, all make their appearance; and assist at this cere¬ 
mony, as well as the cardinals, who are clothed in red, that is, in their ■ " 

cassocs, rochets, their copes of red satin, which the Romans call mozette , 
and their red calottes on their heads. The procession having arrived at 
Sextus’s chapel, the cardinals, at the entrance, put on their red copes. 

Two cardinal-deacons now give the pope his pontificalia ; the ceremony 
of which is as follows:—the first master of the ceremonies girds on the 
falda of taffeta under the rochet, and puts upon his head the red satin 
berretta. His holiness then goes into the chapel; where the cardinals 
rise up, and at his first appearance make him a most profound bow, the 
holy father receiving the submission of his spiritual children like an in¬ 
dulgent parent. The gentlemen who attend on their eminences, are at 
this time on their knees, and his holiness stands with his back against the 
altar. 

Afterwards, one of the two cardinal-deacons takes off his berretta , and 
his companion puts on another of white taffeta : they likewise take off his 
red mozette , and dress him in the amict, the albe, the girdle, the stole, and 
the red chasuble, embroidered all over with gold. The first cardinal- 
deacon now puts the mitre upon his head, while the master of the ceremo¬ 
nies sings the extra with an audible voice. After this, one of the apostolic 
sub-deacons takes up the cross that is carried before the pope; and the 
cardinals pull off their berrettas in honour of the sacred wood. 

The cross is carried in the following order: the pope’s gentlemen go 
before it, two by two, followed by the courtiers of the new successor of 
St. Peter, dressed in their ceremonial habits. The pages ext 'a muros 


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march next, and after them the consistorial advocates, the gentlemen of the 
privy chamber, the referendary prelates, the bishops, archbishops, and 
patriarchs, and then the pope’s chaplains, who carry the triple crown and 
the mitre. The cross comes after these chaplains, and is followed by the 
cardinal-deacons, two and two abreast, and they are followed hy the cardi¬ 
nals, priests, and bishops, in the same order. Their eminences are followed 
by the Roman conservators, the caporions, &c. The holy father is canned 
to church on a chair in the midst of this solemn procession, surrounded by 
his guards, and an infinite number of people. The knights of St. Peter 
and St. Paul support the canopy under which his holiness is carried ; and 
in this order, the procession proceeds to St. Peter’s church. 

Under the portico of St. Peter, near the holy gate, a throne is erected 
for the pope, where he sits under a canopy; around which benches are 
railed in for the cardinals. The canons, and all those who enjoy any bene¬ 
fice in St. Peter’s, with their cardinal high-priest at the head of them, now 
come and kiss the feet of the holy father. After which, he is carried to 
the foot of the high altar, attended by a number of people making loud 
acclamations: he then kneels down and prays bareheaded before the holy 
sacrament; and is immediately carried from thence to the Gregorian 
chapel. There he seats himself on a throne, surrounded by the foreign 
ambassadors, the princes of the throne, and other persons of rank and dis¬ 
tinction. The cardinals in their red copes, the prelates, &c., then pay their 
homage to him; the former kissing his hand, and the others his knee. 

His holiness then gives the people his benediction ; and they return him 
I their thanks by extraordinary acclamations, and other testimonies of general 

I j°y- / N 

Th is ceremony being concluded, the cardinals, bishops, and other pre- 1 & 
lates, put on their white robes, while the canons of St. Peter sing an an¬ 
them in the choir. The pope washes his hands four times. The first 
\ time, the water is presented him by the first Roman conservator; the se- 
j cond in time of mass, by the general of the Church ; the third by the am- 
i bassador of the Most Christian King; and the last, by the ambassador of his 
Imperial Majesty. They are, if present at the solemnity, indispensably 
obliged to the performance of this religious duty, as a proof of their sub¬ 
mission to the holy See. 

The holy father in the next place is undressed, in order to put on other 
robes, the colour of which is a type or symbol of his purity and innocence. 
The acolytes present these new vestments to the cardinal-deacon, who 
clothes his holiness in a white garment; in order that, according to the 
language of scripture, he may be fitted to preside in the temple of the 
Lord. The d ress of his holiness now consists of the cassoc, amict, albe, 
girdle, dalmatica, stole, gloves, and mitre, embroidered with gold, and set 
wPh jewels. The procession is then resumed, during which, the first 



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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


237 



master of the ceremonies carries a lighted wax taper in one hand, and a 
basin in the other, in which the pomps and vanities of this world are 
exhibited to the holy father, under the representation of castles and palaces 
made of flax , to which the master of the ceremonies sets fire three succes¬ 
sive times, saying to his holiness each time, Pater Sancte , sic transit 
gloria tnundil Behold , holy father, how the glory of this world passes 
away !—This ceremony seems to owe its birth to that which was practised 
at the coronation of the Greek emperors; for, in the midst of all the pomp 
and splendour of their coronation, they were on one hand presented with a 
vase filled with ashes and dead men’s bones, and on the other with flax, 
which was set on fire ; by this double emblem reminding them of their 
mortality, and of the fate of their worldly honours. 

The whole procession having arrived at the foot of the altar, on which 
stand seven large silver gilt candlesticks with large lighted wax-tapers in 
them, similar to those which are carried by the seven acolytes before the 
cross, the pope makes a short prayer on a desk, and then rising, begins the 
Introibo of the mass, having the cardinal-dean on his right hand, as assistant 
bishop in his cope ; and the cardinal-deacon of the gospel on his left, and 
behind him two cardinal-deacons assistants. 

After his holiness has made the solemn confession, the dean of the rota, 
who holds his mitre, gives it to the two cardinal-deacons assistants, to 
set it upon his head. His holiness, in the next place, sits down on h’s 
throne, before which each of the three first cardinal priests reads a prayer 
for his coronation. After which, the holy father descends from the throne, 
his mitre is tiften ofF, and the first cardinal-deacon, assisted by the second, 
dresses him in the pallium, saying to him, Receive the pallium which re¬ 
presents to you the duties and perfections of the pontifical function: may 
you discharge it to the glory of God , and of his most Holy Mother the 
blessed Virgin Mary; of the blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul; 
and of the holy Roman Church. 

The cardinal-deacon of the gospel having put three diamond buttons 
on the three crosses of the pallium, the holy father ascends the altar, with 
the pallium on his shoulders, but without his mitre, kisses the book of 
the holy evangelist, puts incense into the thurible, and thurifies or per¬ 
fumes the altar. After this, the mitre is again set on his holiness’s head, 
and the first cardinal-deacon thurifies him three times successively. The 
ceremony closes with a salute, which that cardinal gives him on his left 
cheek and his stomach, which ceremony is also performed by the other 
two cardinals. 

This ceremony being over, the pope returns to his throne, whither all 
the cardinals repair, and after taking off their mitres, pay him their adora¬ 
tions. All the clergy come likewise, and adore him, each according to In's 
euulity, and all in their ceremonial habits. The patriarchs, archbishops, 
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and bishops, kiss his foot and his knee ; the abbots and penitentiaries of St. 
Peter, his knee only. 

Afterwards, the pope rises, lays down his mitre, ascends the altar, sings 
or reads the Introite and the Kyrie, fyc. , sings the Gloria in excelsis with an 
audible voice, and, as soon as the prayer of mass is said, resumes his place. 
Then the first cardinal-deacon descends into the confessional of St. Peter, 
which is a place under the altar where the relics of the martyrs lie, attended 
by the apostolical sub-deacons, the auditors of the rota, the consistorial advo¬ 
cates, &c., who walk in two ranks, with their white copes, and their purple 
amices over them. The cardinal-deacon sings there with a low voice, the 
Exaudi Christe! (Hear, O Christ!) to which the clergy who follow him 
answer, Domino nostro a Deo decreto summo Pontifici et Papse, fyc. (Our 
lord, the Pope , sovereign Pontiff 1 instituted and ordained by Gud , <£-c.) The 
Exaudi , fyc. are three times repeated as well as the Salvator mundi, which 
is afterwards added by the same cardinal, and to which the clergy answer, 

7 \i ilium adjuva, —that is, O Saviour of the world assist him! Then follow 
the litanies of the saints. The Latin epistle follows those litanies, and the 
Greek after the Latin ; the one is sung by the Greek sub-deacon, and the 
other by the Latin. The musicians in the choir now sing the gradual; a 
cardinal-deacon sings the gospel in Latin, another the same in Greek, and 
the mass closes with some particular ceremonies. As soon as mass is over, 
the holy father goes into his chair again, without pulling off* those robes 
which he had worn during the celebration of it. Then the cardinal-arch¬ 
priest of St. Peter, attended by two canons, presents the pope with a white 
damask purse, in which are twenty-five Julios, old Roman money. The 14)1 
chapter and canons of St. Peter make him this present as a testimony that 
he has sung mass well. This money the holy father gives to the cardinal- 
deacons, who sang the two gospels, and they bestow it on their train-bearers. 

To conclude, the pope is carried to the benediction-pew, accompanied by 
his cardinals and prelates. The canopy under which he is carried, is sup¬ 
ported by the Roman conservators and the caparions ; two of the grooms, 
in red liveries, carrying fans of peacocks’ feathers on each side of the 
chair. The cardinals and prelates all stand, whilst the first two cardinal- 
deacons, in quality of assistants, help his holiness to ascend the throne, 
which is always set up by the sacred college, on the preceding day, in the 
middle of the pew. As soon as the pope is seated, the choir sing the 
anthem, Corona aurea super caput , fyc .—that is, A crown of gold shall be on 
his heady fyc., with the responses; after which the dean reads the coronation 
prayer. The second cardinal-deacon now takes off the mitre of his holiness, 
and the first puts the triple crown on his head, saying, Receive this tiara 
embellished with three crowns, and never forget, when you have it on, that 
you are the father of princes and kings, the supreme judge of the universe , 
und on the earth Hear of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. 










































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 






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Immediately after being crowned, the pope blesses the people thre 
times, and two cardinals publish a plenary indulgence both in Latin and 
Italian. After this, his holiness withdraws to his apartment in the Vati 
can, and on his way through Sixtus’s chapel, the cardinal-deacons take off 
his pontificalia. The first cardinal-priest, in the name of the whole sacred 
college, now makes him the compliment ad multos annos , that is, wishes 
he may enjoy his pontificate for many years. 

The pope holds consistories when he receives princes, or their ambassa¬ 
dors ; when he canonizes any saint, or promotes cardinals; or treats of 
Ceremonies ob- an Y i m P ortant affair, either civil or ecclesiastical. When a 


239 

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consistory is to be held, the pope’s throne is erected 
in the great hall of the apostolic palace. This throne is 
almost square, and about twelve palms, or six feet, wide, to which he 
ascends by three steps. His holiness sits down on a seat adorned with 

■ 

cloth of gold, under a canopy of the same; both equal to each other iri 
point of magnificence; the foot of the throne is covered with red cloth. 

The cardinal-bishops and priests sit on his right hand, below the throne ; 
the deacons on his left; but in such a position as to have their faces 
towards the holy father. Between the seats of the cardinal-bishops and 
priests, and those of the deacons, there is a considerable space left for the 
people to pass and repass. 

When his holiness goes to hold a public consistory, he walks with the 
mitre on his head, and is dressed in his amict, albe, stole, and red chasu¬ 
ble, the cross and cardinals preceding him. The procession having arrived 
at the consistory chamber, the holy father takes his place, and then the 


cardinals, having first made him a profound obeisance, repair to their 


respective seats. The archbishops, bishops, prothonotaries, and other < 
prelates, sit on the steps of the throne ; the sub-deacons, auditors, clerks 
of the chamber, and acolytes, with their woollen copes, on the lowest step; 
and the ecclesiastical officers of the pope’s court on the ground, between 
the cardinal seats. The pages of the chamber, and the secretaries, sit also 
on the ground, between the prelates and ecclesiastical officers. The 
nephews of the reigning pope, in case he has any, and some other Roman 
princes, sit on each side of the throne, and are for that reason called 
Princes of the Throne . Ambassadors, and other foreign ministers, are 
seated on the right-hand of the throne, between the steps and the wall, 
which is the place for the highest nobility; the other gentlemen are on 
the left, among the pope’s domestic officers; the consistorial advocates sit 
behind the cardinal-deacons, and the proctors of princes, with the fiscal 
proctor, who takes place of the other proctors, behind the cardinal-bishops. 
The entrance of the passage leading to the throne is filled up by the 
pope’s guard. The master of the Sacro Hospitio stands between the 
puard, and the bottom of the rank of cardinal-priests. The clerks of the. 



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ceremonies are at the head of the chief of the deacons, for the greater con¬ 
venience of executing the pope’s orders. When the pope holds a con¬ 
sistory for judicial causes, each advocate, who has any motion to make, 
stands behind the cardinal-priests, opposite to the pope; and having 
opened his cause, he throws his petition to the ecclesiastical officers, who 
take and present it to the vice-chancellor. Lastly, when the consistory is 
concluded, the two eldest cardinal-deacons come forward to support the 
pope, and then the whole assembly return in the same order as they came. 

Private consistories have not so many ceremonies, and are held in some 
private apartment, at a distance from the sacred palace. There are no 
„ . . steps to the pontifical seat, only a kind of open bench, with- 

tories - out an alcove, and another of a smaller size, which serves 

as a footstool to ascend the largest one. Each of the cardinal-bishops and 
priests is seated according to his rank; the eldest cardinal sits next the 
pope, on his right hand, and the eldest cardinal-deacon next him on his 
left. There are benches before their seats, on which their eminences set 
their feet; and the assembly is so arranged or disposed, that the last car¬ 
dinal-deacon is next the last cardinal-priest, who has a bell in his hand, to 
call the attendants in waiting to receive their orders. The pope’s seat is 
covered with red cloth; but those of the cardinals are only painted red, 
and have the pope’s arms upon them. The space which lies between his 
holiness and their eminences, is covered with a large carpet. When this 
ecclesiastical senate has any state affairs, or any matters relating to the 
Church, under deliberation, everybody but the cardinals goes out, and 
when their eminences come to give their votes, they are obliged to do it 
standing and bareheaded. 

The service of the Catholic Church consists of prayers and holy lessons, 
which the Church has appointed to be read every day by the clergy, at 
„ ... particular hours. This service is called the canonical 

for divine service, hours, because it was ordained by the canons of the Church, 
which not only prescribed the hours in which it is to be said, but likewise 
every particular circumstance which bears any relation to it. These cir¬ 
cumstances. however, are not absolutely the same in all churches. This 
office, or order of divine service, is likewise called the breviary , by a 
modern term, which some are of opinion was not introduced till after its 
abridgment; for it was much longer formerly than at present. 

There are instances of canonical hours to be met with in the Hebrew 
Scriptures. The matins in Psalm cxviii., or, according to the Hebrew , 
cxix.; prime , in Psalm xcii.; tierce , in Acts, chap. ii.; sexte in chap. x. 
of the same book; none, in chap. iii.; and vespers, in our Lord’s last 
supper. The Heathens had likewise their matins; and the Egyptians 
saluted their gods every morning: they had their primes, seconds, and 
tierces, which the Catholics call prhi\e, tierce, s.exte , &c, 


























































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 241 


The clergy being ordained and established for the edification of Chris¬ 
tians, their first obligation is constantly to repeat their breviary, that is, to 
pray to God for the Church, to sing the divine office with devotion, to 
maintain a taste for piety in Christian souls, and to administer ghostly 
comfort and consolation to the respective flocks intrusted to their care. 

The divine service, or office, is to be said in a standing posture, pursuant 
to the ancient custom of the Church, and upon the knees in days of pen¬ 
ance only. It is said, by those who treat on Church ceremonies, that 
genuflection is a mark of sorrow and contrition; but standing is not only 
a type of joy, and of raising the mind with cheerfulness to God, but of the 
Resurrection, too, which is the object of the Christian faith. 

The divine service consists of seven hours, if matins and lauds be 
reckoned as one service, but eight, in case they be divided. In the primi¬ 
tive ages of the Church, it was composed but of six parts, which were 
tierce, sexte, and none, for the day; and for night, the evening, midnight, 
and morning prayers. At present they are divided into seven or eight: 
matins for night; lauds for the morning; prime, tierce, sexte, none, for 
the day ; vespers for the evening; and complin for the beginning of the 
night. Certain writers on ceremonies likewise insist that matins repre¬ 
sent the occurrences of the passion-night; that lauds are appointed to 
commemorate Christ’s resurrection; prime, to contemplate the ignominious 
treatment which he met with at the house of Caiaphas, and to humble our¬ 
selves at the sight of those indignities and affronts : that tierce is principally 
designed to return God thanks for the sanctification of his Church by the 
Holy Ghost; sexte, to honour the crucifixion of our Lord; and none, to 
bring to our remembrance the mystery of his death, which happened at 
that hour; that vespers were ordained to commemorate his coming, which, 
according to a hymn of the Church, was towards the Night of the World; 
and the hour of complin, to implore the protection of the Almighty during 
the night, in the same manner as had been done at prime for the day. 
The proper hour for saying matins is the night ; but lauds, which are 
now, as it were, incorporated into matins, were formerly said at break of 
day. Both these offices being called without distinction matins, are now 
said towards the close of the night. The hour of saying prime is directly 
after sunrise, for which reason it is called prime, because the ancients 
began their day at that time, and divided it into twelve hours, which 
were unequal, as the days were longer or shorter; and by the same 
rule tierce is fixed at the third hour of the day, and answers to nine 
o’clock at the Equinoxes; sexte at the sixth, which is always noon; 
none, at the ninth hour, or about three o’clock in the afternoon ; vespers, 
towards the evening; and complin, after sunset. Due care is generally 
taken that these services are all carefully performed at, or very near, the 
appointed times here specified. 





































































During Lent, however, vespers are said before dinner, on account of 


those who cannot keep fast according fro the prescription of the church, 
till the usual hour of vespers. In winter, that is, from All-Saints to 
Easter, vespers are sung at two o’clock, and the rest of the year at three. 
After vespers, the curates or vicars ought to catechise youths, unless it has 
been already done at mass, after the prone , or sermon. The evening 
prayer follows. 

Not only those ecclesiastics who are in holy orders, but every nun and 
friar likewise, who has entered into solemn vows, and all who hold bene¬ 
fices, are under an obligation to perform this service ; insomuch, that who- 
\ r 'if i evef ne ^ ects t ^ 1,s duty is reckoned to be guilty of a mortal sin, and is con¬ 
sidered to be liable to restore the revenues of his benefice. 

The Catholics look upon the sacrifice of the mass as the most acceptable 
all adorations, and the most effectual of all prayers. The church not 
_ . . only prays herself at this sacrifice, which the priest offers 

|ihe mass. U p to God in the most solemn and majestic manner; but 

Jesus Christ also, by the sacrifice of his own body, is said to offer up to 
jhis Father the most perfect adoration that can possibly be paid to him, 
‘since it is offered by a God. In short, it is Jesus Christ who alone, and 



/ ^jftlways, acts in this sacrifice. The priest is but his minister, his instru¬ 
ment, his terrestrial organ ; it is Christ who leads and directs him, and 



v 4 makes the action of the priest effectual, who offers him as propitiation 

v- i.! .... 


;; for the sins of men ; however corrupt, therefore, the priest may be in his 
) morals, it is held that the sacrifice is equally salutary to the church—a 
tenet which redounds considerably to the immaculate character of the holy 
r )£:. " Roman Catholic Church. 


The holy water is made on Sundays before high mass, after which fol- 
f4. A ft "i, lows a procession. 


yo'feY i ■- v r - ; i lows a procession. The faithful (for by this term the Catholics generally 

distinguish themselves) ought to be present at mass with a conscience 

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void of offence ; and in order to show them the necessity of such internal 
purity, they are sprinkled with a water sanctified for that purpose by a 
solemn benediction. The procession is a preparation of the hearts of the 


congregation, for the holy sacrifice of the mass ; and the priest and clergy 
make this preparation by their spiritual hymns and the elevation of the 
cross, which is carried before the clergy, while they move in a solemn 
; / .0 /v|§ } \ manner round the church, or the places adjacent to it. 


The mass consists of two principal parts, viz., the first from the begin¬ 
ning to the offering, which was formerly called the Mass of the Catechu - 


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\, mens ; and the second , from the offering to the conclusion, called the Mass 
of the Faithful. Every person, without any distinction, was required to 
be present at it, till the offering; because, in this first part, the lessons 
from Scripture, and the preaching of the Gospel, were included, from 
which none were to be excluded. But after the sermon, none were per- 



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mitted to have a share in the sacrifice, but those of the faithful who were 
duly qualified to partake of it; the catechumens were ordered to depart 
and the penitents were not only shut out and kept from the communion, but 
even from the sight of the mysteries ; for which reason the deacon cried 
out, Holy things are for such as are holy: let the profane depart lunce ! 

The various actions of the priest at mass may be included under thirty- 
five distinct heads; and devotion has discovered in all his actions a com- 

Actions of ihe P^ ete allegory of the passion of Jesus Christ. These 
pnest at mass. several actions are briefly as follows :—1. The priest goes 

V to the altar, in allusion to our Lord’s retreat with his apostles to the Gar¬ 
den of Olives. 2. Before he begins mass, he says a preparatory prayer. 
The priest is then to look on himself as one abandoned of God, and 
driven out of Paradise for the sin of Adam. 3. The priest makes con¬ 
fession for himself, and for the people, in which it is required that he be 
free from mortal and from venial sin. 4. The priest kisses the altar, as a 
token of our reconciliation with God, and our Lord’s being betrayed by 
a kiss. 5. The priest goes to the epistle-side of the altar, and thurifies or 
perfumes it. Jesus Christ is now supposed to be taken and bound. 
0. The Introite , said or sung, i. e., a psalm or hymn, applicable to the 
circumstance of our Lord’s being carried before Caiaphas the high-priest. 

7. The priest says the Kyrie Eleison, which signifies, Lord have mercy 
upon us, three times, in allusion to Peter’s denying our Lord thrice. 

8. The priest, turning towards the altar, says, Dominus vobiscum , i. e., 
the Lord be with you ; the people return this salutation, cum Spiritu tuo , 
and with thy Spirit, Jesus Christ looking at Peter. 9. The priest reads 
the epistle relating to Jesus being accused before Pilate. 10. The priest, 
bowing before the altar, says, Munda cor , i. e., cleanse our hearts. The 
gradual is sung. This psalm is varied according as it is the time of Lent or 
not. The devotion is now directed to our Saviour’s being accused before 
Herod, and making no reply. 11. The priest reads the gospel wherein 
Jesus Christ is sent from Herod to Pilate. The gospel is carried from 
the right side of the altar to the left, to denote the tender of the gospel to 
the Gentiles, after refusal by the Jews. 12. The priest uncovers the 
chalice, hereby to represent our Lord was stripped in order to be scourged. 
13. The oblation to the host, the creed is sung by the congregation. The 
priest then kisses the altar, then the priest offers up the host, which is to 
represent or import the scourging of Jesus Christ, which was introductory 
to his other sufferings. 14. The priest elevates the chalice, then covers 
it. Here Jesus being crowned with thorns, is supposed to be figured to 
the mind, showing that he was going to be elevated a victim ; and it is 
well known the victims of the Pagans were crowned before they were 
sacrificed to their idols. 15. The priest washes his fingers, as Pilate 
washed his hands, and doclares Jesus innocent, blesses the bread and the 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


214 


wine, blesses the frankincense, and perfumes the bread and wine, praying 
that the smell of this sacrifice may be more acceptable to him than the 
smoke of victims. 16. The priest, turning to the people, says, Oremus 
Fratres , i. e., let us pray. He then bows himself to the altar, addresses 
himself to the Trinity, and prays in a very low voice. This is one of the 
secretums of the mass, and the imagination of the devout Christian is to 
find out the conformity between this and Christ being clothed with a 
purple robe: but we shall be cautious of adding more on this head, that 
we may not lose ourselves in the boundless ocean of allusions. 17. The 
piiest savs the preface at the close of the Secretion. This part ot the 
mass is in affinity to Jesus Christ being crucified. The priest uses a 
prayer to God the Father, which is followed by the Sanctus , Holy, holy, 
holy is the Lord, &c., which the people sing. 18. The priest, joining his 
hands, prays for the faithful that are living. This is said to be in allusion 
to Jesus Christ bearing the cross to die upon, that we might live. 19. The 
priest covers with a cloth the host and chalice, St. Veronica offering her 
handkerchief to Jesus Christ. 20. The priest makes the sign of the cross 
upon the host and chalice, to signify that Jesus Christ is nailed to the 
cross. 21. The priest adores the host before elevated, and then he raises 
it up, in the best manner to represent our Saviour lifted up upon the cross. 
He repeats the Lord’s prayer, with his arms extended, that his body might 
represent the figure of a cross, which is the ensign of Christianity. 
22. The priest likewise consecrates the chalice, and elevates it, to repre¬ 
sent the blood of Jesus Christ shed upon the cross. 23. The priest says 
the Memento for the faithful that are in purgatory. This prayer is in 
allusion to that which our Lord made for his enemies ; but this allusion 
would be forced and unnatural, unless the devotees looked upon themselves 
as his enemies. 24. The priest then raises his voice, smiting his breast, 
begs God’s blessing on himself and congregation, for the sake of such 
saints as he enumerates, and implores the Divine Majesty for a place in 
Paradise, to imitate the thief upon the cross. 25. The priest elevates the 
host and cup, and says th e per omnia , then the Lord’s prayer. The sign 
of the cross, which he makes on the host, the chalice, and the altar, is to 
represent to God that bleeding sacrifice which his Son offered up to him 
of himself; then the devout Christian becomes the child of God ; and all 
this is an allusion to the Virgin Mary’s being bid to look on St. John as 
her son. 26. After the Lord’s prayer, the priest says a private one to 
God, to procure his peace by the mediation of the Virgin Mary and the 
saints, then puts the sacred host upon the paten, and breaks it, to repre¬ 
sent Jesus Christ giving up the ghost. 27. The priest puts a little bit of 
the host into the chalice.—The true Christian is now with an eye of faith 
to behold Jesus Christ descending into Limbo , i. e., hell. 28. Then the 
priest says, and the people sing, Jlgnus Dei , &c., thrice over, and the 


































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


215 


priest smites his breast. This action is an allusion to those who, having seen 
our Lord’s sufferings, returned home smiting their breasts. 29. After the 
Jlgnus Dei is sung, the priest says a private prayer for the peace of the 
church. He then kisses the altar, and the instrument of peace called the 
paxis, which being received at his hands by the deacon, it is handed 
about to the people to be kissed, and passed from each other with these 
words, peace be with you ; and while the paxis is kissing, the priest pre¬ 
pares himself for the communion by two other prayers, when he adores 
the host, and then says, with a low voice, I will eat of the celestial bread; 
and smiting his breast, says, lam, not worthy that thou shouldest enter into 
my house , three times, after eating of the bread. He uncovers the chalice, 
repeating verse 1 of 115th Psalm, according to the Vulgate. When the 
priest has received the communion, he administers it to the people. The 
application of these ceremonies is to the death and burial of Jesus Christ, 
and h is descent into hell. 30. After this, the priest putting the wine into 
the chalice, in order to take what is called the ablution, repeats a short 
prayer ; then he causes wine and water to be poured out for the second 
ablution, accompanied with another short prayer, and then salutes the con 
gregation. These ablutions allegorically represent the washing and em¬ 
balming the body of Jesus Christ, &c. 31. The priest sings the post¬ 

communion, or prayer for the good effect of the sacrament then received, 
expressed by the glorious resurrection of the regenerate Christians, and is 
to be looked upon as the representation of our Lord’s resurrection. 

32. The priest, turning to the people, says, Dominus vobiscum , salutes 
the congregation, as the ambassador of Christ, with the message of peace. 

33. The priest reads the beginning of St. John’s gospel, and particularly 
of Jesus’s appearing to his mother and disciples, and uses some short 
prayers. 34. The priest dismisses the people with these words, Ite missa 
est,-- Depart, the mass is concluded; to which they answer, God be 
thanked. This, they say, points to the ascension of Jesus Christ, where 
he receives the eternal reward of that sacrifice, both as priest and victim. 
35. The people receive the benediction of the priest, or bishop if he is 
present, to represent the blessings promised and poured down upon the 
apostles by the Holy Ghost. 

This benediction must be given after kissing, with the eyes erected to 
heaven, and arms stretched out, and then gently brought back to the sto¬ 
mach, that the hands may join in an affectionate manner for the congre¬ 
gation of the faithful. 

The extension of the arms and the joining of the hands are both mys¬ 
terious, and show the charity with which the priest calls his spiritual 
brethren to God. 

When he pronounces the benediction, he must lean in an engaging 
pasture towards the altar. 





















































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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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Masses among the Catholics are exceedingly numerous; but our limits 
, , admit of a description of but two—high or solemn mass, 

High or solemn r 0 



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Mass. 


and the mass for the dead. 

When there is to be a solemn mass, if it be a bishop who officiates, he is 
attended to church by the canons and other officers of the church, who go 
and wait upon him in state at his palace ; but if it happens to be too far 
distant from the church, the whole chapter, who wait at the church-gate, 
advance to meet him as soon as his lordship appears in sight; and when 
he draws near to the church, the bells are rung to give the people notice 
of it, and the moment he sets his foot within the church, the organ begins 
to play. The master of the ceremonies now gives the sprinkler to the 
head canon, who presents it to the bishop, after he has kissed both that and 
his sacred hand. His lordship first sprinkles himself, and then the canons, 
V 0\ v 9|with it, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and then pro¬ 
ceeds to say a nraver at a desk prepared for that particular 1 




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the altar, on which stands the Holy Sacrament. He performs the same 
ceremony at the high altar; and thence he withdraws into the vestry, and 
there puts on such ornaments as are suitable to the solemnity of the mass, 
in the following manner. 

The sub-deacon goes to a little closet contiguous to the altar, and takes 
from it the episcopal sandals and stockings, which he elevates and presents 
to the bishop. Then he kneels down, takes off his lordship’s shoes and 
stockings ; the bishop, meanwhile, is in the midst of seven or eight acolytes, 
all upon their knees, and dressed in their robes, who, as well as the deacon, 
spread the prelate’s robes, in order that nothing indelicate may be discerned 
in putting on his stockings. Two acolytes, after they have washed their 
hands, now take the sacred habiliments, hold them up, and give them to the 
two deacon-assistants, to put upon the bishop, as soon as he has washed his 
hands. The deacon salutes the bishop, takes off his upper garment, and 
puts on his amict, the cross of which he kisses; then they give him the 
albe, the girdle, the cross for his breast, the stole, and the pluvial. He 
kisses the cross that is upon each of them, one after another, and thereby 
testifies the extraordinary veneration which he has, or ought to have, for 
♦he cross of Christ. The deacon-assistants likewise most devoutly kiss 
those sacred vestments. As soon as the bishop is seated, they put his mitre 
on, and a priest presents him with the pastoral ring. The deacon then 
g’ves him his right glove, and the sub-deacon his left, which each of them 
kisses, as also the hand he has the honour to serve. Ejaculatory prayers 
have been adapted to each individual piece of the episcopal robes, and the 
devotion of this ceremony is supported and confirmed by singing the office 
of tierce. 

According to Casalius and others, there is some mystery in each of the 
bishop’s ornaments: the stole represents the yoke of the gospel: the 
































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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bishop’s shoes are taken off by virtue of what God said to Moses, Put off 
( A thy shoes from, off thy feet , <^c.; the dalmatica, which is in the form of a 
cross, intimates to the deacon, that he must be crucified to the world • the 
albe represents the purity of the priest’s soul; the pastoral ring points out 
the bishop’s spiritual marriage with the church; his gloves signify that he 
(j > s to be insensible of his good works, or that he must direct them to a 
spiritual end ; the girdle, that he is to be girded with justice and virtue ; 
the sandals, that he ought from thenceforth to walk in the paths of the 
Lord ; the two horns of the mitre represent the Old and New Testament; 

•: '* the shepherd’s crook, his correction and paternal authority. The pluvial , 
which, in former times, was a dress for travelling and fatigue, from whence 
it manifestly took its name, signifying a protection against rain and storms, 
shows the miseries of this life, which is ever exposed to temptations and 
human infirmities. 

The bishop being dressed in all his habiliments, his clergy range them¬ 
selves round about him. Two deacons, who are canons, place themselves 
; v on each side of him, both in their dalmaticas ; and after them, a deacon and 

a sub-deacon. The incense-bearer appears with the censer, and a priest 
with the navet, out of which the bishop takes incense, puts it into the 
censer, and gives it his benediction. After this he kisses the cross, which 
is upon the vestry-altar, and goes in procession to the other altar, where 
he is to celebrate mass. The incense-bearer walks at the head of the pro- 

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: cession ; two wax-candle bearers, with lighted tapers in their hands, march 

!\. next, on each side of him who bears the cross: all the clergy follow them. 
The sub-deacon who is to sing the epistle carries before his breast the book 
of the New Testament, which is shut, and in which is the bishop’s maniple. 
A deacon and a priest, with their pluvials on, march before the bishop, who 
leans humbly on his two deacon-assistants, with the shepherd’s crook in 
his left hand, and his right somewhat raised, ready to give his benediction 
to those Christians whom he meets with in his way. 

The bishop being now advanced to the altar, salutes his clergy with one 
single bow of the head. When he is on the lowest step, he delivers his 
crook to the sub-deacon, and the deacon takes off his mitre. Then the 

f A 1 

prelate and his officiating clergy make a profound bow to the cross on the 
altar ; after which the clergy all withdraw, except the sub-deacon, who has 
Lhe charge of the episcopal crook, the incense-bearer, two deacon-assistants, 
one priest-assistant, who stands at the bishop’s right hand, one deacon at 
his left, and one more behind him. The bishop says the Confteor, and 
the choir sing the Introite. 

At the end of the confession, the sub-deacon takes the maniple, which 
was in the book of the New Testament, kisses it, and presents it to the 
bishop for the same purpose; then kisses his lordship’s hand, and puts it 
on his left arm : in the mean time the canons, dressed in their robes, repeat 


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248 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



the confession. After this the bishop goes up to the altar, and continuing 
his prayer, he leans towards the altar, extending his arms upon the table 
of it, and kissing it with affection in the middle, whilst he makes mention 
of the sacred relics which are placed therein. The sub-deacon now pre¬ 
sents him with the book of the New Testament, which he kisses. The 
incense-bearer then comes forward with the censer and navet, which he 
delivers to the deacon, and the bishop receives them from him, in order to 
bless the incense. The person who officiates then takes the censer, per¬ 
fumes the altar, gives it back to the deacon, takes the mitre from another 
deacon, goes to the epistle side, and is thrice perfumed there by the deacon 
who holds the censer. 

After this ceremony is over, the bishop kisses the holy cross, takes the 
crosier in his left hand, and leaning upon his two deacon-assistants, whilst 
the deacon and sub-deacon continue at the altar, goes to his episcopal 
throne. There, laying aside his mitre, and making the sign of the cross, 
from the forehead down to the breast, he reads the Introite out of a mass- 
book, which the assistant priest holds for him, while another has a wax- 
taper in his hand to light his lordship. The two deacon-assistants point 
with their finger to the place where he is to read; then all sing the Kyrie 
together; after which the bishop puts on his mitre and his gremial, which 
is a sort of sacerdotal apron, and sits down. The two deacon-assistants now 
seat themselves on each side of him, and the assistant-priest sits down on a 
stool. They all rise when the choir concludes the Kyrie: then the bishop, 
turning towards the altar, gives out the Gloria in excelsis with an audible 
voice, which he continues saying with his ministers. 

There is nothing very remarkable relating to the gradual , the hallelu¬ 
jah , and the gospel , unless it be that the last is ushered in by a kind of 
procession. The master of the ceremonies walks first, after him the 
incense-bearer, and then the light-bearers, each with a burning taper. A 
sub-deacon follows, with his hands joined, as if he were saying his prayers. 
The deacon comes next, with the New Testament borne upon his breast. 
This devout assembly, passing in review before the altar, salute it with 
bended knees as they pass along; and when they are arrived at the place 
for reading the gospel, the deacon, who then stands between the two 
taper-bearers, turns to the right of the altar, opens the book, and begins 
the lesson out of the gospel. When the deacon says, Dominus vobiscum , 
the bishop rises, and lays aside his mitre and his gremial. When he 
comes to these words, Here begins the holy gospel , he makes the sign of 
the cross ; and, to conclude, blesses himself by another cross ; after which 
the prelate resumes his crosier, then makes the sign of the cross again, and 
all his ministers follow his example. 

The gospel being read, he who officiates kisses the book, and all of 



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ROMAN CATHOLIC CIIURCII. 


219 




them return in the same order as they came ;—the assistant-priest incens¬ 
ing the bishop. 

In the next place, the bishop preaches, or some canon, who is a priest, 
performs that office for him. After the sermon, the deacon, who sings the 
gospel, goes to the left hand of the bishop, and, leaning a little forward, 
says the Confiteor before him. 

After this confession is over, the assistant-priest publishes the indulg¬ 
ences, and the bishop gives the absolution. If there be no sermon, they 
go on from the gospel to the creed, which is repeated in form like all tl e 
rest. 

The offertory follows the creed. The bishop reads it standing and bare¬ 
headed. When he has done, he returns to his seat, and puts on his mitre. 
One deacon takes off his pastoral ring, another his gloves, and some sub¬ 
stantial layman presents him with a basin to wash his hands. The arch¬ 
deacon, whom the ceremonial constantly calls the assistant-priest, gives 
him the napkin. His lordship goes up again to the altar, supported by 
his tw r o assistants ; the sub-deacon goes to the credence-table, and by the 
help of two acolytes puts on his shoulders the veil which covered the 
sacred vessels, in such a manner that it hangs a little lower on the righi 
side than on the left. Then with his left hand he takes the chalice and 
paten, on which are two hosts, duly prepared, and covered with a pall 
The right hand lies lightly over the veil, the longest side of which is 
made use of to cover the chalice. An acolyte follows the sub-deacon to 
the altar with wine and water. The deacon presents the paten to the per¬ 
son who officiates ; all this part of the mass, which is celebrated in a 
solemn manner by the bishop, is performed as in common masses. 

The assistant-priest must take care that the prelate who officiates fol¬ 
lows exactly the rubric of the mass ; and some of the ministers must stand 
on each side the altar with lighted tapers, to honour the elevation of the 
sacrament. 

When the bishop elevates the host, the deacon who kneels on his right 
side takes up the border of the celebrant’s planet. He observes likewise 
the same ceremony at the elevation of the chalice. It must be observed, 
that an acolyte incenses the body and blood of our Lord, during the eleva¬ 
tion of both one and the other, three times successively.' After that, the 
ministers who attend the mysteries of the sacrifice with their lighted 
tapers, withdraw to the outside of the presbyterium to extinguish them, 
mless they assist in the administration of the sacrament. 

After the Jlgnus Dei , the assistant-priest places himself at the bishop’s 
right hand, and a deacon on his left. The former kneels, while the cele¬ 
brant says a short prayer, then rises again immediately, and both of them 
kiss the altar. The celebrant gives the kiss of peace to the priest, who 
turns his left cheek to receive it. After this mutual greeting, the assist- 






















































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ant-priest distributes the kiss which he has received, among the choir, 
beginning with the clergy of the highest quality in all the congregation. 
The laity kiss the paxis, or instrument of peace, which, at less solemn 
masses, is constantly made use of instead of an immediate kiss. There 
is no variation in what follows, from the ceremonies observed at common 
masses. 

The most solemn mass for the dead is that which the bishop himself 
celebrates. The melancholy occasion of the ceremony does not admit of 
Mass for the an y P orn P ous decorations on the altar. All the flowers, 
festoons, relics and images are removed. Six yellow wax- 


dead. 


lights, and a cross in the middle, are the only ornaments. Two other 
tapers of the same kind give light to the credence-table, which is covered 
with a very plain, small table-cloth, and on which there is no other orna¬ 
ment than what is absolutely necessary for so mournful an occasion ; 
such as a mass-book, a holy water-pot, a sprinkler, a thurible, a navet, 
and a black cloth for absolution. The acolytes spread a black cloth upon 
the altar, and the bishop officiates, likewise, in black. As soon as mass VO 
is over, he puts on a pluvial of the same colour; the dress of his minis¬ 
ters, the episcopal chair, and the pontifical books, are all black. The ; Sjf\ v 
bishop who celebrates this melancholy mass has no crosier in his hand, no 
gloves on, nor his sandals upon his feet; nor does he say the Judica , the 
Reminiscaris, the Quam dilecta , nor several prayers which are said at 
other masses. After the Conjiteor, he kisses the altar, but not the book ; 
nor do the ministers kiss any thing whatever during the celebration of it; 
for kisses on such melancholy occasions are forbidden. They do not cross 
themselves at the Introite, nor is the altar perfumed with frankincense at 


h \ 



the beginning of this mass. In short, not to mention several other differ- ,v.- V 

ences which are of less moment to the laity than the clergy, we shall 

only observe, that the person who officiates does not smite his breast at 

the vignus ; that he does not give the kiss of peace ; that he concludes 

the mass without the usual blessing; that no indulgences are published; 

• • •*> 
and that the deacon, if it be a general mass for many, says the Requiescant 

in pace, in the plural number, for the repose of the dead. 

The homily follows, and the pulpit, for that purpose, is hung with black ; 
and if it be a particular mass for any private person, remarkable for his 
quality or virtues, his fortune and charitable endowments, the mass for the 
rest and tranquillity of his soul in the other world, is followed by a funeral 
panegyric. 

A Chapelle Jlrdente , or a pompous representation of the deceased, is in 
the mean time erected, and adorned with branches, and illuminated with 
yellow wax-lights, in the middle of, or some other part of the church, or 
round the monuments of persons of distinction. If the deceased be not 
buried in that church, this chapel may be placed in the nave, if he be a 






























ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


251 

layman; or, if a clergyman, in the choir, in case it be separated from the 
presbyterium, for it is never allowed to be placed there. The head of a 
priest and the feet of a layman are turned towards the altar. After the 
homily, they proceed to the absolution of the deceased, after the following 
manner:—The gospel of St. John being read, the person who officiates, 
with the deacon and sub-deacon, returns to the middle of the altar, from 
whence, after one genuflection, or one profound bow, in case there be no 
tabernacle, they go to the epistle-side. The sub-deacon, when at the bot¬ 
tom of the steps, takes the cross, and after he and the deacon have laid 
aside their maniples, all of them proceed to the place where the Chapelle 
Ardente, or representation, is erected, in the same order as if to the inter¬ 
ment of the corpse. The incense-bearer, and he who carries the holy 
water, walk first; the sub-deacon follows, between the two light-bearers, 
with the cross ; after them come the choir, with yellow tapers in their 
hands. The person who officiates, with the deacon on his left hand, walks 
last, and no one except himself is covered, unless they go out of the 
church, and then all are covered alike. 

Being arrived at the Chapelle Ardente , w r here the celebrant is to give 
absolution to the deceased, the incense-bearer, and the acolyte, who is the 
holy-water bearer, place themselves in that part of the chapel which fronts 
the altar, but somewhat inclining to the epistle-side, and behind the person 
who officiates, who has the deacon on his right hand. The sub-deacon 
who carries the cross, and two light-bearers, stand at the other end, at the 
head of the corpse, a little towards the gospel-side. When they are all 
placed, the person who officiates uncovers himself, and, taking the ritual 
out of the deacon’s hands, begins the absolution of the deceased by a 
prayer, the first words of which are, Non intres in judicium , fyc. Enter 
not into judgment , 4'C. We shall omit some of the responses that come 
afterwards, such as the Libera nos, Domine , <^c., to come to the benedic¬ 
tion of the incense, after which the celebrant walks round the representa¬ 
tion, sprinkling it with holy-water, perfuming it on both sides, and making 
many bows and genuflections. When he has performed the great work 
of absolution, he says the Pater , and thereupon turns to the cross, repeat¬ 
ing several verses and prayers, which are inserted in the rituals. Lastly , 
he makes the sign of the cross on the representation, and says the 
Iltquiem for the deceased, to which the choir answer, Pequiescat in pace , 
—Let him rest in peace. After the absolution, the celebrant and his 
attendants return in the same order as they came. 

About the beginning of the fourth century, great attention began to be 
paid to the cross, on account of St. Helena’s good fortune, who was the 
mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great. She is said 

Devotion paid to A 

the Cross. to have found the true cross in her voyage to the Holy 

Land. The son, who was as religious as his mother, painted the cross on 






















































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•252 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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his standards; or rather, ordered them to be made in that form. It is 
reported, however, that the cross was not introduced into churches till the 
beginning of the fifth century, notwithstanding it had appeared upon the 
coins, colours, shields, helmets, and crowns of the emperors, long before 
that time. The sixth Universal Council, held at Constantinople, about the 
close of the seventh century, decreed that Jesus Christ should be painted 
in a human form upon the cross, in order to represent in the most lively 
manner imaginable, to all Christians, the death and passion of our blessed 
Saviour; but emblematic figures of him had been in use for many preced¬ 
ing ages. Christ was frequently delineated in the form of a lamb, at the 
foot of the cross, and the Holy Ghost in that of a dove. Sometimes a 
crown was set over the cross, to intimate to the faithful that the crown of 
everlasting glory would be the reward of their sufferings for the cross of 
Christ. A stag likewise was sometimes painted at the foot of this sacred 
wood, because that beast, being an enemy to serpents, is the symbol of 
Christ, who is the enemy of the devil. But all these emblematical figures 
were laid aside, at the sight of Jesus Christ represented on the cross in 
the human form, by a decree of the sixth (Ecumenical Council. This was 
the origin of crucifixes. 

The cross which Christ suffered on, as some have affirmed, was made 
of oak. This was, it is said, fortunately found by St. Helena, together 
with the inscription written over it. Pope Sergius, about the year 690, 
found another large piece of the cross, which is carefully preserved at 
Rome ; and in 1492, the inscription was found again in a church that was 
repairing in the same city. It was said to have been concealed in a wall, 
and the troubles of the times had occasioned it to lie there forgotten. 
Upon this occasion, Pope Alexander VI. issued a bull, promising a yearly 
pardon of all their sins to all such devout Christians as should annually, 
on the last Sunday in January, visit the church where that inscription had 
been discovered. A large part of the same inscription upon the cross was 
( likewise to be seen at Toulouse, among the Benedictine monks, until the 
close of the eighteenth century. It was publicly exposed twice a year, 
viz., the third of May and the fourteenth of September; and at such times 
it was steeped in a certain quantity of water, which was afterwards given 
to the sick, whose faith led them to believe that they derived great benefit 
from it. In order to reconcile this relic with that at Rome, the same argu¬ 
ments must be made use of as a certain monk does with respect to the 
nails of the cross. Two of those nails which fastened our Saviour to the 
; cross were found in the time of Constantine, who adorned his helmet and 
horse’s bridle with them. Rome, Milan, and Treves, boast of having one 
of those nails in their possession ; that at Rome is to be seen in the Church 
of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, and is annually exposed to the veneration 
of the people; that at Milan has equal respect paid to it, and as there 




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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


is some reason to believe this to be the same with Constantine’s, it is very 
happily applied to one of the prophecies of the Prophet Zaoharias, viz., 
chap. xiv. verse 20. That of Treves is not quite so much regarded; 
but, however, it deserves no less the adoration of the devout. These 
are trie three remarkable nails which pierced Christ’s hands and feet. 
The others, to which it has been thought proper to ascribe the melan¬ 
choly honour of having been instrumental to our Saviour’s sufferings, 
are either those which have been rubbed against the former, in order to 
receive the same divine and miraculous qualities ; or they are only little 
parts of the true and genuine ones, like that, for instance, at Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle, which is the point only of that shown at Rome; or they are 
only such as have fastened the various pieces of the cross together. 
Some of them are likewise supposed to be nails of crosses to which seve¬ 
ral holy martyrs were formerly fixed ; and as martyrs are the members of 
Christ, there is some authority for maintaining them to be the nails of 
our Saviour’s cross. Pope Innocent VI., in 1353, appointed a festival for 
these sacred nails. 

In regard to the genuineness of the cross found by St. Helena, we sus¬ 
pect some difficulty would present itself in establishing that important 
point, for there is a great number of Catholic churches which boast of 
being in possession of the genuine cross, and consequently declare St. 
Helena to be an impostor. It is, however, of no great moment, since all 
the crosses possess the same power of performing the most extraordinary 
miracles. This is, however, positively denied by the true believers in the 
St. Helena cross, and, in order to substantiate this faith, they affirm that 
she was puzzled how to distinguish our Saviour’s cross from two others 
which she found near it; viz., the crosses of the two thieves; but St. 
Macarius, however, very kindly and opportunely stepped in to solve the 
important problem: he directed the people to join with him in prayer, and 
begged of God that he would vouchsafe to discover to him which was the 
true cross: and God heard him. A woman at the point of death was 
brouoht to the crosses of the two thieves, and made to touch them one 
after another, but to no manner of purpose: after this, she was brought 
to our Saviour’s, and was immediately conscious that her distemper was 
removed ; whereas, till that time, the most artful medicines had proved 
ineffectual. 

The cross of the good thief was long after found, and carried to Rome. 
It is at the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. 

Loretto is famous for the image of our Lady. There is likewise a 
miraculous image made by St. Luke, in the borough of 
Cirolo, on the road to that city. 

The Santissimo Crocifisso in the church of St. Dominic the Great, at 
Naples, is composed of wood ; nor does the coarseness of the stuff in the 


Celebrated cru 
eifixes. 























































Z54 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 




least diminish its value ; the gratitude it showed to St. Thomas Aquinas, 
by thanking him in an eloquent speech, for his beautiful and instructive 
writings, no doubt redoubles the zeal of all those devout Christians who 
visit the chapel. 

The Santo Volto at Lucca is made of cypress, and dressed in a very 
pompous vestment; its shoes are silver, covered with plates of gold ; and 
its head is adorned with a crown, set all round with jewels. It is said 
that Nicodemus was the artificer who made it; but it is the general belief, 
that the face is the only part for which we are indebted to the said Nico¬ 
demus ; nor ought this belief to be questioned, except by those stubborn, 
stiff-necked heretics, who presume to impugn the veracity of the following 
narrative. The bold undertaking having drawn down certain angels from 
heaven, out of curiosity, to see how Nicodemus could accomplish so im¬ 
portant a task, they were soon tired with the slow progress which he 
made ; and, being moved with compassion for a man whose zeal had 
prompted him to undertake a more than human work, they, in a truly an¬ 
gelic manner, gave it the finishing stroke themselves ; and on that account 
the crucifix took the name of Santo Volto. How this wonderful crucifix 
came to Lucca we acknowledge ourselves at a loss to determine. At first, 
it was carried, or rather went of itself, and took up its abode at St. Fre- 
dianus’s Church; but either finding itself there too much confined, or 
having particular reasons for removing its quarters, it fled to the cathedral 
of Lucca, and remained suspended in the air, until an altar was erected 
for it, on the spot where it was found. This charitable crucifix, one day, 
according to Curtius, was determined to bestow one of its 'shoes upon a 
poor man, who begged its charitable assistance. This gift was made 
known, the shoe was redeemed, and the poor man had the value of it 
given him in gold. 

The crucifix at Loretto is famous for divers miracles. The angels trans- 
ported it with the Santa Casa from Palestine to Italy. A crucifix of St. 
Mary Transpontina, at Rome, frequently conversed in the most familiar 
manner with St. Peter and St. Paul. 

The sacred crucifix at Trent is remarkable for the approbation which 
it gave to the decrees of the council held in that city in the sixteenth, 
century. 

In the church of the Beguine nuns, at Ghent, there is a crucifix with 
its mouth always open. One of the Beguines, affronted at being excluded 
from a party of pleasure which had been made one day in the carnival, 
complained to the crucifix of it, which, at the same time that it exhorted 
her not to disturb herself, nor to be vexed at the disappointment, invited 
her to be its wedded bride, and she died the next day ! Ever since that 
time, the crucifix has remained with its mouth open ! 

Wt must not omit the crucifix at Bavaria, which was discovered bv a 
















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

slag that was hunted by some dogs. The stag showed it to the huntsmen 
with his foot, and never attempted to make his escape, till he had disco¬ 
vered the crucifix to them. This miracle happened in the reign of Char¬ 
lemagne, and gave the name to the Convent of Pollingen, the first syllable 
of which seems to express the barking of dogs. A fair was established 
at Pollingen, by which means the crucifix, convent, and church, whwh 
St. Boniface erected there, soon grew famous, and drew upon Pollingen 
the jealousy of Weilbaum, a small adjacent village. They procured the 
fair to be removed thither, which slackened the devotion of the Bavarians, 
and soon occasioned the crucifix to be forgotten ; but it soon revenged itself, 
by becoming an incendiary, and laying the little town of Weilhaum in ashes. 
Notwithstanding this public calamity, that town could not agree to part 
with the treasure which it had so unjustly obtained; but a second fire, 
which once more destroyed it, obliged the unhappy town to restore what 
it had so sacrilegiously usurped. 

In a church at Cologne there is a crucifix, the head of which is covered 
with a peruke. The date of this head-dress is not known ; but all that 
can be said of it is, that it cannot be of any long standing, since the use of 
perukes is pretty modern. This peruke is very marvellous, for the hair in 
never diminished, although the devotees who visit it never take their leave 
without carrying away one or two locks of it. 

We shall not enter into the history of an infinite number of crucifixes, 
dispersed over various parts of the Catholic countries, some of which have 
shed tears, others sweated blood, and others, again, have discovered sacri¬ 
leges, and struck the malefactors either blind or lame. Some have even 
restored life to the dead, and others health to the diseased, and all have 
distinguished themselves by some miraculous events. Neither shall we 
mention any domestic crucifixes, since their favours seldom reach farther 
than the families which they protect; we cannot, however, in justice to 
the latter, omit to mention the crucifix which obliged F. Bencius with 
several nocturnal visits, and at last made him determine to assume the 
Jesuit’s habit. 

From the adoration of wooden crosses, the Catholics proceed to that of 
metal objects, among which bells maintain a very exalted rank, at the same 
Custom of time that they are invested with qualifications of which, for 

churche^. ells m some particular reason, the Protestant bells are wholly des¬ 

titute. Among other incomparable properties of the Roman Catholic bells, 
they are said to represent the duration of the Gospel, whose glorious sound 
has been carried throughout the whole earth. They likewise represent 
the Church encouraging the faithful to praise the Lord, and the pastors 
of the Gospel preaching the word of God. They have, besides, several 
other mysterious significations, which are to be met with in the rituais. 
And as a further proof of the miraculous power of the Catholic bells, it is 





































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

stated that in a church at Rome there was, formerly, preserved a part <f 
the sound of the bells of Jerusalem. 

The ceremony of blessing bells is by the people called christening them, 
because the name of some of the saints is ascribed to them, by virtue of 
„ .. . . whose invocation they are presented to God, in order that 

BeIls - they may obtain his favour and protection. The benediction 

devotes them to God’s service, that he may confer on them the power, not 
of basely striking the ear, but of touching the heart by the influence of the 
Holy Ghost. When they are thus blessed and rung out, they contribute 
very much towards the priest’s success in exorcisms, &c. 

It is the bishop’s peculiar province to perform this ceremony, which 
consists, chiefly, in washing the bell inwardly and outwardly with salt and 
water, and anointing it with oil. It is, afterwards, in a manner baptized 
with holy chrism, upon which it is consecrated in the name of the sacred 
Trinity; and the saint who stands its godfather is then nominated. The 
bell thus christened, or consecrated, is then perfumed. 

Pope Tohn XIII. was the first who baptized bells, by giving his own 
name to that of St.John de Lateran in 965. As the consecration of bells 
represents, according to the rituals, the consecration of pastors, so the in¬ 
ward and outward ablution, succeeded by the anointing with oil, denotes 
the sanctification of their baptism ; the seven unctions in the form of a 
cross, show that pastors should excel all other Christians in the graces of 
the Holy Ghost, and possess the fulness thereof typified by the seven gifts; 
the anointing the inside with the chrism signifies a complete fulness of the 
Holy Ghost, with which the bishop finds himself endowed by his ordina¬ 
tion. The perfuming includes mysteries of no less importance. As the 
smoke of the perfumes arises in the bell, and fills it, so a pastor who is 
adorned with the fulness of God’s Spirit receives the perfume of the solemn 
vows and supplications of the faithful. 

Durant, in his treatise De Bitibus, says, that “ The metal of a bell 
denotes the strength of a preacher’s understanding, and the clapper his 
tongue ; the stroke of the clapper, the censure of the latter against immo¬ 
rality and profaneness ; the part that holds the clapper signifies the mode¬ 
ration of the tongue. The wood on which the bell hangs represents the 
wood of the cross ; the pieces to which the wood is fixed, the oracles of 
the prophets. The cramp-iron, fixing the bell to the wood, expresses the 
preacher’s attachment to the cross of Christ. The bell-rope likewise in¬ 
cludes considerable mysteries ; the three cords, for instance, of which it is 
made, are the three senses of the Scripture, viz. the historical, the moral, 
and the allegorical: they are likewise emblematical of the three persons 
of the Holy Trinity.” 

Images were early introduced into churches, and were designed to 
heighten the devotion of the people by such objects as strike the senses. 



















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


. God is painted in churches like a venerable old man, he 
images. having styled himself the “ Ancient of Days;" the Son is 

represented likewise as a man, he having put on a human form ; and the 
Hrly Ghost, in the form of a dove, the hieroglyphic of simplicity and 
integrity. The angels are painted as young boys, with wings on their 
shoulders; their character and industry, as ministers of God, being de¬ 
scribed by nothing more aptly than the youth of man, and the agility of 
birds. Jesus Christ was formerly represented in the form of a lamb, with 
one foot before the cross ; and sometimes as a shepherd with a lamb on 
his shoulders. The manner of painting the Holy Ghost like a dove is 
very ancient, and even the Eucharist was formerly kept in a box, made in 
the shape of that bird. 

There are few Christians who are strangers to the pretended miracles 
and wondrous effects of the images of the Catholic saints. We shall give 
, , the reader some instances. The image of Jesus Christ, 

Miracles wrought D 

by images. which an impious wretch had stabbed with his dagger, on 

feeling the blow, laid its hand upon the wound : this image is famous at 
Naples. But that of “Our Lady,” now at Rome, in the Pauline Chapel, 
made by St. Luke, the celebrated painter and evangelist, is no less remark¬ 
able. It is reported that the angels have frequently sung the litanies round 
her. The image of St. Catharine of Sienna has often driven away devils, 
and wrought several other extraordinary miracles. Our Lady of Lucca, 
being treated in a very insolent manner by a soldier, who threw stones at 
her, and had nearly broken the head of the young Jesus, whom she held 
in her right arm, placed the child in a moment on her left! and the child 
liked that situation so well, that since that accident he has never changed 
it! It would be tedious here to give the history of several other miracu¬ 
lous images, there being entire books written upon the subject, to which 
we must refer the curious reader. 

By the sacred or holy shroud, is meant that in which the body of the 
Redeemer was wrapped in the sepulchre, while the soul descended into 
hell to triumph over death and the grave. There are two 

The holy * & 

shrouds. celebrated shrouds in Europe ; that of Besan^on, and that 

of Turin. Both of these were brought from Palestine in the time of the 
Crusades, about the beginning of the twelfth century. 

The shroud of Besangon is famous for the miracles it has wrought. It 
has even raised the dead ; and this resurrection, which happened in the 
fourteenth century, considerably increased its reputation. 

Shroud of Be- J 

sangon. The Church of St. Stephen, where this sacred relic was 

once kept, was soon found too small. The vast crowd of devotees who 
docked in from all quarters to see it, obliged them to erect a wooden 
theatre before the church, and afterwards a stone one, from whence-it is 
exposed to public view twice a year, viz. on Easter-day and on the Sun- 














































































•Jay after Ascension. Chifflet, in his Dissertation, has preserved tho 
memory of the miracles which were performed by this relic. It has seve¬ 
ral times cured desperate distempers, restored the blind to sight, put a stop 
to the plague ; nay, the very images of this holy relic have wrought mi¬ 
raculous cures. 

The holy shroud of Turin falls nothing short of the other : this, like¬ 
wise, was brought from Jerusalem, and we are informed by Chifflet, that 
after two or three times changing its situation, it fixed itself 
bhroud of Turin. at ] ast at Turin, in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, which 

is within the cathedral. This relic is noted equally with the other for 
its surprising miracles. In 1534, its very presence only delivered some 
that were possessed of devils; and if the father of a certain child, who 
saw his son drowning, had not invoked its aid and assistance, the youth 
would have been inevitably lost. It is exposed to public view on the 
fourth of May, being its festival, which was instituted by Julius II. in 
1506. According to Chifflet, the shroud was then at Chamberg. The 
plague which raged in Italy, in 1578, was the cause of its being brought 
to Turin. Duke Emanuel Philibert, who had it translated, promised to 
restore it to the people of Chamberg; but neither he nor his successors 
ever performed that promise; and the Savoyards complain that their 
country has been exposed to great calamities ever since it has been re¬ 
moved. The mule which carried the sacred relic, and would not stir 
one step beyond the gate of Chamberg, is a manifest proof of the right 
which the inhabitants possess to such an invaluable property. Pope 
Julius established a society in honour of this sacred relic, to comply with 
the devotion of Duke Charles and Claude his mother. He added indulg¬ 
ences for those who visited its chapel and paid their devotions there on 
stated days. 

Besides these two shrouds, there is one deposited in the church of St 
Cornelius, at Compiegne. There are three others at Rome ; one at Milan ; 
one at Lisbon ; and one at Aix-la-Chapelle : most of them are known by 
the name of Veronica. There are likewise two others in the latter city; 
one called the Holy Garment in which Joseph of Arimatliea wrapped the 
body of Our Blessed Saviour, when he put him into the sepulchre ; the 
other, which they particularly call the Holy Handkerchief, is that with 
which the face of Christ was covered, and which St. Peter found in a 
separate place from the other vestments , as an infallible testimony that 
Christ was risen. 

No layman is permitted to make use of any sacred utensils whatsoever. 
Sacred Vessels, It is the privilege of the clergy alone to handle them : this 
die altar. custom is borrowed from the Jews. 

The Chalice must be made either of gold or silver: in the infancy of 
the church, the chalices were all wood ; but in process of time they were 


•258 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 











































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


•259 


The Cliahce 


made of glass or marble, and at last of silver or gold. 


The 


The Tix. 


bishop is obliged to consecrate the chalices, as well as the 
patens, both within and without. Small chalices, generally, are nine 
inches in height, and large ones eleven or twelve. 

The Paten must be made of the same metal as the chalice, and the use 
of it is to hold the consecrated host; it must likewise be answerable to 
the size of the chalice, that is, about six or eight inches in 

The Paten. ,. 

diameter. 

The Fix, in which the Holy Sacrament is deposited, must be, at least, 
of silver, gilt within, and its foot must be half a span high. The height 
of the cup must be proportioned to its breadth, and the bot¬ 
tom must have a gentle rising, in order the more commo- 
diously to take out the wafers when there are but few in it, and to cleanse 
it when there is occasion. The wafers are not to lie above eight days at 
most in the pix, without the latter being cleansed, lest they should happen 
to grow mouldy. A veil in the form of a tent made of a rich white stuff, 
with a fringe round it, must cover this precious repository of the wafers. 

There must likewise be a box to carry the communion to the sick, made 
of silver, gilt within ; and it must be put into a white silk purse, and hung 
about the neck, in such places as are difficult of access. The box and pix 
must be blessed.—There must be another box for large wafers, which are 
round, and rather larger than the others; and this may be made of silver, 
tin, pasteboard, &c., lined with white taffeta within, and adorned with some 
rich silk without: a round leaden plate, covered with taffeta, must be put 
into the box, that the wafers may be always ready. These wafers must 
neither be kept in too dry, nor too moist a place. Such as are too stale 
must never be made use of. 

The Sun for exposing the Holy Sacrament must be made of silver: the 
foot of the smallest must be a span in height. This sun must have two 
crystals, one third of a span in diameter, or more, that a 
large wafer may the more commodiously be put between ; 
and this must be set in a little half-moon made of silver, and gilt. One of 
the crystals must be fastened to the sun by a small chain, like the case of 
a watch : there must be a cross, likewise, over the sun. 

The Thurible may be made of silver or pewter, but there should be four 
chains to it. Two thuribles are used in processions of the Holy Sacra¬ 
ment, but at no other times. The navet must be of the 
same metal with the thurible. 

Germanus, of Constantinople, says, that the thurible represents the hu¬ 
man nature of Christ. The burning of the perfume is his divine nature; 
the perfume itself, the Holy Ghost: the incense is the emblem of penance, 
of preaching the gospel, and the prayers of the faithful. It also repre¬ 
sents the virtues and good works of the saints. The thurible, according 


The Sun. 


The Thurible. 



















































































260 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


to St. Austin, is likewise the image of Christ’s body. St. Ambrose very 
gravely observes, that an angel appears at this ceremony. 

The Incense , which is made use of at church, must be of an odoriferous 
smell, and be a little broken before it is put into the navet, but not reduced 
to powder. 

The Holy-water pot ought to be made of silver, pewter, or tin ; the 
sprinkler of the same, or else of wood, with hog’s bristles or wolf’s hair 
, twisted round about it; and at the end of it there must be a 

J »e Hoi) water 

P° l hollow knob with holes, in which a small sponge is enclosed. 

There must be two vessels of pewter, delf, or earthenware, for washing 
the corporals, pales, purificatories, and chalices. In the place where the 
wafers are made, there must be another pewter or earthenware vessel, to 
be appropriated to this use, and no other. 

The Peace-utensil must be made of gold, silver, or embroidery, with 
some pious image of the crucifix, or other mystery, upon it. It must be 
The Peace men ^alf a span high, not quite an inch broad, and end in a 

sil - semicircle at top. There must be a small handle to hold 

it by, to w T hich a veil must be fastened, of the colour of the service of the 
day to wipe it with. 

The Corporals must be made of fine white linen ; not too thin, nor 

stitched, and without lace; but if there be any lace, it must be very nar¬ 

row, and not more than two fingers broad at the projecting 
edge. In that part where the priest most commonly kisses 
the altar, a small cross must be placed, and made of white silk, or thread, 
in this form 03. The corporals must be folded in such a manner, that all 
the ends may be inside, and not seen. 

The use of corporals is said to have been appointed by Pope Eusebius, 
or by Sylvester I. This represents the sheet in which our Saviour’s body 
was wrapped after his death, and for that reason can be made of nothing 
but linen. 

The Pales must be made of the same linen as the corporals, and lined 
with stiffening pasteboard. Upon these there must be neither embroidery, 
cross or image, nor any lace round them ; but four small 
tassels only at the four corners to hold them by. They 
must be blessed with the corporals, and no person under a sub-deacon may 
presume to touch them. 

The Purificatories are made of linen, and are two spans in length : 

The Purifieato- are folded three times double, and there must be a 

ries - small cross of blue thread in the middle of them. 

The outside of the Purses for the corporals is made of the same kind 
of stuff as the other decorations, but the inside is lined with fine white 
linen, with a strong pasteboard between. These purses are 

The Purses . r 

about a span wide, are fastened by a button and loop, and 


The Corporals. 


The Pales. 
































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


2G1 


h«»ve a cross embroidered on the outside, of about three-quarters of a span 
in length. 

The Veil of the Chalice is made of silk, and of the same colour as the 

The Veil of the rest decorations 5 it is three spans square, and has no 

chalice. cross, or any other figure whatever. 

In those churches in which the solemn service is performed, the sub¬ 
deacon must have veils of ten spans long and as wide as the silk, of four 
colours, viz. white, red, green, and purple, wherewith to hold up the paten 
at high mass. Black veils are never made use of, not even at masses for 
the dead, nor even on Good Friday. They must be made, therefore, of 
white silk, and be edged with lace. AleVs Ritual adds, “that in the most 
celebrated churches, there must be another white veil of the same size, 
but more costly, to throw over the shoulders of the celebrant, when he 
carries the host in procession; and in the parish-church there must be a 
canopy likewise of white silk, for the holy viaticum , when it is carried to 
the sick, of five or six spans long, and four wide, or rather more. The 
vallance, with the fringe, must be a span and a half deep, and both must 
be made of white silk. It must be carried with two poles of five or six 
spans long, which are covered with the same silk as the canopy, if they 
are neither painted nor gilt.” He who carries the Holy Sacrament to the 
sick is inferior to him who carries it in procession. 

There must be veils, likewise, or covers, to the crosses and images in 
Passion-week, which must be made of camlet, or some other stuff of purple 
colour, but without any figure, image, cross, or other implements of the 
Passion. 

In every parish-church there ought to be a standard, about nine or ten 
spans high, and six long, of a colour suitable to its patron ; and in the 
middle of it the patron must be represented in embroidery. This stand¬ 
ard must be of satin, damask, taffeta, or camlet, lined with linen, or a light 
stuff, and have a silk border, and a fringe all round it. The pole of it 
must be about three yards long. 

The pope performs the ceremony of baptizing and giving his benedic¬ 
tion to the Agnus DeVs in the first year of his pontificate, and repeats it 
. on everv seventh year. These Aznuses are a sort of pas- 

The Benediction j j o a . 

of the Agnus Dei. tils, made of wax, in the form of an oval medal, upon which 
Jesus Christ is represented under the appearance of a lamb, holding a 
cross; for which reason they are called Agnuses. The wax was formerly 
provided by one of the gentlemen of his holiness’s chamber, who held his 
office from the master or chamberlain of the sacred palace. Those who 
were desirous to have any Agnuses, laid some wax upon the altar of St. 
Peter and an apostolic sub-deacon fetched it thence, and carried it to an 
apartment in the pontiff’s palace. The sub-deacon and his colleagues, 
assisted by some of the acolytes, moulded the wax, and with great devotion 






































































2G3 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

and neatness made it up into « Agnuses, according to the directions of the 
Roman ceremonial. These sacred pastils are now provided at the expense 
of the apostolic chamber. The wax, which is the ground-work or sub¬ 
stance of them, is melted in a quantity of sacred oil or chrism of the pre~ 
ceding year. When the materials are completely prepared, the Agnuses 
are presented to the pontiff in one or more basins, and he gives them his 
benediction. 

On Easter Tuesday the sacristan performs the benediction over the 
water used for baptizing the Agnuses; and the next day, as soon as the 
pontifical mass is ended, his holiness, dressed in his arnict, his albe, his 
stole of white damask with a silver lace, and having a mitre of cloth of 
gold upon his head, consecrates the water which was blessed by tbe 
sacristan on the preceding day. This water is put into a large silver 
basin; the consecration consists of the usual blessings, to which the holy 
father adds a prayer to Almighty God, that he would vouchsafe to sanctify 
those things which wash away the sins of mankind, &c., after which he 
takes some balm, and pours it into the water, adding thereto the holy 
chrism, which he likewise pours into it, in the form of a cross. He offers 
up several prayers to God during the performance of this ceremony ; then 
he turns to the Agnuses , blesses and incenses them, imploring God to 
shower down upon them all the virtues generally ascribed to them. A 
second and third prayer follow; after which, his holiness, seated in an 
easy chair, prepared purposely for him, having a napkin girt about him 
and his mitre on, takes the Agnuses , which the gentlemen of the cham¬ 
ber present him in silver gilt basins, one after another, and throws them 
into the holy water. 

The cardinals, in their fine linen albes, take them out the next moment, 
with a spoon made use of for no other purpose. Their eminences after¬ 
wards lay them on a table covered with a clean white cloth, and there 
wipe them with a napkin, which they likewise wear in the form of an 
apron, and the assistant prelates range them upon the table, where they 
are left till they are thoroughly dry. After this baptism is over, the holy 
father rises, and in a prayer addresses himself to the Holy Ghost, beseech¬ 
ing him to bless them ; and then makes his application to Jesus Christ : 
after this, they are put into the basins again, and his holiness invites all the 
cardinals who have assisted him in this office to dine with him. This 
work is resumed on the Thursday following, and continued till the Friday, 
when they are all blessed. This ceremony is performed in the presence 
of several ambassadors, and a multitude of strangers, whom curiosity brings 
thither to be spectators. 

On the following Saturday, being the day on which the Agnuses are 
distributed, a chapel is held, and a mass is sung by a cardinal-priest, at 
which his holiness assists in pontificalibus. As soon as the Agnus Dei is 





















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


263 


sung, an ap stolic sub-deacon, dressed in his robes, with a cross-bearer, 
two wax-taper bearers, and the thuriferary before him, goes to the pon¬ 
tiff’s sacristan, and takes from him a basin-full of the Agnus Deis , lately 
blessed, and wrapped up in parti-coloured China cotton. The sub-deaccn 
is followed by a clerk of the ceremonies, and two chaplains in their sur¬ 
plices. When these arrive at the door of the chapel, they all kneel, and 
the sub-deacon, with an audible voice, sings these words in Latin :—“Holy 
father, these are the new lambs, who have sung their hallelujahs to you. 
They drank, not long ago, at the fountain of holy water. They are now 
very much enlightened.—Praise the Lord !” To which the music in the 
choir answers, “God be praised : hallelujah!”—After this, the sub-deacon 
rises and walks forward. As soon as he gets to the entrance of the balus¬ 
trade in the chapel, he repeats the words just before mentioned. When 
he approaches the pontifical throne, he repeats them a third time, and 
prostrates himself at the feet of his holiness, who receives him sitting, 
with his mitre on. When the cross enters, however, he and the whole 
congregation rise ; but the holy father sits down again immediately, though 
the sub-deacon remains kneeling at his feet, while he distributes the Ag- 
nuses in the following manner :— 

Two auditors take a fine white napkin, and present it to two cardinal- 
deacons assistants, who lay it, in a decent manner, on the knees of his 
holiness ; and the two former hold the two ends of the napkin, while the 
sacred college partake of the holy father’s munificence. Their eminences, 
after their usual testimonies of respect and veneration, present their mitres, 
with the horns downwards,* to his holiness, who puts as many Agnuses 
as he thinks proper into them. Formerly, he bestowed no more than 
three to each of the sacred college, two to the other prelates, and one to 
the clergy, &c. Their eminences, in return, kiss his holiness’s hand and 
knee. After they and the clergy have received their share, several am¬ 
bassadors, and other persons of distinction, come forward with white 
napkins, to partake in their turn, but not so liberally, of these spiritual 
benefits. 

The distribution thus made, the pope washes his hands, the sacred col¬ 
lege unrobe, the celebrant returns to the altar, mass concludes with a 
double hallelujah, and his holiness bestows his benediction on his children, 
with a great many indulgences, which are published by the celebrant. 
The popes, as we find by the Roman Ceremonial , had, formerly, a basin¬ 
ful of Agnuses brought to the table after dinner, which they had distri¬ 
buted among the apostolic court. 

All the Agnus DeVs which remain out of the prodigious number that 
have been blessed, are left in the prelate’s custody, who is master of the 
pope’s wardrobe; and he distributes them every day, at certain hours, 
among the pilgrims and other foreigners who go and ask for them. By 











































































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one of the constitutions of Pope Gregory the Thirteenth, made in 157 
all those who were not in holy orders were forbidden to touch these Agnus 
Dei' unless on some emergent occasion; and as a still further precaution, 
all laymen were directed to have them set in glass, or crystal ; and that 
those who had the means of wrapping them up in some rich embroidery 
should so order it, that the Agnus might appear on one side as in a reli¬ 
quary. Painting them was likewise prohibited by the same constitution, 
upon pain of excommunication ; the whiteness of the wax, in which these 
figures in relievo were formed, being esteemed by Pope Gregory more 
suitable than any other colour whatsoever to represent the immaculate 
Lamb of God; which are the words made use of by all the popes, from 
Gregory the Thirteenth to this day, in speaking of the miraculous effects 
of Agnuses. 

Before the person to be canonized is registered among the number of 
the saints, his holiness holds four consistories. The first two are private, 
_ . . the third public, and the fourth between both. In the first, 

rhe Saints. he causes the petition of those who demand to have their 

saint universally acknowledged as such in the Catholic Church, to be 
examined by three auditors of the rota, and directs the cardinals to revise 
all the instruments relating thereunto. In the second, the cardinals make 
their report. The third being held in public, the cardinals pay their 
adoration to his holiness; after which, one of the consistorial advocates 
makes the eulogium of the person who is to be proclaimed a saint, and 
gives a long and particular account of the life and miracles of this faithful 
servant of God. The fourth consistory is held in the ducal hall, wffiere his 
holiness assists in his plain mitre and pluvial, at which no adoration is 
paid to him. Patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, prothonotaries, and audi¬ 
tors of the rota, are admitted at this consistory, and the train-bearers per¬ 
form their office dressed in purple ; but after the extra, everybody goes 
out but the prelates before mentioned. This consistory is held for taking 
the votes of those prelates who are for and against the canonization, and 
as soon as it is resolved upon by a plurality of voices, the pope intimates 
the day appointed for the ceremony. 

On the canonization-day the pope officiates in white, and the cardinals 
are dressed in the same colour. St. Peter’s church is hung with rich 
tapestry, upon which appear the arms of his holiness, or of that prince or 
state which requires the canonization, embroidered with gold and silver, 
and the church is most pompously illuminated. 

Canonization is attended with immense expense to those princes who are 
desirous of the glory of procuring it for some favourite Christian. Beati¬ 
fication is in some measure the forerunner of it; for beatitude naturally 
leads to sanctity, and to a supposition that he that is accounted blessed 
here below ought to be acknowledged as such in heaven. 

































































































The surprising virtues which were discovered in the relics of saints, for 
the cure of those who were diseased, and for the salvation of men’s souls, 
gave birth to their translation. It was likewise the received opinion, that 
the bodies of the saints were able to draw down the blessino-s of heaven on 

o 

cities and states; accordingly nations put themselves under their protec¬ 
tion. The numberless miracles which are related in the legends, as well 
ancient as modern, convinced the populace that the protection of saints was 
a circumstance of the first importance. Their images were erected in their 
churches, and their names included in their litanies. To that time canoni¬ 
zations were made by a tacit consent of the clergy, without the least for¬ 
mality ; but the use of registers, known by the name of Diptics, had ob¬ 
tained long before that, in which were set down the names of martyrs, and 
those who died in a reputation for holiness, after having distinguished them¬ 
selves by a virtuous life. 

There is no instance of a solemn canonization before that of St. Sibert, 
whom Pope Leo III. canonized about the beginning of the ninth century; 
though some attribute the first solemn canonization to Pope Adrian, and 
others are of opinion that St. Ulric, who was canonized by Pope John XIV 
or XV. in 993, was the first saint canonized in form ; and some again 
ascribe the glory of this institution to Pope Alexander III. 

A magnificent theatre is always erected in St. Peter’s church for the 
ceremony of canonization. On the day the ceremony is to be performed, 
the entrance to the theatre is lined by the Swiss guards, who are likewise 
posted at the doors of the basilica; a detachment of the horse-guards is 
drawn up in St. Peter’s square, another of the cuirassiers in that of the 
Vatican, and a third in all the streets through which the procession passes. 
These guards, together with those which are posted in the other quarters 
of Rome, and the garrison of St. Angelo, make a general discharge of their 
artillery when the signal is given that the ceremony is begun, and all the 
bells of the city are rung at the same time. Te Deum likewise is sung to 
instrumental music, &c. 

The following is a description of the honours which Pope Clement XI. 
paid, in 1712, to those saints who were publicly acknowledged by his holi¬ 
ness as the mediators of all Christians with Jesus Christ. 

All the avenues of St. Peter’s were lined with troops on the twenty- 
second of May, and the whole force was scarcely sufficient to withstand 
the impetuous movements of the vast concourse of people, of all ages and 
sexes, whom devotion and curiosity had brought thither to see the cere¬ 
mony. This prodigious concourse of all ranks and degrees flocked from 
every part of Rome to St. Peter’s by break of day; while the clergy,both 
secular and regular, according to the order issued to them, assembled at the 
Vatican. The cardinal-deacons then robed the pope in his proper orna¬ 
ments ; after which his holiness set out for Sixtus’s chapel, with the crss 


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clay honoured him with a visit, in the same posture in which he was cru¬ 
cified, that is, with his heels upwards. 

St. Francis silenced the swallows who interrupted him in his sermon, so 
that they stood still and mute with awe and wonder, while he expounded 
!>.] the truths of the gospel. 

St. Anthony of Padua likewise, being unable to gain the attention of the 






Vfl 


before, and the clergy behind him. As soon as he arrived there, he made 
the sign of the cross over his devout retinue, took off his triple crown, and 
kneeling down, prayed before the altar. Afterwards he gave out the 
hymn, which begins with these words, Ave Maria Stella. &c., and then 
kneeled down again, till the music of the chapel had concluded. The 
holy father now arose, put on his mitre, returned to his chair, and there 
received from Cardinal Albani, who was his nephew, and petitioner for the 
canonization, two large painted tapers, and a small one, with the arms of 
his holiness and the images of the candidate saints upon them. His emi¬ 
nence, at presenting them, kissed the hand and knee of the pontiff. One 
of these large tapers was, by the directions of his holiness, given to the 
constable Colonna, in order to carry it in the procession before him, and to 
hold it in his hand during the ceremony of canonization. The other was 
not disposed of, there being no person present of suitable quality to walk 
abreast with the constable on this solemn occasion. The small taper was 
given to the cup-bearer, first chamberlain to his holiness, but a general 
distribution of tapers was first made among the clergy, each of them being 
distinguished according to his rank and dignity. 

It is related of St. Raymond of Pennaforte, that, after having long cen¬ 
sured the dissolute deportment of a king of Spain, without being able to 
„ , , wean him from his criminal enoao-ements, he determined to 

modern saints. leave him to his own wicked inclinations, and to embark 
for Barcelona. But his majesty having charged all persons not to take 
L(© him on board, St. Raymond revived the miracle of our Saviour’s walking 
; upon the water ; he threw his cloak into the sea, and taking his staff in 
his hand, embarked in this new kind of boat, and arrived safe in Catalonia. 
The very gate of the convent to which he belonged, opened of itself at the 
saint’s approach. 

St. Peter of Nola, who styled himself an unprofitable servant,—that off- 
scouring of the earth , and mere nothing ,—had very frequent and familiar 
discourses with God and the Blessed Virgin. The apostle St. Peter one 





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heretics, desired them to go to the sea-side, in order to convince them of the ~ 
tractable disposition of the fishes, which immediately left their streams to 
hearken to his preaching, and stood erect on their tails, enraptured with his 
■] pi .jus discourses. 

St. Francis of Paula was endowed with a supernatural strength. % He 
' ' /: "-/.carried away, without any assistance, a prodigious large rock, which ob 




















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


207 


structed the foundation of the dormitory of a monastery which he was 
building. He likewise hung up in the air a piece of rock which broke 
from a mountain, and threatened to demolish his new edifice and to dash 
in pieces a great number of his workmen. He afterwards supported it 
with his staff, and left it for a long time in that position, exposed to public 
view, to the edification of a multitude of people, who resorted thither in 
crowds to see such a miracle. This rock was afterwards made use of in 
finishing his new monastery. 

Manna has been often seen to fall on St. Agnes of Monte Pulciano in 
the form of a cross. The Blessed Virgin appeared to her on one of the 
festivals of the Assumption, with the child Jesus in her arms, whom she 
permitted to embrace and press to her breast. At her departure, she left 
the saint a cross, which the child Jesus wore about his neck. We shall 
take no notice of the rose that appeared in the middle of winter, in a little 
dish which this female saint served up to two hermits; but we cannot for¬ 
bear mentioning the advances, in point of complaisance, which she made 
after her decease to St. Catherine of Sienna, who went to pay her a visit 
at her sepulchre: while the living saint was stooping down to kiss the feet 
of the dead one, the latter, through an excess of humility, lifted up her 
foot, and touched the other’s lips. 

St. Bona venture, the celebrated author of the “Psalter of Our Lady,” 
which was printed in 1665, not being able to take the sacrament in the 
usual way, through a violent indisposition in his stomach, had the holy pyx 
placed upon his breast, and the sacred wafer instantly penetrated that way 
into his very bowels, in order to become the life of his soul. 

St. Ignatius, who was given over by the physicians, was visited by St. 
Peter, who, by a touch with his hands, wrought on him a miraculous cure. 
After that the Blessed Virgin paid him a visit, and made him a present 
at the same time of a celestial ointment called the “Balm of Chastity.” 
When he was upon his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he determined to visit 
the Mount of Olives, and Christ himself condescended to be his guide. 
He cured persons afflicted with the falling sickness, cast the devils out 
of such as were possessed, and recovered several by permitting them 
to touch the hem of his garment. To conclude, the number of miracles 
which are said to be wrought by him amount to two hundred, or there¬ 
abouts. 

St. Clare was in such esteem with God, that without the least difficulty 
she obtained whatever she asked. From her very infancy there appeared 
in her surprising signs of her future sanctity : instead of playing like other 
children, she did nothing but pray, fast, and give alms, in her early years. 
All the saints indeed, as appears by their lives, have begun with these 
general practices of devotion ; but from her very infancy St. Clare went 
(^ further, and wore a hair-cloth to mortify the flesh, and to put a stop to all 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


irregular passions. She was very seldom alone in the heat of her pious 
exercises. A ver}’’ beautiful child, with two radiant wings, flew into her 
lap one day, and clasping her with them, caressed her with many fond 
endearments. At another time, although she was indisposed and unable 
to go to matins, yet she heard distinctly the office, which was sung at a 
church some considerable distance from the monastery, and what is most 
surprising, she was so happy as to see the young child Jesus lying in his 
manger. In her dying moments, Jesus was seen near her, accompanied 
by several virgins crowned with flowers. One of them in particular, who 
wore a close crown more radiant than the sun, drew near and embraced 
her; the rest spread a carpet of inestimable value over her body. The 
daughters of this holy mother, especially the nuns of the Jive Maria, 
inherited her austerities and virtues, though they did not attain the gift of 
miracles. 

St. Barbara, accompanied by two angels, gave the communion to the 
little blessed Stanislaus Kostca, who lay dangerously ill in a family who 
were heretics, and would not permit the holy sacrament to come into their 
house. He held many conversations with the Virgin Mary, “his lady, his 
mistress, and his good motherand a great number of miracles were 
wrought by his mediation after his death. When he died, the Virgin 
Mary, accompanied by several other blessed virgins, came to conduct him 
to heaven. Devils quitted the bodies they had been tormenting at the very 
name of Stanislaus. He restored as many persons to life as he was years 
old, though he lived to the age of ninety, and this extraordinary miracle 
was thought so easy for him to perform, that it grew into a proverb in Poland : 
“Let us go,” said the people, “to the blessed Stanislaus, who raises the 
dead.” The application of this young saint’s image cured a young Jesuit 
of fourteen years of age at Lima, in the year 1673, but upon this condition, 
that he should say a Pater Noster, and an Jive Maria, every day of his 
life, in honour of the little Polish saint; and that, on the eve of his festival, 
he should live upon bread and water, and once perform the spiritual exer¬ 
cises of Saint Ignatius, to the honour and glory of his blessed son Stanislaus. 
All such as were afflicted with palpitations, swellings, broken limbs, sore 
eyes, fevers, &c., were confidently assured that a little wine in which one 
of the saint’s bones had been steeped, was an infallible remedy for such 
distempers and accidents. 

St. Roche, the patron and protector of such as are infected with the 
plague, distinguished himself by several remarkable cures. The dog that 
is usually painted lying by him, charitably fed the saint, at a time when 
the pestilence was outrageous. 

The blessed St. Clare of Montefalco had the figure of Christ upon the 
cross, and all the instruments of his passion, engraved upon her heart. 
Her repeated declarations of this miracle to the nuns of her convent made 


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them curious to see if it were true, and after her death they divided her 
heart, and were convinced of the truth of her assertion. 

St. Bridget raised ten persons, that were dead, to life. St. Theresa 
appeared, after her death, (which was occasioned by an excess of divine 
love,) to several persons, to inform them of the high degree of glory to 
which she was exalted. We shall omit her wondrous visions, ana the 
love-wound made in her heart by a seraph, with a golden arrow pointed 
with red-hot steel. 

St. Didacus cured several diseased persons with the oil of a lamp which 
burned before an image of “Our Lady.” One day, having no provisions 
cn a journey he was making with one of his companions to his convent, he 
prayed to God to support them in their distress, and instantly they found 
a table spread before them upon the grass, and the entertainment, “though 
not elegant, was very wholesome and refreshing!” 

St. Xaverius raised several to life during his mission in the East Indies. 
Being in the neighbourhood of Amboyna, he calmed a raging tempest by 
plunging his crucifix into the sea. In the eagerness of the action, his 
crucifix slipped out of his hand, but an officious fish miraculously restored 
it to him in a moment, and on giving it, took care to hold it upright, to 
denote the triumph of the cross over the infidels ! 

St. Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was amply rewarded 
for the violent death he suffered, by the numerous miracles he wrought 
afterwards, and which, if we may believe Father Giry, he still continues 
to perform : no sooner was this saint buried, than he declared himself the 
physician of a multitude of sick persons. It is very remarkable that the 
saints of the latter ages go far beyond those of the apostle’s days in raising 
the dead to life. 

The blessed St. Rosa was under five years old when she consecrated 
herself to God. Father Oliva observes, in his eulogium on this saint, that 
mankind had an infinite loss in God’s not creating Rosa in the terrestrial 
paradise instead of Eve !—Her ambition to suffer made her ingenious in 
searching out the means of mortifying herself. This pious maid would 
frequently rub her cheeks and eyes with the bark and powder of Indian 
pepper, to prevent her from going to balls, or appearing in company; for 
the sharpness of the pepper made her face all bloated and full of ulcers. 
Rosa had the glory, moreover, of finding out fresh methods of mortification 
every day, and of reproaching nature perpetually with the enormous crime 
of having made her so handsome. It is certain, that nothing is so shock¬ 
ing and insupportable to saints of a mystical constitution as corporeal 
beauty, which they relinquish to the devil, together with all other sensual 
enjoyments. 

The blessed Rosa, like Jesus Christ, multiplied loaves, and she miracu¬ 
lously replenished an empty vessel to comfort her mother, who was sick 


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with celestial honey. Her vocation, or call, has no parallel instance in the 
history of the saints. As she was passing by the church of St. Dominic, 
for whom she ever had a particular esteem, she found herself inspired to 
go in, and pay her last respects to the image of Our Lady of the Rosary. 
No sooner was she on her knees, than she remained immovable, and 
nailed, as it were, to the ground. Astonished at so extraordinary a pro¬ 
digy, she promised the Blessed Virgin to become a nun of the third order 
of St. Dominic; and, as soon as she had finished her prayer, she, without 
the least difficulty, accomplished that in a moment, which she had not been 
able to do in several hours before with great and repeated efforts. 

Rosa, at her commencing a new life, thought it a duty incumbent upon 
her to invent new austerities. She tied a great chain thrice round her 
waist; and having put a padlock upon it, she threw the key into a well. 
She long bore with patience the pains which this chain gave her, but at 
length was obliged to seek relief, and human means failing, she made her 
application to the Blessed Virgin, who immediately opened the lock. The 
blessed Rosa, thinking her lodgings at her mother’s too commodious, deter¬ 
mined to build herself a sorry hut at the end of the garden. She was soon 
attacked by a whole army of gnats; and, as they interrupted her contem¬ 
plations, she thought proper to make a truce with them upon the following 
conditions :—The gnats were allowed to shelter themselves in the cell during 
excessive heat or cold ; and they stipulated on their side never to incom¬ 
mode her more, and even to withdraw, whenever she found them in any 
way offensive. We cannot forbear observing, that the largest trees in the 
garden, when Rosa passed by them to her- cell, bent down their branches, 
and their trunks also, as a testimony of their profound veneration. 

The Church calls the Holy Virgin in her litanies the Mother of God, 
the Queen of Angels, the Refuge of Sinners, the Mother of Mercy, the 

Devotion paid to ^ ate Heaven, the Mystic Rose, the Virgin of Virgins, &c. 
the Blessed Virgin. There is no title of honour which some divines of the Church, 

and particularly modern ones, have not bestowed on the Virgin Mary. 
Having robbed paganism of every thing that was most magnificent and 
glaring, to bestow it on the mother of Jesus Christ, they have continued 
to invent such splendid names as even the most fruitful imagination of the 
poets was never capable of devising. The heresies against her insensibly 
produced an excess of reverence and devotion to her. In the earliest ages 
of the Church, she was called Queen of Angels, and Mother of God ; 
afterwards, the controversies which arose on her account made her advo¬ 
cates advance every thing they could think of to make her considerable 
against heretics. She has been looked upon as the disposer and depository 
of God’s favours, the Treasurer, and even Queen of Heaven, the Spring 
and Fountain of Salvation and Life, the Gate of Paradise, the Mother of 
Light, and Intercessor between God and Man ; the Hope of Mankind, and 
































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


2 ' 



the Ocean of the Deity. Some authors have styled her “ Goddess and 
Father Salazar, about the end of the sixteenth century, declared her the 
Accomplishment of the Trinity. The Psalter, and indeed the whole Bible, 
had been applied to her long before that declaration ; and it has been 
proved, both by miracles and apparitions, that the Blessed Virgin appeases 
the wrath of Christ against sinners; and that she has the power of absolv¬ 
ing, binding, and loosening. 

Whoever hopes to draw down the blessings of the Virgin upon him, 
must salute her every day, both at his going out and coming in. The 
legends have transmitted to us several remarkable instances of the advan- 
tages arising from the Ave Maria; not to mention the thousand days’ 
indulgences granted by several popes, particularly Leo X. and Paul V., 
to all those who shall repeat it at the hour of the Angelas. Christians, 
however, are not so exact in the practice of this sort of devotion as to imi¬ 
tate St. Marguerite of Hungary, who said an Ave kneeling, before everv 
image of the Virgin which she met with on her way ; nor St. Catherine 
of Sienna, who repeated as many Aves as she went up steps to her house. 
Fasting on Saturday, in honour of the Virgin Mary, is still looked upon, in 
Catholic countries, as a treasure of indulgences and delights, and as an 
excellent preservative against eternal damnation. 

The greatest part of the holy and immaculate Virgin’s hair has been 
preserved ; and as to her milk , the good Catholics tell us that not one 
„ drop of it was ever lost; innumerable relics having been 

Blessed virgin, made of it immediately after our Saviour’s nativity. A 
portion of it is to be seen in different parts of Christendom; and that church 
or monastery which is in possession of such an invaluable relic, considers 
itself as peculiarly blessed. Our Lady’s wedding-ring is preserved with 
the utmost respect at Perouse; the fate and miracles of which are all 
described in a book published in the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
entitled, De Annulo Pronubo Deiparse Virginis, autore J. Bapt. Lauro. 
Colon. 1626. The Blessed Virgin’s clothes are to be seen at Rome, and 
several other places ; her shifts at Chartres and Aix-la-Chapelle ; one of 
her handkerchiefs at Treves; her girdles at Our Lady of Montserrat at 
Prato, &c.; one of her combs at Rome, another at Besan^on ; her shoes at 
Our Lady of Puy and St. Flour; and one of her slippers in Brittany. 
The measure of her foot is in the custody of the Spaniards. To conclude, 
it is not to be questioned, but that all the various pieces of her goods, 
kitchen-furniture, toilette, and implements of household, have been care¬ 
fully preserved; her gloves, head-clothes, veils, bed, chair, and the stones 
on which she washed our Lord’s swaddling-clothes—her candles, the oil 
for her lamp, and all her earthen-ware, are still exposed to public view. It 
is true, indeed, that these things were lost for several ages ; but the monks 
have had the good fortune to find them one after another. No relic of hei 































































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272 


The Jubilee. 






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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

sacred body has been left upon earth ; it having been taken up to heaven 
in its perfect form, without injury or mutilation. 

The jubilee, as to its origin, is half Jewish, half Pagan. That joyful 
season procured liberty among the Jews to those who were slaves ; an 
acquittance from their debts to those who were poor, and 
the recovery of their effects to those who, through necessity, 
had been obliged to pawn them. The ground itself was not cultivated 
during the year of the Jewish jubilee. The pope, by the Catholic jubilee, 
of which the former was but a type, grants the like privileges to Christians. 
It is a year of rest to them; for his holiness absolves them from sin, 
relieves the spiritual poverty of the penitent, by opening the treasures of 
the divine mercy to him, remits his debts, and restores him to the posses¬ 
sion of his celestial effects. 

Pope Boniface VIII., upon his institution of the grand jubilee, expressly 
declared by his Bull, that “ Those who should visit the basilicas of St. 
Peter and St. Paul in the year 1300, and every hundred years afterwards, 
after a free confession and sincere repentance of their sins, should obtain a 
full remission, together with several indulgences, as extensive as it was 
possible to grant them to repenting sinners.” “It does not appear,” says 
M. Turtin, “that his holiness had any regard to the Jubilee of the Jews, 
since he not only declined the name of jubilee, but, on the contrary, dou¬ 
bled the time prescribed to them.” But with Clement VI. the case was 
different. This pope called that institution “the Jubilee,” and ordered it 
to be celebrated every fifty years. 

Several Roman Catholic writers are of opinion that the jubilee of the 
Christians bears a very near affinity to the secular games of the ancient 
Romans. 

Clement VI. ordered the jubilee to be celebrated twice in a hundred 
years. Urban VI. reduced the term to thirty-three years. Boniface IX. 
solemnized it in nine years after; and in process of time, a bull ol Sixtus 
IV. established it once in twenty-five years. His predecessor Paul II. had 
before fixed it, by a decree of the year 1470, to the same time. Sixtus 
IV., however, celebrated a jubilee in 1475 ; and Alexander VI., not con¬ 
tented with a solemnization of it in 1498, revived it in 1500. 

The decrees of Paul II. and Sixtus IV., however, do not hinder the 
popes from declaring a universal jubilee on their exaltation to the pontifi¬ 
cate, as well as on some other extraordinary occasions. The holy gates, 
however, are never opened but for the twenty-fifth year’s jubilee, which, 
if we may be allowed the expression, brings with it a universal indulgence ; 
for “ the hearts of the faithful are comforted thereby, and joy entereth into 
the house of the Lord.” 

The jubilee grants to those confessors who are approved by their supe- 
liors, a power to absolve in all reserved cases, also from all censures and 







































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


273 


1 
5 ’ 


the greater excommunication ; to annul all suspensions relating both to 
benefices and ecclesiastical offices, and to take off interdicts. It permits 
them likewise to alter vows, in case they have no relation to religion or to 
chastity ; or that they are not of the nature of those which engage to per 
form certain pilgrimages, such as those to Rome, Jerusalem, and St. James 
of Galicia. 

When his holiness has appointed the jubilee, he gives notice of it, by 
h:s apostolic letters, to all the prelates throughout Christendom ; and thesej oj 
cause it to be published in their respective dioceses, with proper exhorta¬ 
tions, in order that the faithful may put themselves into a condition of 
obtaining those advantages which attend it. The intentions of the holy 
father are explained ; those churches which are to be visited are nomi¬ 
nated ; certain acts of devotion, which are always attended with proper 
indulgences, are prescribed ; and proper litanies, and prayers peculiar to 
the solemn occasion of the jubilee, and to the subject which procures it, 
are caused to be printed. No society, no religious order, must absent 
itself from the processions which are ordered for celebrating this act of "V V 
devotion. The people, with their magistrates, and the rest of their supen'jhY 
riors, are invited to attend it with all the modesty required by an act of 
religion. On those days which are set apart for fasting and repentance, 
the bishop and his clergy are enjoined to appear overwhelmed with sor¬ 
row, and filled with sentiments of humiliation. They are to pray with 
heart and mouth to the Almighty, and to offer him the fruits of a sincere 
contrition, which consists in the renunciation of all those engagements by 
which men are in general devoted to the world, and in a strong resolution 
to instruct the people by their own pious example. 

The pope notifies the universal jubilee, by a bull which he causes to be 
published the preceding year, on Ascension-day, at the time of his giving 1 
the solemn benediction. An apostolical sub-deacon begins the publication, 
in the presence of the whole Court of Rome, reading a bull in Latin; and 
after him, another sub-deacon reads it with an audible voice to the people 
in Italian. As soon as he has finished, the pope’s twelve trumpets in 
ordinary begin to sound, and, immediately after them, twelve huntsmen 
sound their silver horns, by way of concert, at the same time that the 
whole of the artillery of the castle of St. Angelo are discharged. 

On the fourth Sunday in Advent, the apostolical sub-deacons publish 
the bull for the jubilee a second time, and, on the three days which imme¬ 
diately precede Christmas-day, the bells throughout the whole city pro¬ 
claim the solemnity, which is to commence the next day. 

On the twenty-fourth day of December, of the holy year, all the secular 
and regular clergy assemble together at the apostolic palace, and thence 


march in procession to St. Peter’s at the Vatican. When the clergy come 
into the great square before St. Peter’s, they find the doors of the church 


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shut, and all the entrances of the portico lined with guards, to hinder the 
mob from getting in. The pope, the cardinals, and bishops, dressed in 
their white damask robes, having their mitres on, now meet in Sixtus’s 
Chapel, at which place his holiness sings the Veni Creator , with a lighted 
taper in his hand. All the cardinals, having each of them likewise a taper 
in their hands, come out, according to their respective rank, and repair to 
the Swiss portico, where the holy father nominates three of them as his 
legates a latere , to go and open the gates of St. John de Lateran, St. Mary 
Major, and St. Paul without the walls. Their eminences, having received 
the orders of his holiness on their knees, repair to the appointed churches, 
preceded by trumpets, hautboys, and a troop of men, half in warlike, and 
half in religious armour. Their march begins as soon as the pope has 
opened the holy gate at St. Peter’s. 

y \/ y The chief of the Roman soldiery has the charge of this holy gate, which 
is always opened by his holiness himself, unless the infirmities of age, or 
some other particular indisposition, renders him incapable ; in which case, 
the cardinal-dean officiates for him. 

The Vicar of Jesus Christ, being seated on a throne, which is raised 
before the great gate, and in the middle of the great portico of St. Peter’s, 
Opening’ of the rests himself for a short time there ; after which the prince 
Sacred Gate. 0 f the throne presents him with a golden hammer, which 
the holy father takes into his right hand; then, rising from his throne, he 
goes and knocks at the sacred gate. The sacred gates are representations 
of God’s grace. The passage of the pilgrims through them denotes the 
Christian’s passage from the state of sin to that of grace. All those who 
perform the duties appointed by his holiness, in the four basilicas at Rome, 
must pass through these holy gates. It is likewise pretended, that the 
opening of these gates represents the opening of the Church unto all men, 
provided they go to it after a sincere conversion. The holy father opens 
the gate, which signifies his having the key of the celestial treasures. The 
three blows upon the gate represent the three quarters of the world, Europe, 
Africa, and Asia, to which his holiness offers the treasures which are in his 
disposal; or it may be said, that the three strokes with the hammer are an 
excellent representation of that joy, which the jubilee gives to the faithful 
in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory 

The pope is followed by his clergy with tapers in their hands, and 
knocking thrice against the gate, says with an audible voice, Aperite mihi 
+ portas justitise,—Open unto me these gates of justice ; to which the choir 

udd, “This is the gate of the eternal, the just shall enter therein,” &c. 
In the mean time, the head masons break down the wall which closes up 
the sacred gate, and the rubbish of it is distributed among the devotees, 
who pick it up with all imaginable zeal and eagerness, in order to rank it 
among their precious relics. This wall is erected, on purpose, in such a 








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manner as to hold but very slightly by its four sides. The stones are net 
fastened with cement, on which account, as soon as the holy father knocks 
at the sacred gate, it falls without any resistance. 

Wh en the wall is demolished, the penitentiaries of St. Peter take their 
brooms, clear the gate, and sweep the bricks and the lime that remain, out 
of the passage. The mouldings, as well as other decorations round the 
gate, are now washed with holy water. When this operation is over, his 
holiness descends from his throne, and begins this anthem, “ Hxc dies 
quain fecit Dominus,—This is the day which the Lord hath made , <^c., 
which the choir repeats after him. Being arrived at the sacred gate, the 
holy father repeats several prayers, takes the cross, kneels down before the 
gate, begins the Te Deum , rises up, and passes through it, still singing as 
he goes along. His clergy follow him. Everybody now hurries into the 
church, either to witness the magnificent ceremony, or to assist at the 
vespers in the pope’s chapel. After vespers, the cardinals pull off their 
white robes, put on their red copes, attend his holiness to the door of his 
apartment, and then withdraw. On Christmas-day, after the mass of the 
day, the holy father goes to the benediction-pew, and blesses the faithful 
by way of jubilee. 

The jubilee, having lasted a year, concludes with shutting up the sacred 
gates, which is done on Christmas-Eve, twelve months after they were 

^huttin" of the ^ rst °P ene d. On that day the pope, his cardinals, the 
Sucred Gate. clergy, and the persons of the highest distinction in the 

court of Rome, go to St. Peter’s in their robes of state. Vespers are said ; 
after which the clergy, having lighted tapers in their hands, offer their 
obeisance to the holy face , which is known by the name of Veronica. 
Then his holiness sings an anthem, which begins with these words, Cum 
jucunditate exhibitis,—Ye shall go with joy. As soon as it is begun, 
every one uses the utmost expedition to get through the holy gate. The 
holy father, when everybody has gone through it, goes up to it, and turn¬ 
ing towards it, says, Jldjutorium, fyc. — Our help , <^c., together with some 
other prayers, in which he blesses the stones and mortar which are in 
tended to shut the gate, which the jubilee had opened. The pope himself 
lays the first stone, under which several medals are concealed, which serve 
to transmit the memory of this pious ceremony to future times. 

The holy father, having laid the stone, washes his hands, and returns to 
his throne; then Salvum fac populum,—Lord save thy people , fyc., is 
sung. In the mean time, the masons complete the walling up of the gate, 
in the midst of which they set a copper cross, while his holiness repeats 
some particular prayers, which he continues till the breach is perfectly 
repaired. The benediction given by the Vicar of Jesus Christ from the 
pew (which thence takes its name of the Benediction Pew) to the faithful 
assembled to receive it, concludes this piece of devotion. The cardinals 


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and clergy then throw off their robes of state, return with the pope to hia 
apartment, and his holiness entertains them with an elegant supper. 

Indulgences are the surest touchstones, of which his holiness can make 
use, to try the faith of true believers; for a great number of devotees 
imagine that they infallibly secure the attainment of Para- 

Induigences. ^j ge< Th e or — n 0 f indulgences is hinted at in a passage 

of St. Cyprian ; but the release from torments was not known by the name 
of indulgence till a long time after. It was common enough, however, in 
the seventh and eighth centuries. Pope Sergius, in the year 884, gave 
three indulgences of forty days each, to those who should visit the church 
of St. Martin on the Hills, on the festival peculiarly devoted to the service 
of that saint. 

Indulgences were originally no more than the softening of pains im¬ 
posed upon sinners condemned to penance, which in the primitive ages of 
Christianity were very severe. The church had regard to the infirmities 
of penitents, wiio could not undergo the rigour of them ; but they were at 
the same time to discover a real contrition, and with a perfect sincerity 
endeavour to purify themselves from their crimes, according to their 
strength. A relaxation from ecclesiastical pains gradually introduced into 
devotion certain practices, seemingly difficult, but yet much easier than 
spiritual worship; and nothing gave a greater scope to the abuse of indul¬ 
gences than the commutation of pains into pecuniary fines, which were 
greatly advantageous to the priests, and showed them the way of selling 
the remission of sins. St. Bernard, while preaching up the indulgences 
of Pope Eugenius III., at once inflamed the hearts of the believers of his 
age with a spirit of w r ar and contrition, and showed them that the atone¬ 
ment of their crimes, and the remission of their torments, were annexed to 
those crosses and swords wherewith he persuaded them to arm themselves 
against the infidels. 

St. Bridget declares, in her Revelations, that, in a vision which she had 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, he informed her, “That the most infallible way 
to atone for all her sins, was to procure indulgences; that, with respect to 
himself, whenever he was inclined to treat any soul with tenderness and 
affection, he would advise it to reside constantly at Rome, there being no 
place in the world where so many indulgences could be procured.” Indeed, 
there is no city more commodious than Rome for devotees who would turn 
their piety towards this object; for its basilicas have indulgences for every 
day in the year; and on festivals they are redoubled. 

Indulgences were at one time granted for all kinds of sins and crimes, 
the prices of which were rated, and the remission often set up to auction. 
A malefactor in Italy might, for ninety livres, compound for a crime, for 
which, on the other side of the Alps, he would be hanged or burnt. The 
application for indulgences was either by the payment of ready money, or 






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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


by saying, or causing to be said, certain masses; by assisting at certain 
(ffices and certain processions; by confessing and receiving the Eucha¬ 
rist ; by alms-giving, or wearing particular habits, crosses, chaplets, crowns, 
beads, &c. 

Pope Leo X. having undertaken to complete the magnificent edifice of 
the basilica of St. Peter, according to the example of Pope Julius, had 
recourse to indulgences, which he everywhere published ; and all those 
who should contribute what was demanded of them towards the erection 
of St. Peter’s, were permitted to eat eggs and cheese in Lent, and to make 
choice of their own confessor. In order to come into possession of ready 
money, the sums arising from these indulgences were farmed out to the 
highest bidders, who, not only for the purpose of reimbursing, but likewise 
of enriching themselves, chose such preachers of indulgences, and col¬ 
lectors, as they thought most proper. These were well paid to induce the 
people, in order to procure pardon, to contribute whatever such covetous 
and sacrilegious wretches insisted upon. Some of these preachers of 
indulgences raised the price and value of them to such an exorbitant 
pitch as to induce the people to imagine that they were secure of salva¬ 
tion, and of delivering souls out of purgatory, as soon as they had paid 
the money demanded for the letters testifying they had procured the indul¬ 
gence. The clerks of the farmers, likewise, who had purchased the profits 
of these indulgences, were seen daily in the taverns and brothels, carousing, 
and spending part of that money in all manner of licentiousness, which the 
poor insisted was barbarously extorted from them. 

We shall now treat of beads, chaplets, rosaries, and other accessaries to 
devotion. The historians of the Crusade wars say that Peter the Hermit 

__ . T first taught the soldiers to count their prayers by the 

ments of piety. chaplet; the use of which soon grew very common. But 
Father Giry gives some instances of prayers being said by tale or compu¬ 
tation, long before the invention of the chaplet; and Ryckle, in his life ol 
Gertrude, gives us an account of a rosary which this saint made use of at 
her devotions, in the seventh century. Saint Dominic, the founder of the 
order which bears his name, and of the holy office of the Inquisition, 
greatly advanced the credit of this instrument of devotion, by declaring, 
that the Blessed Virgin had brought him one from heaven, after a miracu¬ 
lous manner, composed of a certain number of beads, which he called the 
rosary. It is still looked upon as one of the most valuable exercises of 
devotion by a great number of Catholics; with regard to the chaplet, it is 
not to be questioned but that it came from the Mohammedans. Peter the 
Hermit borrowed it from them, in favour of those soldiers of the Holy Wars 
who were not able to read, nor to make use of a prayer-book. 

These and other instruments, or assistants to devotion, were the founda¬ 
tion of four considerable societies. That of the rosary owes its birth to tho 













































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


rosary of St. Dominic. The rosary is a large chaplet, con¬ 
sisting of one hundred and fifty beads, which make so many 
Aves. Every ten beads, divided by one something larger, make a Pater. 
The fifteen large beads are the symbols of fifteen mysteries, which are so 
many lively images, as it were, in which are to be discerned the intentions 
of the “Eternal Father in the temporal birth of his son, the casualties that 
befell him in his infancy, and not only in the private and unknown part of 
his life, but also in the glorious and immortal part of it.” The common 
chaplets contain only fifty Ave Marias and five Paternosters. Before the 
person begins to repeat his rosary, he must take it, and cross himself. He 
must in the next place repeat the Apostles’ Creed, to put himself into a 
proper disposition for prayer ; after which he must say a Pater and three 
Aves, on account of the three relations which the Blessed Virgin bears to 
the three Persons in the sacred Trinity. 

After these preliminaries, he passes on to the fifteen large beads, con¬ 
taining ten courses. The Christian devotee must observe to admit himself 
into the mysteries of each ten courses, by a prayer, which is to be found 
in those books which treat of the method of devotion with the rosary. The 
fifteen mysteries are divided into three classes: the first includes the five 
mysteries of joy ; the next five are those of sorrow, as turning upon our 
Saviour’s Passion ; and the last five, those of glory, as being destined to 
his resurrection, ascension, &c. After the rosary, the brethren who have 
the honour to bear the name of it, must say the litanies and prayers for 
those who are afflicted in mind, body, or estate, &c. They must lift up 
their hearts to the Virgin, who is the Queen of the Rosary, Empress of 
Heaven and Earth , High Treasurer of the Spiritual Finances and 
Celestial Riches: and as the true believers ought not only to pray.for each 
other, but likewise for an increase of the worship of which they make pro¬ 
fession, the brethren and sisters of the rosary must never omit this last 
article, but use their utmost endeavours to make proselytes to the faith of 
St. Dominic. 

The legendaries of the order of St. Dominic, and several others, assure 
us, that the society was appointed by an order from the Blessed Virgin, 
when St. Dominic was labouring to reduce the Albigenses, and extirpate 
heretics. After the saint’s decease, the devotion of the rosary was totally 
neglected ; but Alanus de Rupe, in 1460, or thereabouts, revived it with 
great improvements, and, for fourteen years together, used his utmost 
endeavours to procure devotees to it. The society is divided into two 
branches, one of the common, and the other of the perpetual rosary: the 
former are obliged, every week, to say the fifteen divisions of ten beads 
each, to confess, and receive the Sacrament every first Sunday in the 
month ; and, moreover, to appear at all the processions of the society. 
The faithful of the latter are under very strong obligations. The f rst 






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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


2~9 



their bulls, 
indulgences, 




duty incumbent on them is, to repeat the rosary without intermission ; that 
is, there is always some one of them who is actually saluting the Blessed 
Virgin in the name of the whole society. 

1 he solemnity of the rosary is celebrated on the first Sunday in Octo* 
ier. This festival is owing to the piety of Pope Gregory XIII. Several 
popes have confirmed the way of praying with the rosary by 
and granted to those who shall devoutly repeat it, all suitable ir 
not only plenary, but particular. 

The devotion of the scapulary is, in every respect, as exact as that 
which we have already described. After divers prayers and pious solici¬ 
tations, the Blessed Virgin granted the scapulary to Simon 

Scapulary. 0 .... 

otoch, commander of the Carmelites, in the same century 
and much about the same time that she gave the rosary to St. Dominic. 
She assured the devotee of her protection, promised to be propitious to all 
those who should join in the devotion of the scapulary, and to look upon 
them as her children. She also engaged to save all those who at the hour 
of death should be found provided with so precious a badge. 

The scapulary of the Carmelites is a small woollen garment, of a dark 
brown, or tawny colour, which goes over the stomach, back, and shoulders. 
It consists likewise of two small pieces of cloth, three or four inches square, 
tied together with two ribands. This is what the brethren of the Order 
of the Scapulary wear. 

The devotees of the scapulary celebrate the 16th of July as their festival, 
which day is likewise devoted to the service of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. 

There is nothing which flatters the heart of man more than what is 
called good works , since they are looked on by him as a formal contract, 
„ ^ or, as it were, a truce between his passions and the duties 

Religious Foun- 7 r 

dation * of his religion. A certain satirist has observed, “that a 

devotee refuses to pay his debts, though he says his prayers; that he 
plunders his neighbour, though he gives the tenth to the poor ; that he 
ruins honest families, while he is building hospitals; in short, that religion, 
with the devotee, is the counterpoise of justice.” The clergy have 
always taken advantage of this vanity and self-love, under the specious 
pretence of showing Christians the road to heaven ; but, above all, they 
have attempted to pave the way to it by foundations, which began in the 
fourth or fifth century, but the mode of which was not entirely established 
till the sixth. Nothing was at that time to be seen, but people of all ages, 
sexes, and conditions, renouncing their worldly possessions for the endow¬ 
ment of churches and convents. New practices of humility sprang up on 
all sides ; for the devotees grew dissatisfied with vigils, which to them 
appeared too weak. The priests and monks had visions, which enabled 
them to enter into an immediate correspondence with the saints of Para¬ 
dise. Measures of a more strong and strenuous kind were taken against 

































































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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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the devil, who then began to grow formidable. Several crosses were dug 
up, and relics were found, which, till that time, had never been known cr 
heard of; even some of the mouths of hell, and two or three of the doors 
of purgatory, were likewise discovered. The maps of the monks pre¬ 
cisely pointed out their height and depth. Nor was this discovery the 
least valuable and important of the age ; a prodigious number of souls got 
out of purgatory, and some of the damned escaped out of hell. Those 
who had any regard for their relations immediately took care of them, and 
new methods were in consequence invented, for alleviating the sorrows of 
those deceased persons who had their friends to appear for them. 

Masses were multiplied, and one sacrifice being now insufficient, a neces¬ 
sity arose not only for ten, twenty, or thirty, but sometimes for thirty thou- 
sand. The sovereigns of the church created new patrons. Altars and 
churches were founded without number. Swarms of monks and friars 

I / iT«'t?y<Pk 

overspread the face of the whole earth ; and this, they asserted, was all 
the work of God. Habitations were assigned, and revenues appointed 
them, which were very largely augmented by the benefactions of pious 
individuals. We may easily conceive that convents increased with devo¬ 
tion, and that those who had devoted their patrimonies to the service of the 
church found no other refuge than that of the cassoc or the veil: in short, 
a strong persuasion at that time prevailed, that God could not be served 
with decorum and propriety but by priests and friars; and nothing, indeed, 
was to be seen but cassocs, cowls, tonsures, crowns, vows of continence 
and chastity ; voluntary divorces between husband and wife,-upon a motive 
of piety, and with the intent to retire from the world, that they might pray 

• • • • o 

to God at their ease in the society of monks and hermits. 

Independently of the foundations of churches, convents, and masses, 
others were instituted for exposing or carrying the holy sacrament in pro¬ 
cession on those days which are not set apart by the church for such a 
purpose ; also, for making some particular day more famous than it origin¬ 
ally was, according to the institution of the church. Such is the founda¬ 
tion on which the holy sacrament is exposed on the festival of the patron 
of a parish, or on the festival-day of the saint whose name any person 
bears, or for whom he has a peculiar respect and veneration. There are 
likewise other foundations for offices and prayers in honour of the saints, 
at such times as their devotees have received any extraordinary mercies 
and favours from them. 

The faithful, throughout all the ages of the church, have paid great 
veneration to the relics of saints, and are said frequently to have received 
great advantages from them. Ignorant devotees imagine 

Relics of saints , . . . . . . 

that they need only to be devout to some particular relics, to 
carry them about with them, or to frequent places where they are dep 
sited, in order to die free from sin. 







































































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The antiquity of the respect for relics has been attempted to be proved 
from the translation of Joseph’s bones, when the Jews went out of Egjqit. 
It is certain, that under the Old Testament, it was thought, as it is now, 
that whatever has touched the body of a saint acquires extraordinary virtues. 
This was the opinion of the primitive Christians, and instances of it are to 
be met with in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; from whence 
we may infer, that the real body of any saint is capable of producing much 
more miraculous effects. In process of time the consequences of this no¬ 
tion of virtue and holiness were carried to a greater extent. Some pre¬ 
tended that it was necessary to collect all those things which had been 
made use of by the saints, to dig up their bodies, and to search after their 
bones and ashes. Then, temples, chapels, and altars were devoted to their 
service. The very angels concerned themselves in this important affair ; 
for they are said to have collected the bones of St. Catherine, and buried 
them upon Mount Sinai. Translations of the relics from one place to an¬ 
other began to be made in the fourth century with extraordinary solemnity, 
and the use of shrines for relics began at the same time. 

The Church always took care to have the shrines in which relics were 
deposited solemnly blessed. The purport of the prayer was, that God 
would grant his protection to those who reverenced the merits of the saints, 
and embraced their relics with humility, in order that these faithful sup¬ 
plicants might be guarded from the power of Satan, from thunder, plague, 
infectious air, wild beasts, and the malicious devices of wicked men. 

Oaths were often taken on the relics of the saints ; and the oath of the 
king of the Romans on the blood of St. Stephen at Aix-la-Chapelle, upon 
his coronation-day, is an instance of this religious custom. 

The faithful who visit relics out of devotion must touch the sacred 
limbs of the saints with more than common faith. There is a stated time 
for the public exposition of them to the devout. The relics of the church 
of Notre-Dame at Aix-la-Chapelle are exposed once in seven years with 
proclamations, one of which we shall here transcribe, that the reader may 
have a more adequate idea of the ceremony. It is as follows: 

“ The head and right arm of St. Cornelius are to be exposed ; by whose 
mediation may the Lord Jesus preserve you from the falling-sickness, and 
after this life bestow on you the kingdom of heaven. Amen. Paternoster. 
Ave Maria. Credo.' 1 

The blood of martyrs is preserved in various parts of Christendom. 
Italy and Rome, in particular, are grown famous for the vast quantity that 
is found in them ; nor is this to be wondered at, considering 


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lies. the persecutions of the primitive Christians under the Ro¬ 

man emperors. The earth at Rome is said to be stained with the blood of 
the faithful. His holiness makes presents of some of this sacred earth to 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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to Rome upon a religious motive, and are unwilling to return home with¬ 
out some salutary testimonial of their travels. 

As to the miraculous manner in which the blood of martyrs, according 
to report, has been seen to melt and run, the devout flatter themselves that 
God has been pleased to give this satisfaction to all pious persons for their 
consolation, and as a reward of their virtue. There are now at the present 
day several liquefactions of this nature, particularly in Italy. On the fes¬ 
tival of St. Eustace, that saint’s blood is seen to boil at Rome. The blood 
of St. John the Baptist does as much, if not more, at Naples, and extends 
to three different churches. It puts itself in this violent ferment in honour 
of Jesus Christ, and seemingly endeavours once more to proclaim the 
coming of our blessed Saviour. At Naples, too, St. Bartholomew’s blood 
is in as great a heat as that of St. John the Baptist; and so likewise is the 
blood of St. Stephen, which never fails running on the day on which the 
finding of his body is commemorated. 

On the eighteenth of September is celebrated the ceremony of exposing 
the head and blood of St. Januarius, patron of the city of Naples, to public 
view. A solemn procession is made, likewise, in honour of the saint, at 
which the martyr’s head and blood are carried in all imaginable pomp and 
grandeur. It is so contrived, that these two relics meet together; and as 
soon as they are within reach of each other, the blood is seen to liquefy, to 
boil, and to rise to the very rim of the glass in which it is kept. This 
miracle is wrought every year, never deceiving the expectations of the 
people, who are always ready to attest the truth of it. 

The liquefaction of St. Vitus’s blood is to be seen in one of the abbeys 
of the diocese of Tarentum ; and that of the blood of St. Pantaleon, St. 
Ursula, St. Laurence, and others, in the several monasteries and churches 
throughout Italy. 

In 1672, Rome raised a recruit of relics from the catacombs of four hun¬ 
dred and twenty-eight saints, most of them anonymous and unknown ; 
which, however, afforded abundance of new relics. Other recruits of the 
same sort had been made before that time. 

In regard to the manner of distinguishing the relics dug out of the cata¬ 
combs to be genuine,—the apostolic chamber hires diggers to work in the 
catacombs, or subterraneous places, in which sacred bodies, as they are 
called at Rome, are commonly found. This holy employment is carried on 
in spring and winter. As soon as the sepulchres are opened, an apostolic 
commissary examines the marks whereby the bodies of martyrs are to be 
known. If there be only the name of Christ (thus ©) over these sepul¬ 
chres, or a single cross, a dove, a crown, an olive-branch, without a palm- 
branch, or without a vase of wood, or other vessel, in which the blood of 
the martyrs was usually put, they are looked upon merely as so many 
Christian sepulchres, and in such a case are never opened. The vessel 






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for holding blood is, in a particular manner, an evident sign of martyrdom, 
and consequently of holiness. When the necessary tokens, here men¬ 
tioned, have been observed, they proceed to open the tombs with all the 
precaution which so religious an operation requires. 

As the bones are dug up, they are put into little cases, which are after¬ 
wards corded up, and sealed with the grand vicar’s seal; and then the 
diggers carry them into the chambers appropriated for relics. The bones 
are laid upon tables at some distance one from the other, in order that, as 
they dry, the air may restore them in some measure to their primitive 
hardness. After this, the cardinal-vicar and the chief sacristan of his holi¬ 
ness expose these relics to the veneration of the faithful, distributing them 
as they see proper, and arming them with the necessary attestations : relics 
of the larger size are bestowed on none but crowned heads and persons of 
the first distinction in the church. 

The custom of wearing holy relics by wav of devotion, or in order to be 
preserved against casualties, diseases, calamities, &c., is very ancient in 
the church; since St. Gregory Nyssens takes particular notice of a 
small piece of wood of the true cross, which his sister wore on her finger 
in a ring. 

It is to St. Helena, however, that relics owe the beginning of their high 
reputation ; and yet the cross was at that time the only relic really in 
fashion. That devout princess, foreseeing that the finding of the cross 
would inflame the devotion of all Christians, took but a part of it away 
with her, and left the remainder at Jerusalem to be an object of the pil¬ 
grims’ devotion. This sacred wood would, by degrees, have been all lost, 
on account of the constant distributions which were made of it to devotees; 
but St. Paulinus assures us, that in his time it remained in the same con¬ 
dition—that the faithful were taking away some of it without intermission, 
but yet they always found it whole and entire. 

In process of time, relics of all sorts were worn, but more particularly 
about the neck and on the breast. 

St. Charles Borromeo wore about his neck a tooth of St. Satina. 
Gregory XII. wore one of St. Catharine of Sienna. Some ages before 
that, St. Dunstan, having broke his cane upon the devil, who appeared to 
him in the form of a bear, had another made much stronger, in which he 
set a tooth of the apostle St. Andrew. 

Relics were formerly carried in military expeditions, and this was an 
established custom in the time of Theodosius the Great. The knight- 
templars, and soldiers in the crusades, carried them a long time after in 
their expeditions against the enemy of the Christian name. Christian 
kings, when they went to war, armed themselves with St. Martin’s cope, 
and caused the shrines of saints to be carried at the head of their armies. 

monk, assures us, that, on a dangerous expedition, 


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a body of priests and friars, having the cross before them, and being sup- 
] orted by relics, after singing the Veni Creator , which was their signal, 
advanced against the Albigenses ; and that, at the third repetition of a 
particular verse of the hymn, the rebels of the church fled from the field 
of battle ! Nor did the Bishop of Cominges show less bravery and resolu¬ 
tion ; for, notwithstanding the small number of the faithful who were 
facing above one hundred thousand Albigenses, he armed himself with the 
wood of the cross, and, getting upon an eminence therewith, blessed the 
soldiers of the Catholic army, who, becoming thereby enlivened and in¬ 
spired, defeated the King of Arragon and his whole army. 

Catholic devotion ordains that recourse shall be had to holy relics in 
case of any public calamity. The blood of St. Januarius, set before the 
flames of Mount Vesuvius, has never failed to extinguish them. The 
miracles wrought by St. Genevieve, whenever it has been thought proper 
to carry her in procession, are well known at Paris ; and if we may credit 
the devotees at Rheims, St. Remi’s handkerchief has had no less virtue, at 
those times when it has been found requisite to produce it in order to allay 
or remove public calamities. 

At Venice a leg of St. Lawrence extinguishes fires. In a church of that 
city, holy water of great virtue is made with the bone of St. Liberalis. In 
Sicily, St. Agatha’s veil, carried in procession by the clergy of Catanea, 
puts a stop to the deluges of fire of Mount Gibel; and a piece of cotton 
rubbed against this veil has the same effect. 

The Carthusians at Cologne have the hem of Christ’s garment, which 
the woman afflicted with the loss of blood touched in order to be cured. 

The ladies of that place send wine to the Carthusians, to have the relic 
steeped in it, and drink of it upon any emergent occasion. 

Festivals are holidays, or are certain days which the Catholic Church 
has set apart for the peculiar service of God, in commemo¬ 
ration of some mystery, or in honour of some saint. 

In the Catholic Church there are movable feasts, double feasts, half - - 

double, and single: but the chief difference between the several classes, is 
the greater or less solemnity which is used in them. The churches are 
embellished, and the altars adorned, according to the solemnity of the day, 
and to the rank which each saint holds in the church. On solemn double 
feasts, the bishop, and even the pope himself, performs divine service in 
the cathedral; and the abbot, the prior, or dean of the chapter, in colle¬ 
giate churches. According to the rituals of Italy, the churches, on these 
high festivals, must be hung with tapestry, and adorned with beautiful 
and holy images of those whom the church acknowledges as saints. The 
doors of the churches must be adorned with festoons; and the image of 
the saint whose feast is solemnized must be decorated with flowers, and 
the church strewed with them. The church must, likewise, be open tn 


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ail during the sacred days; wax-tapers must burn on the altar; the orna¬ 
ments of the officiating priest must be as rich as possible ; and the tapers 
which stand on the high altar must be thicker than the rest. In short, 
each parish displays its zeal, in proportion to its riches. 

Whenever the feast of the titular saint or patron is celebrated, his stand¬ 
ard and image must be fixed on the top of the church spire, and the bells 
set a ringing to his honour. In some places it is customary to have illu¬ 
minations on the eve and feast of the saint, as a testimony of the love and 
reverence of the priests and people. 

All the high festivals have an octave. This custom was first borrowed 
from the Jewish religion ; it being usual among the ancient Jews to allow 
eight days to their solemn festivals, in which they are imitated by the 
moderns to this day. The octave therefore consists of the feast itself and 
the seven days which succeed it, though the name of octave is particularly 
given to the last day of those eight, which answers to the solemn day of 
the feast. The rituals say, that when two octaves meet, the most distin¬ 
guished of them shall have the preference, not forgetting, at the same time, 
to commemorate the saint whose octave gave way to the other. In this 
manner the octave of St. John the Baptist gives precedence to that of the 
holy sacrament, whenever they happen to meet: but if the octave of a 
saint who is patron of a place should fall out at the same time with that 
of another saint, who had been either a bishop, an archbishop, or cardinal, 
the patron would be obliged to yield to the prelate. 

Our limits forbid us attempting any thing like a detailed account of the 
festivals prescribed by The Roman Calendar of Feasts and Stations 
throughout the year. According to this calendar, it may be perceived that 
the Holy City h-<\s not left even one day throughout the whole year uncon¬ 
secrated either by festivals or stations ; indeed, that many days are there 
held sacred to the memory of more than half-a-dozen saints ; that the 
inexhaustible treasure of indulgences is always open to the faithful, and 
furnishes them continually with materials to repair the breaches which 
Satan may have made in their virtue ; and that the clergy of Rome are 
always in readiness to countermine his works. 

We shall select a few days which are sacred to distinguished saints, or 
on which remarkable festivals are observed; and these will serve as exam¬ 
ples of numerous others, which might be mentioned. 

This day is sacred for several saints, among whom is St. Macarius, who 
died a. d. 394. Macarius was a confectioner of Alexandria, but spent 
upwards of sixty years in the deserts in labour, penance, 
and contemplation. “ Our saint,” says Butler, “happened 
one day inadvertently to kill a gnat that was biting him in his cell; reflect¬ 
ing that he had lost the opportunity of suffering that mortification, he 
hastened from his cell to the marshes of Scete, which abound with great 
19 


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flies, whose stings pierce even wild boars. There he continued six months 
exposed to those ravaging insects; and to such a. degree was his whole 
body disfigured by them, with sores and swellings, that when he returned 
he was only to be known by his voice.” 

The Golden Legend relates of him, that he took a dead Pagan out of his 
sepulchre, and put him under his head for a pillow; whereupon certain 
devils came to affright the saint, and called the dead Pagan to go with them ; 
but the body under the saint said he could not, because a pilgrim Jay upon 
him, so that he could not move ; then Macarius, nothing afraid, beat the 
body with his fist, and told him to go if he would, which caused the devils 
to declare that Macarius had vanquished them. Another time the devil 
came with a great scythe on his shoulder, to smite the saint; but he could 
not prevail against him, on account of his virtues. 

Macarius, at another time, being tempted, filled a sack with stones, and 
bore it many journeys through the desert. Seeing a devil before him in 
the shape of a man, dressed like a “ herawde,” with his clothing full of 
holes, and in every hole a vial, he demanded of this devil whither he went, 
and why he had so many vials ? The devil answered, to give drink to the 
hermits; and that the vials contained a variety of liquors, that they migh., 
have a choice, and so fall into temptation. On the devil’s return, the saint 
inquired how he had sped; and the devil answered, “Very ill, for they 
were so holy that only one, Theodistus, would drink.” On this informa¬ 
tion, Macarius found Theodistus under the influence of the vial, and reco¬ 
vered him. 

•Macarius found the head of a Pagan, and asked, “ where the soul of its 
body was?” “In hell,” said the head. He asked the head, “if hell was 
deep?” The head said, “Deeper than from heaven to earth.” He de¬ 
manded again, “if any were there lower than his own soul?” The head 
said, “the Jews were lower than he was.” The saint inquired, “ if there 
were any lower than the Jews ?” The head answered, “ that false Christian- 
men were lower than the Jews, and more tormented.” 

Macarius seems, by the Golden Legend , to have been much annoyed by 
the devil. In a nine days’ journey through a desert, at the end of every 
mile he set up a reed in the earth, to mark his track against he returned ; 
but the devil pulled them all up, made a bundle of them, and placed them 
at Macarius’s head while he lay asleep; so that the saint with great diffi¬ 
culty found his way home again. 

This Macarius is the identical saint who so opportunely assisted St. 
Helena in the discovery of the genuine cross ? and for that one act he 
certainly deserves to be ranked among the most renowned worthies of the 
Roman Calendar. 

This day is devoted in Paris to the feast of St. Genevieve, virgin pa¬ 
in ness of that city. The legendary writers inform us that we cannot pay 







































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


Sl too great homage to this saint, for the wonders she has per¬ 
formed for upwards of twelve centuries ; indeed, the ang< Is 
returned thanks to Heaven for the birth of this blessed virgin. Fat er 
Giry, in the Lives of the Saints , assures us, that the blessed spirits kept 
“an extraordinary festival at her birth, and that all heaven was filled with 
j°y.” St. Germanus of Auxerre asserted the same to the inhabitants.ol 
Nanterre, the first time he saw St. Genevieve, who was born in their city. 
In the height of her piety, she was seized with so violent a fit of sickness, 
that she was thought to be dead ; but in the midst of the torments which 
ner body suffered, “ she was ravished in spirit among the angels, where 
she saw unutterable glories.” 

The Golden Legend relates, that, by the Holy Ghost, she showed many 
people their secret thoughts; and that from fifteen years to fifty she fasted 
every day except Sunday and Thursday, when she ate beans and barley 
bread of three weeks old. A woman once stole St. Genevieve’s shoes, 
but as soon as she got home she lost her sight for the theft, and remained 
blind, till, having restored the shoes, St. Genevieve restored the woman’s 
sight. 

Desiring the liberation of certain prisoners condemned to death at Paris, 
she went thither, and found the city gates were shut against her, but they 
opened without any other key than her own presence. She prayed over 
twelve men in that city possessed with devils, till the men were suspended 
in the air, and the devils were expelled. A child of four years old fell 
into a pit, and was killed; St. Genevieve only covered her with her man¬ 
tle, and prayed over her, and the child came to life, and was baptized at 
Easter. On a voyage to Spain, she arrived at a port “ where, as of cus¬ 
tom, ships were wont to perish.” Her own vessel was likely to strike on 
a tree in the water, which seems to have caused the wrecks ; she com¬ 
manded the tree to be cut down, and began to pray; when lo! just as the 
tree began to fall, “two wild heads, gray and horrible, issued thereout, 
which stank so sore, that the people that were there were envenomed by 
the space of two hours ; and never after perished ship there, thanks be to 
God and this holy saint!” 

AtMeaux, a master not forgiving his servant his faults, though St. Gene¬ 
vieve besought him, she prayed against him. He was immediately seized 
with a hot ague. “ On the morrow he came to the holy virgin, running 
with open mouth like a German bear, his tongue hanging out like a boar, 
and requiring pardon.” She then blessed him, the fever left him, and the 
servant was pardoned. A girl going by with a bottle, St. Genevieve called 
to her, and asked what she carried? She answered, oil, which she had 
bought; but St. Genevieve, seeing the devil sitting on the bottle, blew upon 
it, and the bottle broke ; but the saint blessed the oil, and caused her to 
bear it home safely notwithstanding. The Golden Legend says, that the 


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p« ,r pie who saw this marvelled that the saint could see the devil, and wer<i 
urcatly edified. Her holiness now shone with greater lustre than ever in 
the eyes of the Parisians. “She penetrated into the most inward recesses 
of their consciences, spent all her time in prayer, and shed so great an 
abundance of tears, that the floor of her chamber was quite wet with them.” 
Though she had led a life of extraordinary penance, she nevertheless 
lived to a very advanced age. A great number of miracles were wrought 
at her tomb, and would undoubtedly have been wrought to the end of the 
world, had her relics been still there ; now they are wrought only at her 
shrine. Her shrine of gold and silver, covered with precious stones, the 
presents of kings and queens, and with a cluster of diamonds on the top, 
presented by the intriguing Mary de Medicis, was, on calamitous occasions, 
carried about Paris in procession, accompanied by shrines equally miracu¬ 
lous, and bv the canons of St. Genevieve, walking barefoot. 

This day is sacred to the memory of St. Simeon Stylites, who astonished 
all Christendom by his personal mortifications. Simeon went into the 
. _ „ monastery of Heliodorus, where the monks ate but once a 

Simeon Stylites. day; but our saint carried this abstinence to such a pitch, 
as to eat only once a week. Heliodorus required Simeon to be more pri¬ 
vate in his mortifications: with this view, judging the rough rope of 
the well, made of twisted palm-tree leaves, a proper instrument of pe¬ 
nance, Simeon tied it close about his naked body, where it remained 
unknown both to the community and his superior, till such time as it 
having ate into his flesh, what he had privately done was discovered by 
the effluvia proceeding from the wound. It took three days to disengage 
the saint’s clothes ; and the incisions of the physician, to cut the cord out 
of his body, were attended with such anguish and pain, that he lay for 
some time as dead. After this he determined to pass the whole forty days 
of Lent in total abstinence, and retired to a hermitage for that purpose. 
Bassus, an abbot, left with him ten loaves and water, and coming to visit 


him at the end of the forty days, found bolh loaves and water untouched, 
and the saint stretched on the ground without signs of life. Bassus dipped 
a sponge in water, moistened his lips, gave him the Eucharist, and Simeon 
by degrees swallowed a few lettuce-leaves and other herbs. He passed 
twenty-six Lents in the same manner. In the first part of a Lent, he 
prayed standing; growing weaker, he prayed sitting; and towards the 
end, being almost exhausted, he prayed lying on the ground. 

At the end of three years, he left his hermitage for the top of a moun¬ 
tain, made an enclosure of loose stones, without a roof, and having resolved 
to live exposed to the inclemencies of the weather, he fixed his resolution by 
fastening his right leg to a rock with a great iron chain. Multitudes 
flocked to the mountain to receive his benediction, and many of the sick 
recovered their health ; but as Some were not satisfied unless they touched 













































































































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him in his enclosure, and Simeon desired retirement from the daily con¬ 
course, he projected a new and unprecedented manner of life. 

He erected a pillar six cubits high, (each cubit being eighteen inches,) 
and dwelt on it four years; on a second, of twelve cubits high, he lived 
three years; on a third, of twenty-two cubits high, ten years; and on a 
fourth, of forty cubits, or sixty feet high, which the people built for him, 
he spent the last twenty years of his life. He was imitated in this folly 
by several other fanatics; but none of them had the perseverance or 
hardness of constitution to earn any degree of immortality to be compared 
with that of Simeon. This, however, occasioned them to be called stylites, 
from the Greek word stylos, a pillar. Simeon’s pillar did not exceed three 
feet in diameter at the top, so that he could not lie extended on it; he 
had no seat with him ; he only stooped or leaned to take a little rest, and 
bowed his body in prayer so often, that a certain person who counted these 
positions found that he made one thousand two hundred and forty-four 
reverences in one day; which, if he began at four o’clock in the morning, 
and finished at eight o’clock at night, gives a bow to every three-quarters 
of a minute ; besides which he exhorted the people twice a day. His 
garments were the skins of beasts, he wore an iron collar round his neck, 
and had a horrible ulcer in his foot. During his forty days’ abstinence 
throughout Lent, he tied himself to a pole. He treated himself as the 
outcast of the world, and the worst of sinners ; worked miracles ; delivered 
prophecies ; had the sacrament delivered to him on the pillar; and died 
bowing upon it, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, after having lived upon 
pillars for seven-and-thirty years! —His corpse was carried to Antioch, 
attended by the bishops and the whole country, and worked miracles on its 
way. 

Without mentioning several of the miracles in the Golden Legend, which 
are not fit to be related, it may be observed that it is there said of him, that 
after his residence on the pillars, one of his thighs rotted a whole year, 
during which time he stood on one leg only! Near Simeon’s pillar was 
the dwelling of a dragon, so very venomous that nothing grew near his 
cave. This dragon met with an accident; he had a stake in his eye, and 
coming all blind to the saint’s pillar, and placing his eye upon it for three 
days, without doing harm to any one, Simeon ordered earth and water to 
be placed on the dragon’s eye, which being done, out came the stake, a 
cubit in length ; when the people saw this miracle, they glorified God, and 
ran away for fear of the dragon, which arose and adored for two hours, 
and returned to his cave ! 

A woman swallowed a little serpent, which tormented her for many 
years, till she came to Simeon, who causing earth and water to be laid on 
her mouth, the little serpent came out four feet and a half long. It is 
affirmed, that when Simeon died, Anthony smelt a precious odour pro- 




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reeding from his body; that birds, men, and beasts cried ; that an angel 
came down in a cloud ; that the Patriarch of Antioch taking Simeon’s beard 
to put among his relics, his hand withered, and remained so until a multi¬ 
tude of prayers were said for him, and it was healed ; and that more mira¬ 
cles were worked at and after Simeon’s sepulture, than he had wrought 
during the whole of his life. 

On the day of the feast of this saint, the pope, cardinals, princes, and 
even private gentlemen, send their horses and their mules to be blessed by 

. him ; the saddles and harnesses of these beasts are also 

January 17. 

st. Anthony the carried to him. They bless and sprinkle the beasts and 
Monks - their equipage, in the name and for the sake of the saint, 

upon consideration fora certain sum, viz. two paoli for each beast. Another 
ceremony in which St. Anthony is applied to, is that of exorcising, conjur¬ 
ing, and delivering up to the devil, mice, locusts, or grasshoppers, and all 
other noxious animals. 

According to St. Athanasius, Anthony was born in 251, at Coma, near 
Heraclea in Egypt, and in that neighbourhood commenced the life of a 
hermit; he was continually assailed by the devil. His only food was 
bread with a little salt; he drank nothing but water; never ate before 
sunset, sometimes only once in two or four days; and lay on a rush mat or 
on the bare floor. For further solitude he left Coma, and hid himself in 
an old sepulchre, till, in 285, he withdrew into the deserts of the moun¬ 
tains, from whence, in 305, he descended, and founded his first monastery. 
His under garment was sackcloth, with a white sheepskin coat and girdle 
He was taught to apply himself to manual labour by an angel, who 
appeared, plaiting mats of palm-tree leaves. Athanasius informs us that 
Anthony always, prayed while he was at work ; and that he detested the 
Arians; that he would not speak to a heretic unless to exhort him to the 
true faith ; and that he drove all such from his mountain, calling them 
venomous serpents. He was very anxious that after his decease he should 
not be embalmed, and being one hundred and fifty years old, he died in 
356, having bequeathed one of his sheepskins, with the coat in which he 
lay, to his biographer. 

St. Athanasius is very particular in his account of St. Anthony’s war¬ 
fare with the infernal powers. He says that hostilities commenced when 
the saint first determined on hermitizing; “in short, the devil raised a 
great deal of dust in his thoughts, so that, by bemudding and disordering 
his intellects, he might make St. Anthony let go his design.” In his first 
conflict with the devil he was victorious, although Satan appeared to him 
in an alluring shape. Next he came in the form of a black boy, and was 
again defeated. 

After that, Anthony got into a tomb, and shut down the top, but the 
devil found him out, and, with a great company of other devils, so beat and 
















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


bruised him, that in the morning he was discovered by the person who 
brought his bread lying like a dead man on the ground; whereupon 
he took him up and carried him to the town church, where many of his 
friends sat by him until midnight. Anthony then coming to himself, and 
seeing all asleep, caused the person who brought him thither to carry him 
back privately, and again got into the tomb, shutting down the tomb-top as 
before. Upon this, the devils being very much exasperated, one night 
made a noise so dreadful, that the walls shook. They transformed them 
selves into the shapes of all sorts of beasts, lions, bears, leopards, bulls, 
serpents, asps, scorpions, and wolves ; every one of which moved and 
acted agreeably to the creatures which they represented—the lion roaring 
and seeming to make towards him, the bull to butt, the serpent to creep, 
and the wolf to run at him, and so in short all the rest; so that Anthony 
was tortured and mangled by them so grievously that his bodily pain was 
greater than before. But he taunted them, and the devils gnashed their 
teeth. This continued till the roof of his cell opened, a beam of light shot 
down, the devils became speechless, Anthony’s pain ceased, and the roof 
closed again. 

At one time, the devil laid the semblance of a large piece of plate in his 
way, but Anthony, perceiving the devil in the dish, chid it, and the plate 
disappeared. At another time he saw a quantity of real gold on the 
ground, and, to show the devil “that he did not value money, he leaped 
over it as a man in a fright over a fire.” 

Having secluded himself in an empty castle, some of his acquaintance 
came often to see him, but in vain ; he would not let them enter, and they 
remained whole days and nights listening to a tumultuous rout of devils 
bawling and wailing within. He lived in that state for twenty years, never 
seeing or being seen by any one, till his friends broke open the door; and 
the spectators were in amazement to see his body, that had been so be¬ 
laboured by devils, in the same shape in which it was before his retire¬ 
ment. By way of a caution to others, he related the practices of the 
devils, and how they appeared. He said that “to scare us, they will repre¬ 
sent themselves so tall as to touch the ceiling, and proportionably broad ; 
they often pretend to sing psalms and cite the Scriptures, and sometimes 
while we are reading they echo what we read ; sometimes they stamp, 
sometimes they laugh, and sometimes they hiss; but when one regards 
them not, then they weep and lament as vanquished. Once, when they 
came threatening and surrounding me like soldiers, accoutred and horsed, 
and again when they filled the place with wild beasts and creeping things, 
I sung Psalm xix. 8, and they were presently routed. Another time, when 
they appeared with a light in the dark, and said, ‘We are come, 
Anthony, to lend thee our light,’ I prayed, shutting my eyes, because 
I disdained to behold their light, and presently their light was put out. 




































































































2l»2 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 




After this they came and hissed and danced ; but as I prayed and lay 
along singing, they presently began to wail and weep as though they were 
spent. 

“Once there came a devil very tall in appearance, that dared to say, 
4 What wouldst thou have me bestow upon thee?’ but I spat upon him, 
and endeavoured to beat him, and, great as he was, he disappeared with 
the rest of the devils. Once one of them knocked at the door of my cell, 
and when I opened it I saw a tall figure, and when I asked him, 4 Who 
art thou V he answered, 4 1 am Satan; why do the monks blame and curse 
me ? I have no longer a place or a city, and now the desert is filled with 
monks ; let them not curse one to no purpose.’ I said to him, 4 Thou art 
a liar,’ &c., and he disappeared.” 

Much more than this he is related to have said by his biographer, who 
affirms that “having been prevailed upon to go into a vessel and pray 
with the monks, he, and he only, perceived a wretched and terrible stink ; 
the company said there was some salt fish in the vessel ; but he perceived 
another kind of scent, and while he was speaking, a young man that had 
a devil, and who had entered before them and hid himself, cried out, and 
the devil was rebuked by St. Anthony and came out of him, and then they 
all knew that it was the devil that stunk.”—“ Wonderful as these things 
are, there are stranger things yet; for once as he was going to pray, he 
was in a rapture, and (which is a paradox) as soon as he stood up, he saw 
himself without himself, as it were, in the air, and some bitter and terrible 
beings standing by him in the air too; but the angels, his guardians, with¬ 
stood them.” 

44 He had also another particular favour, for as he was sitting on the 
mount in a praying posture, and perhaps gravelled with some doubt relat¬ 
ing to himself, in the night-time, one called to him, and said, ‘Anthony, 
arise, go forth and look !’ so he went out and saw a certain terrible deformed 
personage standing and reaching to the clouds, and winged creatures, and 
him stretching out his hands ; and some of them he saw were stopped by 
him, and others were flying beyond him ; whereupon the tall one gnashed 
his teeth, and Anthony perceived that it was the enemy of souls, who 
seizes on those who are accountable to him, but cannot reach those who are 
not persuadable by him.”—His biographer declares that the devils fled at 
his word, as fast as from a whip. 

The Rev. Alban Butler says, 44 there is extant a sermon of St. Anthony’s, 
wherein he extols the efficacy of the sign of the cross for chasing the devil, 
and lays down rules for the discernment of spirits.” There is reason to 
believe that he could not read ; St. Austin thinks that he did not know 
the alphabet. He wore his habit to his dying day, neither washing the 
dirt off his body, nor so much as his feet, unless they were wet by chance 
when he waded through water on a journey. The Jesuit Ribadeneira 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


affirms, that “all the world relented and bemoaned his death, for afterwards 
there fell no rain from heaven for three years.” 

Though two centuries elapsed before Anthony’s bones were looked for, 
his grave was not only discovered, but his body was found in the custom- 
f(D 1 ary preservation. It was brought to Europe through a miracle. One 
Toceline, who had neglected a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was, theiefoie, 
sorely wounded in battle, and carried for dead into a chapel dedicated to 
St. Anthony. When he began to revive, a multitude of devils appeared 
to drag him to hell, and one devil cast a halter about his, neck to strangle 
him, wherefore St. Anthony appeared ; the devils flew from him of course, 
and he commanded Joceline to perform his pilgrimage, and to convey his 
body from the East; whereupon Joceline obeyed, and carried it to France;. 
The saint’s beard afterwards was shown at Cologne, with a part of his 
hand, and another piece of him was shown at Tournay; two of his relics 
were at Antwerp ; a church dedicated to him at Rome was famous for his 
sackcloth and part of his palm-coat; the other part of it was exhibited at 
\ ienna, and the rest of his body was multiplied about, so that there were 
limb-bones enough for the remains of half a dozen uncanonized persons. 

St. Anthony’s fire is an inflammatory disease, which, in the eleventh 
century, raged violently in various parts. According to the legend, the 
intercession of St. Anthony was prayed for, when it miraculously ceased ; 
and, therefore, from that time, the complaint has been called St. Anthony’;? 
fire. 

St. David, or, in Welsh, Dewid, the patron of Wales, was son of Xantus, 
Prince of Cardiganshire, and his birth was prophesied thirty years before 
it happened ; he was brought up a priest, became an ascetic 
in the Isle of Wight, afterwards preached to the Britons, 
founded twelve monasteries, ate only bread and vegetables, and drank milk 
and water. A synod being called at Brevy, in Cardiganshire, a. d. 519, 
in order to suppress the heresy of Pelagius, “St. David confuted and 
silenced the infernal monster by his learning, eloquence, and miracles.” 
After the synod, St. Dubritius, Archbishop of Caerleon, resigned his see 
to St. David, which see is now called St. David’s. He died in 544 ; 
St. Kentigern saw his soul borne by angels to heaven ; his body was in 
the church of St. Andrews. In 962, his relics were translated to Glaston¬ 
bury. 

One of the miracles alleged of St. David, by Cressy, is that at the anti- 
Pelagian synod he restored a child to life, ordered it to spread a napkin 
under his feet, and made an oration; that a snow-white dove descended 
from heaven and sat on his shoulders ; and that the ground whereon he 
stood rose under him till it became a hill; “on the top of which hill a 
church was afterwards built, which remains to this day.” He assembled 
a provincial synod to confirm the decrees of Brevy ; and wrote the pro- 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


ceedings of both synods for preservation in his own church, and to be sent 
to other churches of the province ; but they were lost by age, negligence, 
and incursions of pirates, who almost every summer came in long boats 
from the Orkneys, and wasted the coast of Cambria. He invited St. Kined 
to this synod, who answered that he had grown crooked, distorted, and too 
weak for the journey; whereupon ensued “a double miracle.” for “St. 
Kined having been restored to health and straightness by the prayers of 
St. David, by his own prayers he was reduced again to his former infirmity 
and crookedness.” After this synod, he journeyed to the monastery of 
Glastonbury, which he had built and consecrated, with intent to repair it, 
and consecrated it again ; whereupon our Lord appearing to him in his 
sleep, and forbidding him to profane the sacred ceremony before performed, 
he in testimony with his finger pierced a hole in the bishop’s hand, which 
remained open to the view of all men till the end of the next day’s mass. 
Before his death “ the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, 
Prepare thyself.” Again: “ When the hour of his departure was come, 
our Lord Jesus Christ vouchsafed his presence, to the infinite conso¬ 
lation of our holy father, who at the sight of him exulted.” More to 
the same purpose is alleged by the Catholic writers respecting him,—such 
as, that at his death, “ being associated to a troop of angels, he with them 
mounted up to heaven and that the event was known “ by an angel 
divulging it.” 

According to Porter, St. David was uncle to the famous Prince Arthur, 
or, strictly speaking, half-uncle, if St. David’s illegitimacy be authentic. 
The same author relates of him, that on his way from building the church 
of Glastonbury he went to Bath, cured an infection of the waters, and by 
his prayers and benediction gave them the perpetual heat they still retain. 
On the same authority, St. David’s posthumous virtue, in the reign of 
King Stephen, occasioned the brook above the churchyard of St. David’s 
church to run wine, by miracle : the well near it, called Pisteldewy, or the 
Conduit of David, sent forth milk instead of water. Also a boy, that 
endeavoured to take pigeons from a nest in St. David’s church at Lhan- 
nons, had his fingers miraculously fastened to the stone, till by his friends’ 
watching, fasting, and praying before the altar three days and nights, the 
stone fell from his hand. “Manie thousands of other miracles have been 
wrought by the meritts of this holy man, which for brevitie’s sake we 
omitt. I only desire all true-hearted Welshmen allwaies to honour this 
their great patrone and protector, and supplicate the Divine Goodness to 
reduce his sometime beloved countrey out of the blindness of Protestancic , 
groveling in which it languisheth. Not only in Wales, but all England 
over, is most famous the memorie of St. David. But in these our un- 
happie daies the greatest part of his solemnitie consisteth in wearing of a 
greene lecke,and it is a sufficient theme for a zealous Welshman to ground 










































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


29ft 


March 7. 
Thomas Aquinas. 


a quarrel! against him that doeth not honour his capp with the like orna¬ 
ment that day.” 

The feast of this saint is celebrated in the church of Minerva, where 
the cardinals assist solemnly at mass; and in St. Barbara’s feast of the 
gt booksellers, who have taken St. Thomas Aquinas for their 
patron. 

It is related in the Golden Legend, that a man who was thought to be 
starved to death, and who, by a rope cast about his neck, was drawn to the 
top of a tower, and thrown down from thence, when he came to the ground 
rose up upon his feet, and gave the following account to those who won¬ 
dered at his being alive, since he had continued so long without sustenance, 
and how it was possible for him to be preserved in his fall; he assured 
them, that St. Barbara preserved him in all his dangers, and in his fall from 
the tower sustained him with her holy hands. 

It is also related, that St. Barbara’s father, who was a heathen, and had 
shut her up in a tower for fear of being seduced, she being a very great 
beauty, perceiving by her discourses that she was a Christian, drew out his 
sword in great indignation, with design to kill her ; but upon her prayers 
to God, a great stone opening itself, received her into its cavity, and rolled 
with her to a mountain full of caves, where she thought to have hid her¬ 
self, but was discovered by a shepherd, who was punished for it in a miracu¬ 
lous manner; he himself being changed into a marble statue, and all his 
sheep into locusts, others say beetles ; which, as a perpetual accusation of 
the crime, continually hover about her grave. 

It is recorded by Surius, that in 1448, at a town called Gorcum in Hol¬ 
land, one Henry Knoch, by an accident of the candle’s falling into the 
straw, had his house set on fire in the night, and he himself hardly escaped 
in his shirt, which began to burn in two places; but remembering he had 
left some money in the house, he resolved to return to it, in order to save 
it; but before he could come to the place where it lay, the house fell upon 
his naked body ; when apprehending present death, he was more tormented, 
because he had not been prepared against the terrors of death by the sacra¬ 
ments of the church, and in this distress he betook himself to St. Barbara 
for the remedy of his soul, by addressing himself to her in prayer. The 
saint, being thus invoked, immediately presented herself before him, under 
such a shape as she is usually represented in churches. With her gar¬ 
ments she quickly quenched the globes of fire, and with her white hand 
brought him through the straw-roof, and setting him in a safe place, told 
him that his life would be prolonged till the next morning, &c., saying 
which, she vanished away. All was performed as she had said, though 
Henry was so burned, that scarcely any flesh was left on his bones uncon¬ 
sumed, and what remained of him was as black as a negro, his eyes, heart, 
anrl tongue excepted, which remained untouched. 













































































290 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


This day is sacred, likewise, to the memory of St. Paul the Anchorite. 
He was a man of profound ignorance. Butler says he was named “the 
simple.” He journeyed eight days into the desert to become a disciple of 
St. Anthony, who told him he was too old, and bade him return home 
mind his business, and say his prayers: he shut the door upon him. 
Paul fasted and prayed before the door till Anthony opened it, and out of 
compassion made a monk of him. One day, after he had diligently worked 
at making mats and hurdles, and prayed without intermission, St. Anthony- 
bid him undo his work, and do it all over again, which he did, without 
asking for a morsel of bread, though he had been seven days without 
eating; this was to try Paul’s obedience. Another day, when some 
monks came to Anthony for advice, he bade Paul spill a vessel of honey 
and gather it up without any dust; this was another trial of his obedience. 
At other times he ordered him to draw water a whole day and pour it out 
again; to make baskets and pull them to pieces; to sew and unsew 
garments, and the like; these were other trials of his obedience. When 
Anthony had thus exercised him, he placed him in a cell three miles from 
his own, proposed him as a model of obedience to his disciples, sent sick 
persons to him, and others possessed with the devil, w r hom he could not 
cure himself. 

The feast of St. Gregory, surnamed the Great, is held in St. Peter’s, 
where his body is deposited. He was praetor of Rome in 574, under the 

March 12 St Emperor Justin; next year he became a monk, and by fast- 
Gregory the Pope. j n g anc j study became so weak, that he sw r ooned if he did 
not frequently eat. What gave him the greatest affliction was, his not being 
able to fast on Easter-eve ; a day on which, says St. John the Deacon, every 
one, not even excepting little children, are used to fast; whereupon, by 
praying that he might be enabled to fast, he not only fasted, but quite forgot 
his illness. He determined to proceed to Britain to propagate the faith; 
but the whole city rose in an uproar to prevent his departure, and the pope 
constrained him to remain. 

Pope Pelagius II. afterwards sent him as nuncio to Constantinople, where 
Eutychius fell into an error, importing that, after the resurrection, glorified 
bodies would not be palpable , but of a more subtle texture than air. St. 
Gregory clearly demonstrated that such bodies would be the same which 
they had on earth, and Eutychius retracted his error. 

On his return to Rome, he took with him an arm of St. Andrew and the 
head of St. Luke. Pelagius made him his secretary, after whose death he 
was elected pope himself. 

To escape from the danger of this elevation, Gregory got himself car¬ 
ried out of Rome in a wicker basket, and lay concealed in the woods and 
caverns for three days. He was afterwards consecrated with great pomp ; 
and on that occasion sent a synodal epistle to the other patriarchs, wherein 














































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCII. 


297 


he declared that “he received the four councils as the four gospels.” 
Butler says, he extended his charity to the heretics, and “to the very 
Jews; yet he afterwards adds, that in Africa “he extirpated the Dona- 
tists. ’ He subscribed himself in his letters, Servant of the Servants 
of God. He sent to the Empress Constantina a veil which had touched 
the relics of the apostles, and assured her that miracles had been wrought 
by such relics, and promised her some dust-filings of the chains of St. 
Paul. He likewise sent to St. Austin and other monks to convert the 
English. 

He died on the 25th of January, 604. His devotion to the church was 
constant; he was learned, enterprising, sincere, and credulous; and, for 
the times wherein he lived, charitable and merciful. He was the author 
of the church-singing called the Gregorian chant. 

Many miracles are related of St. Gregory; as, that going to bless a 
church in honour of St. Agnes, which had been used by the Arians, he 
caused the relics to be placed on the altar, whereon a hog went grunting 
out of the church with a fearful noise ; whence it was averred, that the 
devil, who had been served in it by the heretic Arians, was driven out hr 
the relics. Sometimes the lamps were miraculously lighted. One day a 
bright cloud descended on the altar, with a heavenly odour, so that from 
reverence no one dared to enter the church. 

At another time, when Gregory was transubstantiating the wafers, a 
woman laughed ; he asked her why she laughed ? to which at length she 
answered, “ Because you call the bread which I made with my own hands 
the body of our Lord ;” whereupon he prayed, and the consecrated bread 
appeared flesh to every one present; and the woman was converted, and 
the rest were confirmed. 

At another time, some ambassadors coming to Rome for relics, Gregory 
took a linen cloth which had been applied to the body of a saint, and en¬ 
closing it in a box, gave it to them. While on their journey home, they 
were curious to see the contents of the box; and finding nothing within it 
but the cloth, returned to St. Gregory, complaining that he had deceived 
them. On this, he took the cloth, laid it on the altar, prayed, pricked it 
with a knife; the cloth shed blood, and the astonished ambassadors reve¬ 
rently took back the box. 

Another time, one who had been excommunicated by St. Gregory f< r 
having put away his lawful wife, bargained with certain sorcerers and 
witches for revenge ; who, when the hoiy pope rode through the city, sent 
the devil into his horse, and made him caper, so that he could not be 
held : then, with the sign of the cross, the pope cast out the devil ; and 
the witches, by miracle, becoming blind, were converted, and St. Gregory 
baptized them ; yet he would not restore their sight, lest they should read 
their magical books again ; but he maintained them out of the church-rents. 


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■ After his death there was a famine in Rome, and the people being falsely 
persuaded that St. Gregory had wasted the church property, gathered his 
writings to burn them ; wherefore Peter the Deacon, who had been inti¬ 
mate with Gregory, affirmed that he had often seen the Holy Ghost in 
form of a dove upon St. Gregory’s head while he was writing, and that it 
would be an insufferable affront to burn those books, which had been 
written by his inspiration ; and to assure them of this, he offered to con¬ 
firm it by oath, but stipulated that, if he died immediately after he had 
taken the oath, they should believe that he had told them the truth: this 
being assented to, he took the oath, and thereupon died, and the people 
believed; and “hence,” says Rabadineira, “the painters came to repre¬ 
sent St. Gregory with a dove at his ear, to signify that the Holy Ghost in¬ 
spired and dictated what he wrote.” 

It is also related of St. Gregory, that, when he fled from Rome to avoid 
the dignity of popedom, and lay hidden, a bright pillar of fire, descending 
from heaven, glittered above his head, and angels appeared descending and 
ascending by the same fiery pillar upon him ; wherefore, he was miracu¬ 
lously betrayed. 

Lent is said to be an imitation of the fasting of Jesus Christ. It must 
be of great antiquity, since it is cited by several ancient fathers. In the 
lent and Em primitive church the Christians did not always fast during 
her week. the precise term of forty days ; for we have examples of 

Lent-seasons that were of shorter continuance, and of others that lasted 
longer. It was sometimes usual to begin Lent at Septuagesima, other 
times at Sexagesima, and often at Guinquagesima. With some, it held six 
weeks, with others seven, and some again began it but three weeks before 
Easter. It was kept very strictly, for they used to abstain not only from 
wine, flesh, meats, and all kinds of luxury, but to fast till the evening. 
Lastly, all persons were prohibited from marrying during Lent, which cus¬ 
tom is observed to this day. 

The fast of the ember weeks was borrowed originally from the Jews ; 
for they bear a relation to four fasts which the Jews denominated from the 
fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. The ember weeks are observed 
in March, June, September, and December. The humiliation of the ember 
weeks consists in three days’ strict fasting in each season of the year. 
Rv this fast, the faithful are taught that the four parts of the year are to 
be equally consecrated to God. Some pretend that these fasts were esta¬ 
blished as early as the first century of the church, but that they were not 
absolutely binding; on the contrary, that a person might transgress them 
without scandal or offence. It is even said that this coldness and indiffer¬ 
ence were not suppressed but in process of time by councils. Others say, 
that the emher weeks were not instituted till the year 460, by Pope St. 
Leo. Moreover that Pope Gelasius commanded that priests and deacons 











































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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should be ordained in those seasons. As it was customary in the apostolic 
age for fasting and public prayer to precede their ordinations, it was but 
reasonable that the present ember weeks should be distinguished by the 
same pious exercises, and that the faithful should employ fasting and 
prayer “ to implore such officers of God as might be worthy to serve his 
church.” 

The ceremony of giving ashes is one of the ancient methods of express¬ 
ing sorrow, of which mention is often made in the Old Testament. It is 

Ceremony of giv- ^ so a l yP e public penance used among Christians 

mg the Ashes. anciently, during which the penitent was cut off from all 

communication with the rest of the faithful, and stood at the church-door, 
covered with sackcloth and ashes. 

The ashes that are made use of on Ash-Wednesday must be made from 
the branches of olive, or some other trees that have been blessed the fore¬ 
going year on Palm-Sunday. The sacristan, or vestry-keeper, gets these 
ashes ready, and lays them in a small vessel on the altar, on the epistle- 
side ; after which, the officiating priest blesses them, for which purpose 
the wax-tapers on the altar are lighted. The officiating priest, his clerks, 
and his acolytes, put on ornaments suitable to the solemnity of the cere¬ 
mony; during which the choir chant none, or the ninth hour; after 
which, the officiating priest, preceded by the incense-bearer, and other 
assistants, goes up to the altar, kisses it, and says a prayer, with his face 
a little turned towards the ashes. He afterwards makes the sign of the 
cress upon the ashes, and incenses them. The incensing being ended, the 
priest, having on one side of him the deacon carrying the ashes, and his 
sub-deacon on the other, goes forward towards the middle of the altar, and 
turns round to the congregation. Then the chief of the clergy, in whose 
ch arch the ceremony of giving the ashes is performed, goes up to the altar, 
and lays the ashes on the head of the officiating priest in the form of a 
cross, repeating these words, Memento homo quia pulvis es, &c.; i. e. 
Remember , man , that thou art dust , &c. After the priest has received the 
ashes, he gives them to his assistants, to all the clergy then present, and at 
last to the whole congregation. The women, as well as the men, receive 
the ashes on their foreheads. 

A bishop, with his mitre off, receives the ashes sitting, from the officiat¬ 
ing canon ; after which the prelate, putting on his mitre, and having a 
white cloth before him, gives the ashes to the officiating canon, who stoops 
before him. It is the bishop’s province to give the ashes to a churchman 
of superior dignity, such as an archbishop or patriarch. Princes, ambas¬ 
sadors, and other persons of distinction, receive the ashes after the canons. 
The canons and the superior clergy incline their bodies when they receive 
them, but all the inferior clergy and the laity take them kneeling. The 
pope receives them from the officiating cardinal, who does not repeat the 






























































Memento, &c., to him ; but the cardinal stoops a little when he takes them 
from the pope. If an emperor were to assist at this ceremony of humilia¬ 
tion, he must take them after all the cardinals, for the princes of the church 
are superior to all temporal ones. 

Pope Urban V. sent, on the fourth Sunday in Lent of the year 1366, a 
golden rose, to Joan, Queen of Sicily, and made a decree, by which it or¬ 
dained, that the popes should consecrate one at that season every year. 

Blessing the This golden rose is enriched with precious stones, and is 
Golden Rose. often sent by the pope to princesses, or to some church, as a 

mark of his peculiar affection. His holiness blesses the rose in the room 
in which the ornaments are kept, immediately before he goes to hear mass 
in his own chapel. This blessing is performed with frankincense, holy 
water, balm, and musk, mixed together. The benediction being ended, 
the pope goes out of the room, and one of his privy-chamberlains carries 
the rose before him, and lays it on a candlestick. Then a cardinal-deacon 
presents it to his holiness, who, taking it in his left hand, walks on to the 
chapel, and with his right hand blesses the faithful who line the way. 
After this, the rose is returned to the cardinal-deacon, and he gives it to a 
clerk of the chamber, who lays it on the altar. Mass being ended, his 
holiness gives the rose to whomsoever he thinks proper. We must not 
omit that the Sunday of the golden rose is called Laetare , from a lesson 
which is read on that day, beginning at verse 10 of the 66th chapter of 
Isaiah, and that the sacred college come into the chapel clothed in cassocs 
of the colour of dried roses. 

The rose is remarkable for three qualities, which are to be applied to the 
faithful of the Church, viz. for its colour, its fragrance, and taste. The 
substance of the golden rose, the musk and the balm with which it is 
blessed, are so many emblems of the divine, the spiritual, and human 
nature of Jesus Christ. 

On Palm-Sunday, palms are prepared at the pope’s chapel; and when 
these cannot be procured, olive branches are sometimes used, adorned with 

Ceremonies of ^ ie l eaves °f palm-tree, tied up neatly in the shape of 3 
Palm-Sunday. a cross : these palm, or olive-branches, are about five feet 
in length. The pope then goes in procession to the chapel; and when 
the prayers and ceremonies which are used in all other benedictions are 
ended, his holiness sprinkles and incenses the branches. After their con- 
secration the chief cardinal-bishop presents two of the largest of them to 
his holiness, who gives them to two persons of distinction, who, according 
to the Roman ceremonial, must stand on each side of the pope, with the 
branches in their hands. The above-mentioned cardinal then presents him 
a third branch, less than the former; this the pope gives to a chamberlain, 
and presents the rest to the cardinals, prelates, ambassadors, and noblemen 
who assist at the ceremony. 


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The branches, which the cardinal-bishop offers to his holiness, are beau¬ 
tifully adorned with flowers, and must be kissed by those to whom they 
are presented. When the chief cardinal-bishop receives them, he has the 
honour to kiss the hand and knee of his holiness; the rest of the cardinals 
also kiss his knee, but the clergy of an inferior order only kiss his foot. 
The ceremony concludes with distributing the branches among the people ; 
and during the service of the Passion, all the congregation hold their 
branches in their hands. 

On Palm-Sunday, the altars, likewise, are adorned with palm or olive- 
branches. The branches designed to be distributed are laid upon a table 
near the altar, and remain there covered with a white cloth till the time of 
blessing them. 

One remarkable custom practised on Palm-Sunday, and which is still 
observed in several parts of Christendom, is the setting a prisoner at liberty: 
upon which occasion the bishop and clergy go in procession : the ceremony 
of this delivery is considered by the Catholics as a type of their spiritual 
freedom. This ceremony is borrowed from the Jews, who used anciently 
to set a prisoner at liberty on the day of their passover, in commemoration 
of their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage. 

After the palms are distributed, the procession begins by the deacon 
presenting the officiating priest with one of the branches, which he kisses, 
as also the priest’s hand : this being done, the sub-deacon takes the cross, 
and occupies a station between the two incense-bearers, at the entrance of 
the sanctuary, or chancel. Immediately after, the deacon, having knelt 
down, and turned himself towards the people, repeats to them, Procccla- 
mus in pace , i. e. Let us go in peace; and the procession is then per¬ 
formed round the church. When it is ended, mass is said. During the 
singing of the Passion, the several members of the congregation hold their 
branches in their hands, not excepting the officiating priest and the minis¬ 
ters of the altar; none being excepted but the deacons, who repeat the 
service of the passions, and the acolytes, and their attendants. After mass 
is ended, every member of the congregation carries home his branch which 
has been blessed; and, according to the rituals, a branch thus blessed is 
a preservative from several diseases, and an instrument of innumerable 
blessings. 

After various preliminary ceremonies, the procession sets out, each per¬ 
son with his taper in his hand, in such order, that the youngest walks firs*, 
The Procession and the oldest last. The superior clergy walk immediately 
Sepulchre! after the priest, who marches under a canopy, and carries 

the host. Being come to the sepulchre, the youngest place themselves 
near the cross, which is set opposite to the grave, and the oldest place 
themselves behind them : this being done, they all fall down cn their knees, 
the incense and cross-bearers excepted; and the choir sings and repeats 
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the anthem Tantura ergo sacramentum , till the conclusion of the cere¬ 
mony. The priest now incenses the host, and a deacon takes it up and 
holds it in his hands, till such time as the priest kneels down before it. 

This being done, the deacon puts it again in the tabernacle, where the 
priest incenses it thrice; after which, the deacon locks up the tabernacle, 
and gives the key of it to the master of the ceremonies. At the return 
of the procession, all the tapers are put out, with the exception of these 
of the acolytes, who walk before the cross-bearers. The officiating priest 
now puts off his white vestments, and puts on purple ones, in order to say 
the office of the vespers ; his attendants do the same : and after the vespers 
are ended, they uncover the altars in the following manner:— 

The officiating priest takes from the high altar its coverings, its Pallia , 
and other ornaments, but does not take off the cross and its lights. They 
even take away the little table on which the church plate, the carpets, and 
flowers usually stand ; and they likewise uncover the pulpit and the church- 
walls, the covering of which the sacristan carries into the vestry. The 
cross is now covered with a black or purple-coloured veil; the tabernacle 
is veiled in the same manner, and is left open, being the house of the living 
God, who has absented himself from it for some time. The cross must now 
be placed before the tabernacle. In order to solemnize the passion ot our 
Saviour, a black canopy is then set over the high altar, and the walls of 
the church are hung with the same colour. The whole of this mournful 
ceremony is ushered in by certain anthems. 

It is stated that the uncovering of the altars represents the ignominious 
manner in which Jesus Christ was stripped of his garments. 

After the ceremonies above mentioned are ended, the pope is carried to 
the gallery, where the bull in Ccena Domini is read ; by which his holi¬ 
ness excommunicates, in a solemn manner, all heretics and unrepenting 
sinners ; after which, he gives his blessing to all the people there as¬ 
sembled. 

During the publication of the bull in Ccena Domini , which is given out 
from the gallery of the blessing, the pope is then clothed in a red chasuble, 
and a stole of the same colour, and stands in a kind of high pulpit, the 
better to be seen by the people. The sub-deacon, who stands at the left 
hand of his holiness, reads the bull, which is in Latin ; and the deacon, 
who stands at his right, reads the same to them in Italian. In the mean 
time the candles are lighted, and each of them takes one in his hand. When 

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the excommunication is pronounced, the pope and cardinals put out their 
candles, and throw them among the crowd ; after which, the black cloth 
that covered the pulpit is taken away. 

Two cardinal-deacons’ assistants now publish the plenary indulgence,— 
one in Latin, the other in Italian. 

A her this, his holiness washes the feet of twelve priests in the ducal 


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hall, and entertains them at dinner in another apartment, himself waiting 
upon them ; and presents to each of them two medals, the one of gold, the 
other of silver, as also an apostolical garment, made of white serge. 

This ceremony is considered typical of Jesus Christ washing the feet 

ceremony of of his disciples, and is held in high veneration by the rigid 
of the poor. Roman Catholic. A modern writer thus describes the cere¬ 

mony :— 

The pope and cardinals having come into the ducal hall, the cardinal- 
deacon’s assistants clothe his holiness with his purple stole, his red cope, 
and plain mitre. Their eminences are clothed in purple copes. His holi¬ 
ness having put three spoonfuls of odoriferous spices into the thurible, 
gives his blessing to the cardinal-deacon, who is to sing the gospel, which 
begins, Ante diem festum Paschse; after this, one of the apostolical sub¬ 
deacons gives the pope a book of the New Testament to kiss, and the 
cardinal-deacon incenses him thrice ; immediately after which, a chorus of 
musicians sing the 34th verse of the 13th chapter of St. John, in which 
are these words, Mandatum novum do vobis: “A new commandment I 
give unto you.” 

As soon as the pope hears these words sung, he takes off his cope, and 
putting on a white apron, washes the feet of thirteen poor priests, being 
strangers, who sit on a high form or bench, clothed in white camelot, with 
a kind of capouch or cape, that reaches down to the middle of their arms. 
This, at the pope’s court, is called an apostolical garment. The afore¬ 
mentioned priests have their right legs bare, and these are well washed 
over with soap and water, before they are presented to the pope to wash. 
When he has done, the treasurer, by his order, gives to each of them two 
medals, one of gold, the other of silver, weighing an ounce each. The 
major domo now presents a napkin to the dean of the cardinal college, or 
one of the most ancient bishops of the apostolic college, who dries their 
feet. Afterwards, the pope returns to his seat, takes off his apron, washes 
his hands in water, which a layman of the highest quality then present 
pours out to him, and afterwards wipes them with a napkin, which is pre¬ 
sented to him by the chief cardinal bishop. This being done, the pope 
again puts on his cope and mitre, and sings the Lord’s prayer and several 
others in Latin ; after which he goes into the vestry, where he leaves his 
pontifical vestments, and withdraws to his apartment, accompanied by the 
cardinals. 

The above ceremony is performed nearly after the same manner in the 
rest of the churches in Rome, as well as in other places, by the bishops 
and curates of parishes. The place where the ceremony is performed 
must be adorned and perfumed with flowers and odoriferous herbs; and 
there must be at least one table in form of an altar, neatly covered. The 
cross must be veiled with white, to denote that purity of which the cere* 






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mony of washing the feet is a type ; and as every thing must have an allu¬ 
sion to that ceremony, the rituals observe, that the candles which are lighted 
at this solemn act must be made of the whitest wax. The credence-tables, and 
the basins into which the water is poured, must also be adorned with flowers. 

The thirteen priests whose feet have been washed by the pope, and who 
are on that day called apostles, are, an hour afterwards, carried into a beauti¬ 
ful apartment in the Vatican, in which the thirteen priests are entertained 
with a most splendid dinner. They are no sooner seated than the pope 
comes in, and presents to each of them the first dish, and afterwards pours 
out to each the first glass of wine; during which he discourses to them 
with great familiarity, and grants them several privileges. 

When the pope has withdrawn, his preacher in ordinary begins a ser¬ 
mon in the above-mentioned apartment, while the thirteen priests are sit¬ 
ting at dinner, in lieu of the spiritual lecture usual at meals in all eccle¬ 
siastical societies. The preacher who officiates on this occasion, is the 
same that generally preaches once a week before the pope in his chamber 
during Lent and Advent. On this occasion the pope sits in a gallery, 
unseen by any person, and the cardinals sit round it, clothed in purple 
copes, as in the consistory. The ceremony ends with a sumptuous enter¬ 
tainment, which his holiness gives to the cardinals ; and the whole is 
heightened with a fine concert of music. It is thus that Rome beholds 
annually renewed the image of the Lord’s Supper with his apostles. 

At Rome, the Holy Oils are blessed on Holy Thursday, at which time 
those of the preceding year are burnt. The ceremony is performed with 
Blessing of the §' rea ^ ; solemnity, after having first reconciled the penitents 
° ils - to the Church. After nones, or the ninth hour, the officiat¬ 

ing priest clothes himself in white, and puts on his sandals, &c. The 
canons, the several ministers of the altar, seven deacons, seven sub-deacons, 
and twelve priests, are likewise clothed in white, and all walk in proces¬ 
sion to the altar. Omitting the various genuflections, prayers, and anthems, 
which follow the procession, we shall only observe, that the officiating 
priest blesses, consecrates, and exorcises three sorts of oil. He first per¬ 
forms the ceremony on that of the infirm, or on that which is used in ex¬ 
treme unction, exorcisms, &c.; afterwards on that of the chrism; and, 
lastly, on that of the catechumens; and the whole is closed with a saluta¬ 
tion, which the officiating priest and the ministers who assist at the conse¬ 
cration make to these sanctified oils, saying, Ave sanctum oleum ,— Hail, 
holy oil , &c. After this, the new-made oils are carried in procession into 
the sacristy, where the officiating priest washes his hands, then sings mass, 
and gives the blessing. 

Good Friday is distinguished in various places by cere- 


Good Friday. 


monies of great splendour, of which the following may 


serve as examples: 



































































At Courtray, there is a commemorative procession, on Good Friday, of 
our Saviour to Mount Calvary. The city magistrates give five-and-twenty 
livres to a poor man, who represents the suffering Saviour ; and the monks 
assure him of certain salvation, in case he happen to die under the blows 
that are given him in this ceremony. The procession first assembles in the 
parish-church, and the mock Saviour is brought into the sacristy, where 
he is clothed with a purple robe, his loins girded with a thick rope, and 
his head crowned with thorns ; after which he is made to walk barefoot, 
with a kind of pack-saddle bound around his neck. On each side of this 
collar six ropes are put, which are to be fastened to a wooden cross of great 
weight, which the voluntary martyr has now laid upon his shoulders ; and 
thus equipped, he rambles up and down the whole city. Six Capu¬ 
chins, who walk at his right hand, draw the six ropes which are fixed 
on that side of the pack-saddle ; and the other six are drawn by as many 
Recollets, or Franciscans : so that the poor fellow is so dragged and hauled 
by the twelve friars, that he is continually stumbling, and is almost pulled 
to pieces. This poor mock Saviour would have a terrible ordeal to go 
through, were it not for a sham Simon the Cyrenean, who, very luckily, 
comes just in time to free him from his torments. The poor wretch, before 
he gets into the church, is half killed ; however, notwithstanding the kicks 
and bufferings which the people and the mimic Jews bestow upon him, he 
is so thoroughly persuaded of the merits of his sufferings, and that they 
will procure him an eternity of bliss, that he bears all his torments without 
the least murmur or complaint. 

The procession at Brussels, in which the crucifixion of our Saviour is 
represented, is no less extraordinary in its circumstances. Both the city 
_ and the court endeavour to do honour to this solemnity; and 

Brussels. it j s performed in the church of the Austin-friars, at the foot 

of the altar. The persons who form the procession assemble in St. Gu- 
dula’s, the cathedral church, by eight in the morning, and the Brotherhood 
of Mercy come thither in their proper habits, barefooted, and their faces 
masked ; some walking with drums covered with black cloth. After the 
brotherhood, a great number of prisoners come forward, each of whom 
drags after him an iron cannon ball, chained to his foot; next come several 
Austin-friars, dressed in Jewish habits, in the midst of whom is a man, 
who is always a criminal, (but pardoned for the part he then acts,) bound 
and fettered, crowned with thorns, and dressed in a purple robe. Then 
several trumpets come forward, and after them the prebends, the priests, 
and a multitude of people. In this equipage, they all crowd into the 
church, where the concourse is generally so great, that the multitudes are 
obliged to stand without. 

In the church a large scaffold is erected, and a cross, twenty feet in 
height, is set upon it: the person who represents the crucified Saviour 


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ascends this scaffold, and is followed by those who represent the Jews, 
with hammers, nails, and ropes in their hands. The Brotherhood of Mercy 
crowd round the scaffold, and the ladies have high seats prepared for them ; 
the common people standing below in the pit. The mock Jews now strip 
the pretended Christ of his ornaments, lay him along the scaffold, and 
cast dice for his garments; which being done, they strip him to his shirt 
Lastly, he is fixed on the cross, by tying his hands and feet with leathern 
thongs which are nailed to the cross ; and the better to imitate our Saviour’s 
sufferings, they put little bladders, filled with blood, under the thongs, 
which being pierced by the nails, the blood is seen to trickle from his hands 
and feet! This is the very pathos of this pious farce; for at the sight 
of the blood, the hearts of the people are moved, and the most devout beat 
their breasts, while the monks sing anthems suitable to the occasion. 

At Venice, on Good Friday, the Holy Sacrament is carried in proces¬ 
sion, about nine or ten at night, with the utmost solemnity: it is laid in a 
coffin, covered with black velvet, and in this manner is car¬ 
ried round the square of St. Mark. St. Didier informs us, 
“that there cannot be a finer sight than this square then affords. Two 
large flambeaux of white wax are set at each window of the palace Della 
Procuratia, which goes round the square. This double range of flambeaux, 
and those which are set over the church gate, are to light the several pro¬ 
cessions of the fraternities, and the neighbouring parishes, who go into the 
square. Here the penitents appear in masquerade, and beat themselves 
till the blood follows the blows. For this purpose they have scourges 
made of a great number of little sharp cords, which they hold with both 
their hands, and dipped in a pot filled with vinegar. They strike them¬ 
selves on the back with so much order, and in such exact cadence, that 
they must necessarily have studied the art very much, to be so very expert 
in it. 

Here follows the order which is observed in this procession. There are 
three or four hundred men, all of them holding thick torches of white 
wax, six feet long, and weighing at least twelve oi fifteen pounds each. 
These walk two and two, with a like number of persons, each holding a 
lantern, and walking between the torches in such a manner that the spec¬ 
tator sees alternately a flambeau and a lantern. They are all clothed in 
black or white serge, according to their fraternities, having a large cowl, 
two feet in length, and terminating in a point, which hangs down on their 
backs. Their lanterns are very large, and are fixed to the end of sticks ; 
each has several tapers in it, which gives a great light, the lanterns being 
made of very clear glass. As there is a great number of glass houses 
in and about Venice, some of them are made in a very odd shape, and 
are so heavy that one man is hardly able to carry them. Seme are made 
in the shape of stars, or like suns, with a great number of rays parting 

















































from them, and are six feet in diameter. The glasses are fixed in with 
pieces of iron and lead, gilt: others are made in the shape of roses, full 
and half moons, comets, pyramids, crosses, globes, eagles with extended 
wings, &c. In the midst of these flambeaux and lanterns, the standard 
is placed, and afterwards the cross, with a crucifix four feet high, covered 
with crape ; and a nosegay at the foot of it, as broad as a half-bushel. 
1 he several fraternities strive to rival each other in the singularity and 
beauty of their flowers as well as in the form they give to their nose¬ 
gays. The Battuti walk before the cross, scourging themselves by starts, 
and walking backwards, having their eyes always fixed on the crucified 
Saviour. After the cross the relics follow, carried on litters covered with 






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flowers and tapers. On both sides of the cross, several persons walk with 
long flambeaux in their hands, and large silver candlesticks, with several 
candles in them, fixed on a long pole. Afterwards, a chorus of voices 
is heard, and the clergy follow; then come the guardian, the deputy- 
guardian, and all the brethren of the fraternity, each having a torch in his 
hand. 

The ceremony of the adoration of the cross is also performed on Good 
Friday. After nones, the officiating priest goes up to the altar, preceded 
Adoration of the ^y acolytes, without tapers, and the rest of the ministers 
Cross - of the altar: they first kneel before it, and bow to the cross, 

a duty at all times necessary, but particularly on this day. Immediately 
after the officiating priest and his ministers have repeated on their knees 
certain prayers in a low tone, the acolytes cover the table of the altar, and 
lay the mass-book on a black cushion, on the epistle-side. This done, the 
master of the ceremonies makes a signal to the officiating priest and his 
ministers to rise up; then the acolytes take away the cushions that were 
knelt upon, and the black cloth, while the choir and the congregation say 
their prayers upon their knees. The minister who is to officiate now goes 
up to the altar, kisses it as usual, and afterwards either repeats, or sings 
with a low voice, the several lessons of the day, which his ministers 
repeat after him. Prayers being ended, the officiating priest goes to the 
epistle-side, the deacon takes the cross, which is veiled, from the altar, 
and presents it to the officiating priest, who, after he has uncovered the 
top of the cross, elevates it with both hands, at the same time singing 
these words: Ecce lignum crucis,—Behold the wood of the cross. Then 
all the congregation rise up with their heads bare, and the ministers of 
the altar sing as follows: In quo salus mundi pependit,—On which the 
Saviour of the world was extended. The choir answers, Venite et adore - 
mus,—Let us come and adore. Here, every one falls upon his knees, 
the officiating priest excepted. A moment after, they all rise up; the 
officiating priest uncovers the right arm of the crucifix, and the head of 
Jesus ; shows it, elevates it, and says, Ecce lignum , <^c., but louder 










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than before. Lastlj’, he goes up towards the middle of the altar, turns 
towards the congregation, and with a very loud voice repeats the same 
words, at the same time elevating the crucifix, and showing it quite un¬ 
covered. 

The acolytes now spread a purple piece of cloth, or carpet, in the midst 
of the chancel, and before the steps of the altar. A purple cushion, and a 
silken veil embroidered with gold, are laid upon the altar. The officiating 
priest carries the cross thither, and kneeling down, lays it on the cushion, 
and bows to it. Preceded by his ministers, who attend upon him at this 
august ceremony, he now returns to his place, where he puts off his sandals 
and his mitre. He afterwards advances towards the cross, in the midst of 
his ministers, who are likewise without shoes or sandals ; kneels down 
thrice, repeats thrice a short prayer, and at last kisses the holy wood, which 
the ministers do likewise. After this, having bowed to the cross, they all 
return and put on their sandals. 

The rest of the dignitaries of the church, each in his rank, now perform 
the same ceremony, and also the people. In those countries where the 
women do not sit with the men, a priest having a black stole over his sur¬ 
plice goes and presents them the crucifix to kiss and adore. 

The same ceremonies are performed at the pope’s chapel. After his 
holiness has kissed the crucifix, he makes an offering of twenty-five ducats 
of gold at least, which he puts into a vessel of the same metal, laid near the 
left arm of the crucifix. After the cardinals, emperors and kings go and 
worship the cross. 

The ceremony of the adoration being ended, the deacon salutes the cross, 
elevates it, and in this posture carries it to the altar, where he places it, 
observing to bow the knee before it. As he walks along, the officiating 
priest stands up while it passes before him ; but the rest of the ministers of 
the altar remain upon their knees. 

The ceremonies on Easter Eve are at St. John’s de Lateran : where, 
after the blessing of the fire and water, the catechumens who are of age 
are baptized in the Baptisterium of Constantine ; the Pope 
assists solemnly at the office in the Apostolical chapel, and 
a cardinal priest sings mass. 

On Easter Eve, the ornaments of the churches and altars are changed ; 
the black, with which the latter were covered, is taken off, and white put 
on ; the tabernacle is also uncovered, and covered with white, but so that 
the purple still appears on the outward side, till the litanies are ended. In 
like manner, after that part of the service has been celebrated, a carpet, or 
some rich covering, is laid on the steps of the altar, and the images are 
unveiled. Then six large tapers are got ready for solemn mass, and like¬ 
wise all the lights which are to burn before tne altar. 

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must be made in the shape of an angel, if possible, and very neatly 
wrought. In this candlestick, the paschal candle is fixed ; it must be 
made of the whitest wax, and weigh about eight or ten pounds ; five holes 
are made in it, in the shape of a cross, to be filled with five grains of 
frankincense, gilt over, and made in the shape of a pine-apple. To con¬ 
clude, some edifying subject is painted on the taper, such as the patron of 
the place, or any other saint. As every thing must correspond with the 
solemnity of the day, the ritual ordains, that the reed with which the 
tapers are lighted shall also be gilt and adorned with flowers. The three 
small candles which are fixed to the top of the reed represent the Trinity in 
Unity, and must therefore join together at the basis, i. e. at the end which 
touches the reed. 

It is ordained by the rituals, that baptism is not to be administered for a 
week before Easter-eve, unless a child’s life be in danger. On this eve is 
likewise performed the ceremony of blessing the new fire. 

The church being strewed with flowers, at the ninth hour the old fire is 
put out, and at the same time an acolyte must light the new one on the out¬ 
side of the church. 

The officiating priest, dressed in his sacerdotal vestments, and attended 
by the ministers of the altar and the clergy, now walks out of the church 
in procession, and goes to the place where the blessing of the fire is to be 
performed. The holy-water pot is carried thither in great pomp, as also 
the frankincense, the sub-deacon’s purple maniple, and the mass-book. 
The sub-deacon walks singly with the cross, and is followed by the clergy. 
When every one has taken his place, the officiating priest uncovers him¬ 
self, and pronounces these words : Dominus vobiscum,—The Lord he with 
you , 4*c., as usual. He afterwards repeats the prayer, Deus qui Jilium 
tuum , fyc., * n the midst of which he makes the sign of the cross over the 
fire ; he likewise blesses the five grains of frankincense, which are put on 
a plate, which an acolyte holds lifted up to his breast. In the mean time, 
the thuriferary puts some coals, after being blessed, into the thurible, into 
which the officiating priest throws some frankincense and blesses it; then 
the deacon gives him the sprinkler, kissing it at the same time. The offi¬ 
ciating priest then sprinkles thrice with holy water the fire which he had 
just before blessed, and as he is sprinkling says these words: Asperges me 
Domine. He incenses the sacred fire thrice, in the manner above men¬ 
tioned. Then one of the acolytes, or a sacristan, takes a small candle, and 
liorh.s it at the new fire. 

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Having gone in procession to the place where the ceremony was per 
formed, they return from it in the same order ; but the deacon first puts off 
his purple ornaments, and puts on white, whereas the sub-deacon takes a 
purple maniple. The only particular circumstance in the procession is 
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and the sub-deacon has a small candle shut up in a lantern. The pro¬ 
cession, having arrived at the church-door, makes a halt, when the deacon 
kisses the reed, and the acolyte lights one of the candles fixed upon the 
reed with that which is in the lantern. Then they fall all upon their 
knees, and the deacon elevates the reed, and sings the anthem, which 
begins as follows: Lumen Christi, fyc.; i. e. The light of Christ . He 
lights a second candle in the middle of the church with the same so¬ 
lemnity ; and the third is lighted on the steps of the altar. There they 
must perform certain acts of devotion, or rather ceremonies, one of which 
is The Blessing of the Paschal Candle. The deacon, having asked the 
officiating priest’s blessing, goes to the desk, on which he Jays the mass- 
book, and incenses it thrice, but neither signs himself nor the mass-book 
with the sign of the cross. The rest of the ministers range themselves 
round the mass-book in the manner following:—The cross-bearer stands 
with the cross turned towards the officiating priest; the thuriferary is 
at the deacon’s right hand ; the other acolyte, who has the reed in his 
hand, and he who bears the five grains of incense, are at his left. When 
the deacon begins to sing the lesson called the Praeconium, which begins 
Exultet , <^c., the officiating priest and his ministers uncover themselves ; 
and in the midst of their chanting, at these words, Curvat Imperia , he 
puts the five grains of incense in the form of a cross into the taper. 
Afterwards, at certain words, Rutilans ignis accendit , fyc., adapted to the 
mysteries of the ceremony, he lights the paschal taper ; and while he is 
chanting, an acolyte lights all the rest of the candles with the new fire. 

This ceremony being ended, the deacon returns to the sacristy, where 
he puts off his white ornaments, and resumes the purple stole and the 
maniple of the same colour. After the blessing of the tapers, follow the 
lessons called Prophecies ; and after them a verse is sung by the choristers, 
called Tractus. Singing of the prayers concludes this ceremony. 

It is considered that the blessing of the paschal candle is of great 
antiquity in the church, and that Pope Zozimus in the beginning of 
the fifth century commanded that one should be lighted in every parish. 
This candle must remain on the gospel-side from Easter-eve to Ascension- 
day. 

The officiating priest and his ministers now go in procession to bless 
the baptismal font; the cross and taper bearers go on one side of it, and 

Blessing of the m i nister who officiates stands opposite to them, in 
Baptismal Font, such a manner that the font stands between him and the 

cross. The other ecclesiastics range themselves on each side; an acolyte 
stands at a little distance behind the officiating priest, at his right hand, 
holding a napkin to wipe his hands, and a thuriferary stands next in order 
to him. 

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ROMAN CATHOLIC 






with all the others, the cross and taper bearers excepted. After an anthem 
is sung suitable to the solemnity, he rises up, and turning towards the font, 
pronounces the blessing, making the sign of the cross that way. He 
altenvards exorcises the water, makes a cross in it with his hands, and 
pours some out of the vessel towards the four cardinal points of the horizon. 
This done, he wipes his hands with the napkin given him by the acolyte, 
and repeats a prayer, at the conclusion of which he blows thrice on the 
water, and in three different places, always observing to do it crosswise. 
He also plunges a taper thrice into the same water, observing to sink it 
deeper the second time than the first, and the third more than the second, 
saying at each immersion the following words: Deseendat in hanc plenitu- 
7 inem fontis virtus Spiritus Sancti; i. e. May the Spirit of the Holy 
Ghost descend into this water. The assistants now sprinkle the people 
with a little of this water, and they also send a priest or a sacristan to 
sprinkle the houses therewith. 

After this ceremony, the officiating minister perfumes the font thrice 
with frankincense ; after which he takes the oil of the catechumens, and 
pours it on the water crosswise, and does the same with the chrisma. 
Being poured into the water in equal proportions, and always crosswise, 
he afterwards mixes them with his right hand in order that they may be 
diffused equally over every part of the font. 

The font being blessed, the celebrant goes and receives the catechumens 
at the church-gate ; and clothes himself in white, to perform the ceremony 
of their baptism. 

The litanies are now sung, and a solemn mass and vespers are said. 
While the litanies are chanting, the host, w 7 hich till now was hidden, is 
taken out and brought to the altar; all the tapers are then lighted, the 
altar is covered with several ornaments, the images are unveiled, and the 
seat of the officiating priest is covered. The latter, together with his 
priests, now resume their white ornaments, and prepare themselves for the 
celebration of a solemn mass. When the officiating minister begins the 
Gloria in excelsis , all the bells fall a ringing; for which purpose a signal 
is given from the cathedral. 

This procession is singularly imposing, but a minute account of it will 
altogether exceed the limits of this w r ork. Among others, the procession 
Procession of includes bishops, archbishops, consecrated patriarchs, am* 
ment. le6Sed ^ aCr& - bassadors, cardinals, &c. &c. The pope, w r ho comes next 
after the ambassadors, is carried in a vehicle, in which he seems to be 
on his knees, though he is really seated. He has on a rich cope, and 
over it a pall made of cloth of silver, which covers his shoulders and arms 
like a scarf. Before him is set a wooden stool, gilt, with a cushion of red 
crimson velvet, embroidered with gold lace ; on which is laid the expositor, 
in which the host is contained, which he bears with his own hands. 

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The canopy over the pope’s head is carried by the patriarchs, arch¬ 
bishops, and bishops, at their first setting out from St. Peter’s ; and after¬ 
wards, at their setting out from the portico of the Vatican, by the prime 
nobility of the neighbouring nations, such as the Florentines and the Sien¬ 
nese, who relieve one another till the procession is almost ended ; when 
the Roman conservators, and the prior of the captains of the several dis¬ 
tricts, take it and carry it into church. 

The Swiss, who go on each side of the pope, are cased in iron from head 
to foot, each man carrying a great two-handed sword unsheathed in his 
hand. After this guard of cuirassiers, the prelates advance in their several 
ranks, viz. the apostolical prothonotaries, the auditors, the clerks of the 
chamber, the generals of the orders, the referendaries, or officers in chan¬ 
cery, of the signature of grants, and of justice; and, lastly, the several 
companies of light-horse, four in rank, and the horses covered with very 
rich trappings. These close the march. 

Sometimes his holiness walks on foot in this procession, in order to set 
an example of greater respect and veneration for the holy sacrament, which 
he carries in his hands. Urban VIII., and some other popes, formerly 
carried it on horseback. 

When the consecrated host is not carried by his holiness, the dean of 
the sacred college, or the eldest cardinal, bears it instead of him, but is 
on foot. And on these occasions, the princes and ambassadors do not assist 

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The procession generally lasts about four hours, although it has not 
above a mile to go; but then they walk with the utmost gravity, and ; 
extremely slow. While the procession continues, the Castle of St. Angelo 
makes a triple discharge of all its artillery. The first salvo is made 
when his holiness goes out of the chapel Paulina, and takes in his hand yzA 
the expositor, in which the host is contained. The great culverine of 
St. Peter’s is then fired off to give the signal. The second salvo is made 
when the pope goes out from the portico of the great square, before the 
Apostolical Palace: and the third , when he enters into that of St. James. 

The pope’s guards are all under arms during the procession, and two of 
the light-horse are posted, with their lances couched, at the corner of 
every street through which the procession passes, to preserve order. 

During the procession of the Blessed Sacrament, the bells of the cathe¬ 
dral, and of the other churches before which it passes, are rung. The 
streets must be swept, and strewed with flowers and green leaves, and the 
outsides of the houses and churches must be hung with tapestry. In 
some parts of Italy, triumphal arches are raised, adorned with emblems 
and mottoes, in honour of the blessed sacrament. The custom of laying 
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altars, as is now the custom, erected in the streets, as halting-places for 
their processions. 

The officiating priest consecrates two large hosts, one of which is to be 
used in the procession. Mass being ended, the tapers are distributed, and 
a sub-deacon, clothed in vestments suitable to the festival, comes out of the 
sacristy, preceded by two incense-bearers in surplices, with the thurible 
in one hand and the navicula in the other. The two incense-bearers join 
the sub-deacon, and stand by him on the outside of the chancel of the 
altar, till the march begins. Six clerks in surplices, with lighted torches 
in their hands, now range themselves on each side of the foot of the altar; 
and those who are to carry the canopy set themselves at the entrance of 
the chancel. 

The last Gospel being read, the officiating priest makes his genuflections, 
having the deacon and sub-deacon on each side of him, and afterwards 
goes to the epistle-side ; then descends to the bottom of the steps, takes 
off his maniple and chasuble, and puts on a white cope. The deacon and 
sub-deacon also put off their maniples, and then they all three go and 
make a genuflection on both knees, bending their bodies very low in the 
middle of the last step of the altar, where they continue a little time in 
prayer ; after which the deacon rises up, and makes another genuflection ; 
.■•y> and this is in order to uncover the expositor, and place it on the corporal, 
or piece of fine linen used at mass. Here follows a third genuflection ; 
and then he comes back, and stands near the officiating priest, who rises 
up and withdraws a little towards the gospel-side ; and after having thrice 
put incense into each thurible, he falls down upon his knees, with the 
deacon, who is at his right hand, and the sub-deacon at the left. The 
former gives the thurible to the officiating priest, who incenses the blessed 
sacrament thrice, making a low bow both before and after. This triple 
incensing being over, the sub-deacon spreads the veil over the shoulders 
of the officiating priest, while the deacon goes up to the altar, takes the 
expositor from thence, which he gives to the officiating priest, and after¬ 
wards covers his hands with the extremities of the veil that lies over his 
shoulders ; after which, the officiating priest having the pix, or exposi¬ 
tor, in his hands, turns about to the right, and his ministers after him, 
when they all three continue on one of the steps of the altar, till such 
time as the whole procession has wheeled off, and they begin the Pange 
Lingua. 

As the cross is carried before the pope whenever he appears in public 
at Rome, so the host goes before him when he is upon a journey ; for the 
sovereign pontiffs have appropriated to themselves, alone, 
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pomp with which it was carried into Ferrara, in 1598, when Clement VIII. 
went to take possession of that city after the death of Alphonso of Este. 

The host was borne in procession out of Rome, in a magnificent taberna¬ 
cle, which was carried by eight canons of the Vatican, upon a kind of 
litter, and under a magnificent canopy, embroidered with gold, silk, &c. 

The Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament, with each a torch in his hand, 
walked before the host. The religious orders, the musicians of St. Peter’s 
chapel, and the clergy, with our Saviour’s cross carried before them, fol¬ 
lowed the brotherhood. Afterwards, the host appeared under the canopy, 
carried by eight of the private chamberlains of his holiness, and guarded 
by a body of Swiss, and other soldiers. After the host, his holiness ap¬ 
peared, with a torch in hand ; and next to him the sacred college, the pre¬ 
lates, and the Roman nobility, all of them holding tapers in their hands, 
and followed by a body of troops. In this manner the host was transported 
out of Rome. 

It was carried to Ferrara, on the back of a beautiful horse, which was 
adorned with the most gaudy trappings. His holiness, before he began 
the march, bent his knee before the host, and did not rise up till it was 
out of sight. The mules employed to carry the baggage, and the lackeys 
of his holiness, carrying his arms, marched at the head; these were 
reinforced by several companies of soldiers, with their trumpets sounding 
as they marched. After this, eight led-horses came forward; and they 
were followed by the domestics of the cardinals and prelates, all of them 
on horseback. 

Next came two couriers belonging to the Apostolic See, the band ot 
music of the pope’s chapel, two esquires, two mace-bearers, followed by 
the master of the ceremonies and the two clerks of the pontifical chapel, 

Each of the latter carried a lantern, fixed at the end of a lance, in ordei 
to light the host, which followed immediately after. Two of the grooms 
of his holiness held the reins of the horse on which he rode, and the host 
was guarded by a body of armed Swiss. Afterwards came the sacristan, 
with his white staff in his hand, the badge of his office, and followed by a 
great number of Roman prelates. 

After these, another band of musicians, and a company of lackeys be¬ 
longing to the baggage, appeared, and five hundred horsemen, in very 
magnificent habits, divided likewise into companies. The barber, tailor, 
and shoemaker of his holiness joined in the procession, according to their 
rank. Four chamberlains followed them, carrying four pontifical caps, 
made of purple, at the end of four pikes. All the nobility of Rome and 
of Ferrara assisted also in this procession, dressed in a very sumptuous 
manner; and after these came the acolytes, the chiefs of the apostolical 
chamber, the auditors of the rota, the sub-deacons, the orators, the bishop 
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the ceremonies, his cross-bearer, twenty clerks of the cathedral of Ferrara, 
each having a lighted torch in his hand. 

The host, when the procession departed from Rome, and during the 
whole journey, was carried along with the baggage ; but at the entrance 
into Ferrara, it was placed in the centre of the procession. The pope s 
chief-treasurer had bags fixed on each side of his saddle, out of wnich he 
threw money to the people. After the treasurer came thirty youths of 
the highest quality in Ferrara, walking on foot, bareheaded, dressed in 
cloth of silver, with little black cloaks, embroidered with silk, and caps in 
their hands, enriched with golden roses, pearls, and precious stones. After 
this shining troop came Pope Clement himself, clothed in a robe of very 
rich silk, and having on his head a crown enriched with jewels of 
immense value. He was carried on the shoulders of eight tall lackeys, 
clothed in long scarlet robes, under a canopy of the finest crimson velvet, 
embroidered with gold, surrounded with a double range of guards, very 
richly dressed, and followed by his Swiss, and an auditor of the rota , who 
carried his triple crown after him, having on each side of him the great 
chamberlain and the chief butler. A great number of coaches and horse¬ 
men followed. 

During the whole march, the faithful sung anthems and motets , repeated 
prayers, made signs of the cross, and gave and received blessings. In a 
word, they practised all the exterior tokens of devotion. They marched 
very slowly, and the clergy, both secular and regular, in all the places 
through which the procession passed in the night-time, advanced to meet 
them, with a body of the militia at their head. After the clergy came the 
magistrates and other persons of distinction ; and at the entrance into the 
city, the trumpets sounded, and the air echoed with spiritual songs, while 
the people crowded from all parts, to come and adore the host. People of 
the highest rank, at the same time, strove who should first present his 
holiness with the canopy. 

On Christmas-eve, before the office of the ensuing festival begins, the 
sovereign pontiff annually blesses a gold-hilted sword , inlaid with precious 
, , stones, wrought in the form of a dove ; with the scabbard 
Sword and of the a nd belt enriched in like manner, and a Ducal hat fixed 
on its point. on the point of it. This hat is made of purple-coloured 
silk, furred with ermine, and surrounded with a hatband, made in the 
form of a crown adorned with jewels: the hat and sword are both sent by 
his holiness to some potentate for whom he has a peculiar affection, or to 
a great general, who may have merited such a distinction for his bravery, 
exerted against the enemies of Christianity. His holiness performs the 
ceremony of blessing them, clothed with the albe, the amict, and the stole, 
before he puts on the red cope, which he wears at the office of Christmas- 
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fixed on the point of it; and after having pronounced the blessing, he 
sprinkles and incenses them both with holy-water. This being done, tlm 
pope goes to his chapel, preceded by the same clerk of the chamber, who 
walks with the sword and the hat before the pontifical cross. If the person 
for whom these presents are designed happens to be at Rome, he must 
receive them from the pope’s own hand, observing to kiss both that and his 
foot. His holiness declares to him that the sword denotes the power of our 
Saviour, and the victory which he has gained over the devil. While the 
sword is girding on, his holiness addresses the person so honoured as fol¬ 
lows :—“ By this sword we declare you the defender of the Holy Apos¬ 
tolical See, and of the pontifical sovereignty; the protector of the Holy 
See against the enemies of the faith, and the bulwark of the Church. 
May your arm, by the virtue of this sword, triumph over the enemies of 
the Holy See, and of the name of Christ Jesus : may the Holy Ghost, 
represented by the dove, descend on your head, and protect you against 
those for whom God prepares his judgments, before the Holy Roman 
Catholic Church, and the Holy See Apostolic,” &c. Such is the formula 
appointed by Sixtus IV. for this ceremony. 

Sometimes the person to whom the pope presents the consecrated sword 
is invited to read one of the lessons of the office ; in which case a clerk of 
the chamber girds him with the sword over the surplice, clothes him with 
a white chasuble, and puts the hat upon his head. After this the master 
of the ceremonies conducts him to the steps of the throne of his holiness, 
where he bows to the altar, and then to the pope ; and after having returned 
the consecrated hat to the master of the ceremonies, he draws the conse¬ 
crated sword out of the scabbard, touches the ground with the point of it, 
waves it thrice aloft, and after having brought it back gently over the left 
arm, puts it again into the scabbard. This ceremony being concluded, he 
goes to the desk, and sings the fifth lesson of the office, having first re¬ 
ceived the pope’s blessing. When the singing is finished, he goes and 
kisses the feet of his holiness ; which done, his sacerdotal vestments are 
taken off, and the hat is again fixed on the point of the sword, which a 
gentleman holds with the point upwards till the office is ended. If the 
person for whom the sword is consecrated should not be present at Rome, 
or is not able to read, the Romish ceremonial ordains that a clerk of the 
chamber must put on the surplice, and sing at the desk in his stead ; and 
that afterwards (if present) both of them shall go and kiss the feet of his 
holiness. 

'The person to whom the sword has been presented is then conducted 
back to his house in pomp, by the nobility of the court of Rome. The 
sword is carried before him, held aloft, with the hat fixed on the point 
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ROMAN CATHOLIC CIIURCII 


SEC. II.-SACRAMENTS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges seven sacraments, which 
number, according to the catechism of the Council of Trent, is established 
by the Scriptures, by the tradition of the fathers, and the 
authority of councils. 

These sacraments are accompanied with several solemn and public cere¬ 
monies, with which the church has thought fit to heighten them, notwith¬ 
standing they are not essential, since they can subsist without them: how¬ 
ever, they say that it would be a sin to omit them, unless in cases of 
necessity. Hence it is that the Council of Trent has pronounced anathema 
against those who say that the ministers of the sacraments may, without 
sin, despise, or omit, at pleasure, the several ceremonies received in the 
church. “We are assured,” says the Catechism of the Council of 
Trent, “that these ceremonies give us a more strict idea of, and, as it 
were, set before our eyes the effects which result from these sacraments, 
and imprint the sanctity which attends them more strongly on the minds 
of the faithful. They raise the minds of such as observe them re¬ 
ligiously, to the contemplation of the most exalted things.” In a word, 
we are assured that they excite and increase in us a true faith and spirit 
of charity. 

The sacrament of baptism is defined by the church as one instituted by 
Jesus Christ, in order to wash away original sin, and all those actual ones 
which we may have committed; to communicate to mankind 
Baptism. th e spiritual regeneration and grace of Jesus Christ; and to 
unite them as living members to their head. 

The most essential part of the ceremony of baptism in the Catholic 
Church is as follows:—At the church-door the priest first asks the god¬ 
father and godmother what child they present to the Church ? whether or 
no they are its true godfather and godmother? if they be resolved to live 
and die in the true Catholic and Apostolic faith ? and what name they 
intend to o-ive it? All profane names, as those of the heathens and their 
gods, must be rejected ; nevertheless, those of Hercules, Hannibal, Achilles, 
Urania, Diana, &c. are common enough. A Catholic priest is authorized 
to change the name of a child who had been baptized Abraham, Isaac, or 
Jacob, by a Protestant minister. After the usual questions have been 
asked, the priest makes an exhortation to the godfather and godmother, 
with regard to the devotion which ought to accompany the whole perform¬ 
ance. The exhortation being ended, the priest continues the ceremony ; 
and calling the child by the name that is to be given it, asks it as follows:— 
What dost thou demand of the church ? To which the 0 cdfat.her ansv\eis 
Faith. The priest adds, What is the fruit of faith? The godfather 
answers, Eternal life. The priest continues, If you are desirous of obtain * 


The Seven 
Sacraments. 



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eternal life, keep God's commandments: Thou shall love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart, $*c. After which he breathes three times upon 
the child’s face, but must observe not to let the child breathe upon him : 
and at the same time says, Come out of this child , thou evil spirit, and 
make room for the Holy Ghost. 

This being done, with the thumb of his right hand he makes a cross on 
the child’s forehead, and afterwards another on its breast, pronouncing 
these words : Receive the sign of the cross on thy forehead, and in thine 
heart, Sec. Whereupon he takes off his cap, repeats a short prayer, and 
laying his hand gently on the child’s head, prays for him a second time. 
This second prayer being ended, the priest blesses the salt in case it was 
not blessed before; which being done, he takes a little of it, puts it into 
the child’s mouth, pronouncing these words: Receive the salt of wisdom. 
He then repeats a third prayer; after which he puts on his cap, and exor¬ 
cises the Prince of Darkness, commanding him to come forth out of him 
who is going to be baptized, &c. At the end of the exorcism, he again 
makes the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, lays his hand on its 
head, and repeats another prayer. 

After this fourth prayer, the priest lays the end of the stole upon the 
child, and taking hold of his swaddling-clothes by one corner, he brings it 
into the church ; the godfather and godmother enter at the same time, and 
repeat with the priest the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, as they 
advance towards the font, which having reached, the priest exorcises the 
devil once again, and after the exorcism, takes the saliva from his mouth 


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with the thumb of his right hand ; with this he rubs the child’s ears and 
nostrils, and, as he touches his right ear, repeats a Hebrew word which 
signifies Do thou open; the same which Jesus Christ said to the man 
who was born deaf and dumb. Lastly, the assistants pull off its swaddling- 
clothes, or at least strip it below the shoulders ; during which, the priest 
prepares the holy oils, &c. 

The godfather now takes the child, ready stripped, and holds it directly 
over the font; the godmother then takes it by the feet, or the middle; both 
observing to turn it towards the east: the priest now asks the child, 
“ Whether he renounces the devil and all his works, the pomps,” &c. 
The godfather answers in the affirmative. This renunciation used for¬ 
merly to be made on the outside of the church. The priest then anoints 
the child between the shoulders, in the form of a cross, and after that lays 
aside his purple stole, and puts on a white one; when the child is again 
questioned with respect to his belief, to which the godfather makes suita¬ 
ble answers in his name. These preliminaries being ended, the priest 
takes some of the baptismal water, which he pours thrice on the child’s 
head in the form of a cross, and as he pours it, says, “I baptize,” &c., 
taking care to mention one of the persons in the Trinity every time he 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


pours it on. This being done, he anoints the top of the child’s head with 
the chrisma, in form of a cross—lays a piece of white linen upon its head, 
10 represent the white garment mentioned in Scripture, and puts a lighted 
taper into the child’s hand, or rather into that of the godfather. Such are 
tiie ceremonies of baptism, which the priest concludes with an exhortation : 
but if the child’s life be’in danger, these ceremonies are omitted, upon con¬ 
dition that they shall be observed in case he recovers his health ; but if he 
has all the symptoms of death upon him, the midwife baptizes the child 
without delay. 

Adult persons must, if possible, be baptized by the bishop himself; and 
the most proper time for this ceremony is Easter, or Whitsun-eve, which 
are the days appointed for baptism by the ancient church. The minister 
who baptizes, and the candidate for baptism, must both be fasting; but 
there is but very little difference between the ceremony of the baptism of cate¬ 
chumens and that of children. The priest signs the catechumen several 
times with the sign of the cross; first on the forehead, which implies that 
he must take upon himself the cross of Christ ; on the ears, in order that 
he may open them to the divine precepts of the gospel; on the eyes, that 
he may see the light of God ; on the nostrils, that he may smell the fra¬ 
grant odour of Christ; on the mouth, that he may utter the words of life; 
on the breast, that he may believe; on the naked shoulders, to the end 
that he may bear the yoke of the Lord. These signs of the cross art 
concluded by three more, which the priest makes over the whole person 
of the catechumen. 

The candidates for confirmation must be fasting, and consequently re¬ 
ceive this sacrament in the morning, because it was at that time of the 
day the Holy Ghost descended on the apostles. The bishop, 
before he begins the confirmation, proceeds to his private 
devotions, washes his hands, and puts on the white vestments ; after which 
he turns himself about to the candidates, who stand in the same order as 
at baptism, viz. the boys on the right, and the girls on the left. He next 
repeats a prayer; which being done, he sits down, and the candidates 
kneel before him. If the candidates for confirmation are very numerous, 
the bishop stands up, and the candidates stand on the steps of the chancel 
of the altar; each being supported under the arm by their godfathers. 
The bishop now asks the name of each candidate, and has it registered, 
after which he dips the thumb of his right hand into the chrisma, anu 
therewith makes the sign of the cross upon the forehead; at the same 
time giving a gentle blow on the cheek to the person confirmed, and say¬ 
ing, “Peace be with you.” Immediately after, the forehead of the person 
confirmed is bound with a slip of linen about the breadth of two fingers: 
and the bishop says to him, “I confirm you by the chrisma of salvation, 
in the name of the Father,” &c. The ceremony ends with the blessing 


Confirmation, 




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3-20 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


The Eucharist. 


of the persons confirmed, which is done by the bishop, who makes the 
sign of the cross upon them. 

The priest is the sole minister empowered to consecrate the host, and the 
rest of the ministers of the church are allowed only to prepare the things 
necessary for this sacrament; he also has the privilege of 
communicating under both kinds, that is, of eating the 
oread and drinking the wine; whereas, the laity communicate only under 
one, viz. the bread and it is said that this custom was introduced in order 
to prevent certain accidents which degraded the dignity of the sacrament. 
One of these was, the overgrown whiskers and beards of some who re¬ 
ceived it, which, as they sometimes reached into the cup in which the 
blood of Jesus Christ was contained, might by that means make some 
oood Christians sick at the stomach ! 

D 

Every Catholic ought to communicate at Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, 
and Twelfthtide ; but every good one should, besides the seasons above 
mentioned, receive the sacrament on Corpus Christi day, All-Saints, the 
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the festival of his patron, and the anni¬ 
versary of his baptism. They ought to receive fasting, and be dressed in 
such a manner as best suits the Christian simplicity. 

The priests who present themselves to the communion receive the sacra¬ 
ment immediately after the deacon and sub-deacon, before any other per¬ 
son ; and these must have a white stole over the surplice. The minis¬ 
ters, who serve at the altar, communicate in the habits of their respective 
orders; but the acolytes, and other clerks, receive the Eucharist in their 
surplices. After this, the officiating priest goes down to the rails, in order 
to administer the sacrament to the laity; observing to begin with the per¬ 
son who stands first on the epistle-side. He makes the sign of the cross 
with the host on the person that is to receive, observing not to take his 
hand away till such time as the host is entirely in the mouth of the person 
receiving. We shall not take notice of the prayers, or other particulars, 
mentioned in the rituals. 

If, in administering the host, or consecrated wafer, the smallest bit of it 
should happen to fall on the ground, it must be taken up in the most re¬ 
spectful manner, and the place on which it fell must be covered, for fear of 
treading upon the least particle of it: they must afterwards scrape the 
floor, and throw the shavings into the sacristy, and wash the place very 
if it should happen to fall upon the napkin, or the veil, &c., such 


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part of it must be washed, and the water thrown into the sacristy; if it 
fall on the vestments of the officiating priest, the part must be observed, 
and afterwards washed. 

T. he blessed sacrament is administered as a Viaticum, or provision for a 
journey, to those whose life is in danger. The sick person must receive it 
lasting, provided he can do so with safety; and if lie be not able to swallow 
































































































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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


„ . the whole wafer, a piece of it may be given him, and 
afterwards some liquid ; but the host must not be dipped 
in any liquid beforehand, on pretence that the sick person will be the better 
able to swallow it. 

In case the sick person throws up the wafer, and that the particles of it 
plainly appear, they must be put into a clean vessel, and carried to the 
church, and there deposited in some holy and decent place, “till such time 
as they are corrupted, after which they shall be cast into the Sacrarium, 
or Piscina; but if the pieces are not to be distinguished, what he has 
vomited up must be wiped with pieces of tow, and these must afterwards 
be burned, and the ashes thrown into the sacrary.” The priest must take 
care not to give those the viaticum who are troubled with a continual kj>/ 
coughing, or are not able to swallow or consume the host, for fear of any 
accident unsuitable to the dignity of the sacrament. 

Whenever the viaticum is to be carried to any place, care must be taken 
to make the chamber in which the sick person lies very clean, and also 
all those parts of the house through which the host is to pass ; and they 
should likewise be strewed with flowers and odoriferous herbs. The host 
must be laid on a table very neatly covered, on which two candlesticks, 
with two lighted tapers in them, shall be set; also a drinking-glass ; a 
vessel full of wine or water to purify or wash the fingers, and a white cloth 
.() lay before the sick person. In case the viaticum be carried in public, 
as is the custom in Roman Catholic countries, the rector gives notice to his 
parishioners, by ringing a bell, to prepare themselves to accompany the 
blessed sacrament with tapers and torches ; to support the canopy, or give 
some other exterior marks of their devotion and respect. Being assembled, 
the priest washes his hands, as is usual in the celebration of the divine 
mysteries, and of such ceremonies as are performed by him in blessings, 
consecrations, &c. He then puts on the surplice, the stole, the chasuble, 
and goes up to the altar, accompanied or followed by other priests or 
clerks. Here he falls upon his knees, repeats a private prayer ; and after¬ 
wards rising up, puts a white scarf about his neck, spreads the corporal 
on the altar, opens the tabernacle ; kneels down a second time at taking 
out the ciborium or pix , ^hich he lays upon the corporal; kneels a third 
time when he has opened it; and after having viewed the host, covers it 
with its little oval lid, and takes it in both his hands, which are folded in 
the ends of the scarf that is about his neck. He then goes under the 
canopy, and a clerk, with a lighted lantern in his hand, walks foremost; 
and two other clerks, the one holding the holy water, the corporals, and 
the purificatories, and the other the ritual and a little bell, march imme¬ 
diately after him. Next come those who carry the torches; and lastly 
the priest, walking under the canopy, and carrying the host raised as high 
as hi? breast. Tf the priest carry the viaticum to a considerable distance. 


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the host must be put in a little silver box, or pix, enclosed in a stuff purse, 
and hung about his neck. 

The priest, on coming into the sick man’s apartment, bids peace to the 
house, and goes towards the table, on which he spreads the corporal, in 
order to set the pix, or ciborium, upon it. This being done, he and every 
person present worship the host. He then sprinkles the sick person, and 
also the room ; during which, anthems are sung, and prayers are repeated 
suitable to the occasion. After this, he opens the ciborium, takes out a 
consecrated wafer with the thumb and fore-finger of his right hand, ob¬ 
serving to hold it a little aloft over the top of the ciborium, which he holds 
in his left hand, and, turning about, advances towards the sick man, in 
order to administer the sacrament to him. 

The communion being ended, the priest places the ciborium upon the 
table, observing to make a genuflection at the same time ; and afterwards 
rubs his finger and thumb, with which he took up the host, upon the brim 
of the ciborium; so that if any little piece of the wafer should happen to 
stick to it, he may shake it into it. He afterwards shuts the ciborium, and 
covers it with a little veil, kneeling at the same time ; then he washes the 
finger and thumb which touched the host with wine and water, presented 
him by those of the house. 

This act of devotion concludes with prayers and exhortations. If any 
consecrated wafers be left in the pix, or ciborium, the priest, after having 
blessed the sick person, returns to the church, attended by the same per¬ 
sons who accompanied him to the sick man’s house. Being come into the 
church, he pronounces the indulgences granted by the sovereign pontiffs 
and the bishop of the diocese, and gives them his blessing ; but in case 
there are no more wafers in the pix, the priest returns without any for¬ 
mality, after having repeated the prayers used after the communion of the 
sick. If the sick person be just expiring, the priest omits all the prayers, 
&c., and, in giving him the viaticum, repeats two or three words only. 

When the viaticum is given to a priest, he ought to have a surplice on, 
and, over it, a white stole, disposed crosswise over his breast. 

If a priest be obliged to carry the viaticum to any person infected with 
the plague, he must go within nine or ten paces of the house, taking care 
to stand in such a manner that the wind may be at his back He now 
encloses the consecrated wafer between two common ones ; and, after 
having wrapped up the whole in a sheet of white paper, lays it on the 
ground, at a reasonable distance from the place infected, and covers it with 
a stone, in order to secure it from the wind and rain. This being done, the 
priest draws back, and the sick person, or his attendant, being instructed 
by the priest, comes and takes up the wafer, which is the consecrated 
host. The priest then says the prayers, and performs the ceremonies, 
which are usually repeated, both before and after the communion. 






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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


1 ne Hive precaution is observed in giving extreme unction to persons in¬ 
fected with the plague. They take a long wand, or rod, at the end of 
which a piece of tow, or cotton, dipped in the holy oil, is fixed, with which 
the sick person is anointed once, and with the usual words. After this, 

tney run the end of the wand and the cotton into a fire purposely prepared 

in a chafing-dish. 

The bishops have power to absolve sinners throughout the whole ex¬ 
tent of their dioceses, and rectors in their parishes. Other priests and 

monks must have an express approbation from the bishop 

before they are allowed to hear confession. However, 

there are certain cases reserved to the pope, the bishops, and their peni¬ 
tentiaries. 

Fasting, prayers, alms, abstinence from such pleasures and things as we 
chiefly delight in, are the general conditions of penance. There are others 
of a more particular kind ; as, to repeat a certain number of Ave-Marias, 
Pater-nosters, and Credos; to kneel, or salute the host a stated number of 
times ; to give one’s-self a certain number of stripes ; to wear a hair- 
shirt, or a girdle made of horse-hair, &c., next to the skin. It would be 
endless, however, to enter into a farther detail of such particulars. Those 
who cannot hit upon austerities severe enough for their purposes will 
meet with sufficient instructions in the Lives of the Saints, and the Golden 
Legend. 

The confessor must have a surplice over his cassock, with a purple stole 
and square cap ; he must hear confession in the church, and at that part 
of it which is the most distant from the high altar, i. e. at the bottom of the 
nave, being the most exposed to the view of the people, in the confessional, 
or confession-chair, which is the tribunal of penance. The confessional 
must be open before, and have one or two lattice-windows in it. Opposite 
to the penitent is placed an image of the crucifix, or some mystery of the 
Passion. Confession must be made in the day-time, and if possible, when 
there are people in the church. As soon as the penitent is come up to the 
confessional, he must make the sign of the cross, and ask the confessor’s 
blessing. 

The confessor must then be seated, his body upright, his cap on his 
head, his face covered, and his ear stooped towards the penitent The peni¬ 
tent should be generally kneeling, and his or her hands clasped. Women 
and young maidens must not come to confession with their breasts bare, or 
their arms uncovered. 

Confession being ended, the confessor uncovers himself, in order to 
absolve the penitent; and, accordingly, he recommends him to the divine 
mercy, stretches out his right hand towards him, begging God to remit his 
sins ; after which, he puts on his square cap, gives him the absolution in 
the name of Christ Jesus, and adds, holding his right hand always lifted 


Confession and 
Reliance. 















































































324 


roman catholic church. 


up towards the penitent, that he absolves him, by Christ’s authority, in 
the name of the Father , $*c. He then takes off his cap a second time, and 
prays to God that “Our Saviour’s passion, the merits of the Holy Virgin, 
and of all the saints, may conspire to remit the penitent’s sins.” 

When the penitent has completed the penance enjoined him, he returns 
to the bishop or his penitentiary, with a certificate signed by the rector, to 

Public absoiu P rove that he has fulfilled it; after which they proceed to 
t,on - his reconciliation with the Church. This reconciliation was 

formerly performed on Holy Thursday. But whether it happen on this or 
any other day of public worship, the penitent must come to the church- 
door, on the day appointed him for receiving absolution. The Roman 
pontifical enjoins that he shall be there upon his knees, with an unlighted 
taper in his hand. He must likewise be in a plain and ordinary dress, 
without his weapons, if he be a soldier, and bare-headed ; in an humble 
and contrite manner, and with a dejected countenance : women must be 
veiled. Immediately before the parochial mass, the priest, clothed in his 
albe, or surplice, and the purple stole, shall give the people notice that the 
penitent or penitents are going to be reconciled to the church. He then 
shall exhort the congregation to pray for them ; shall fall prostrate before 
the altar, and pronounce some prayers, which are answered by the con¬ 
gregation. These prayers are composed of passages from the Scriptures, 
and selected by the Church. The prayers being ended, the priest goes 
to the church-door, and makes a pretty long exhortation to the penitents; 
which being done, he takes them by the hand and leads them into the 
church. But in case they have been excommunicated, he then, before he 
re-unites them to the body of the faithful, sits down, puts on his cap, and 
repeats the Miserere; the penitent being at his feet, the congregation 
upon their knees, and the clergy standing. At every verse of the 
Miserere , the priest strikes the excommunicated penitent on the shoulder 
with a little stick, or whip made of cords. The Roman ritual and the 
pontifical ordain, that the penitent who is absolved in this manner shall 
be stripped to his shirt, as low as his shoulders. The priest then asks 
the penitent the occasion of his coming hither, and after that says to him, 
Receive the sign of the cross of Christ and Christianity , which thou hadst 
borne before , but renounced by the error into which thou didst unhappily 
fall. This ceremony, as all the preceding, must be followed by some 
prayers ; and afterwards the litanies are to be sung, the people being upon 
their knees. 

The rituals define extreme unction to be a sacrament that gives all such 
Christians as are afflicted with any dangerous fit of sickness a final remis- 

Extreme Unc s * on t ^ r remaining sins, inspires them with grace to 
,10n suffer with patience the pains and troubles of their infirmity, 

endues them with strength sufficient to die the death of the righteous, and 


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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


restore? them to health, prov.ded it be for the good of their souls. Thus 
the Catho.ic Church makes extreme unction a sacrament, the indispensable 
necessity of which is apparent in the above definition. 

The form of the sacrament of extreme unction consists in these words: 

“May God, by his holy anointing, and his most pious mercy, grant you 
the pardon of all the sins you may have committed.” The priest pro¬ 
nounces this form of words while he is anointing those parts of thf body 
which are proper for it, because they have been the occasion, or served as 
so many instruments for sin, whereof, to use the words of Alet’s Ritual, 
this sacrament purges the dregs , i. e. those sins which we have not been 
careful enough to repent of This sacrament, therefore, compensates for 
the defects of past repentance. V 

The priest is the only minister of this sacrament, which is administered 
to none but those who are afflicted with some mortal disease, or those who 
have arrived at a very advanced age, and are likewise extremely infirm. 

But extreme unction is not administered to criminals condemned to die ; 
and the reason given for this is, that the criminal is not in a state of death, 
either by disease or any other infirmity. Extreme unction is likewise 
refused to those who are impenitent; and in case a sick person dies while 
he is anointing, the ceremony must immediately be discontinued. 

As the dissolution of the sick person approaches, the priest must get 
ready seven balls of cotton, to wipe those parts which are to be anointed 
with the holy oil, some crumbs of bread to rub his fingers with, water to 
wash them, a napkin to wipe them, and a taper to light him during the 
ceremony. Before he goes to the sick person, he must sanctify himself by 
prayer ; after which he must wash his hands, put on a surplice and the 
purple stole ; he must take the vessel in which the holy oils are contained, 
covered with a purple veil, or shut up in a bag of the same colour, and 
carry it in such a manner as not to let the oil run out. If he go a great 
distance off, he need not put on his surplice and his stole till he come to 
the door of the sick person, and in that case he must carry the vessel of 
oils in a purse, and hang it about his neck, in the same manner as the 
viaticum is sometimes carried to the sick. The priest must be attended by 
the clerk, who must carry the cross without a staff, the vessel of holy 
water, the sprinkler and the ritual. They must not ring the little bell by 
the way, but the priest must offer up some prayers, with a low voice, in 
favour of the sick. 

On entering into the sick person’s apartment, he repeats the ordinary 
form of the words, Pax huic domui, et omnibus habitantibus in ea: i. e. Peac 
be to this house , fyc. After having taken off his cap, and set the vessels 
of the holy oils upon the table, he gives the sick person the cross to kiss ; 
afterwards takes the sprinkler, sprinkles the sick person, the apartment, 
and the assistants, with holy water in form of a cross, at the same time 















































































326 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH!. 




9 


S) 




repeating the anthem, Asperges me, fyc. He tells the sick person, by way 
of exhortation, that he would commit the utmost sacrilege, in case he 
presumed to receive extreme unction without having first settled his 
conscience ; but in case he is speechless and is not sensible, the priest 
exhorts him to the best of his power; which exhortation must certainly 
Lave a wonderful efficacy after the sick person has lost his senses. If the 
sick person discovers any tokens of contrition, the priest shall pronounce 
absolution, which must be followed by an exhortation, and that by a prayer. 
But before absolution, the sick person must either repeat the Conjiteor 
himself, or, in case he be not able to do it, the clerk must pronounce it for 
him. The priest must then add for the sick person the Misereatur tui , 
i. <May the Lord have pity on thee, fyc. Before he begins to perform 
the ceremony of extreme unction, all the persons present must fall down 
upon their knees ; and while the anointing is performed, they must repeat 
the penitential psalms and litanies for the sake of his soul. 

The anointing is performed in this manner: the priest dips the thumb 
of his right hand into the oils of the infirm ; he anoints in the form of a 
cross, and pronounces some words suitable to the anointing of each part ; 
while the clerk lights him with a consecrated taper, and holds a basin in 
a dish, in which the pieces of cotton are laid. The priest begins by 
anointing the right eye, observing that the eyelid is shut ; he next anoints 
the left eye, and in the mean while repeats these words: May God, by 
this holy anointing , and by his most pious mercy, pardon you the sins you 
have committed by the eyes. If the priest be accompanied by a clergyman 
who is in holy orders, he must wipe the part which has been anointed, other- 
wise the priest must wipe it himself. The eyes being anointed, he pro* 
ceeds to the ears, observing to repeat the proper form of words. After the 
ears he anoints the nostrils, but not the tip of the nose. He afterwards 
proceeds to the mouth, and anoints the lips, the mouth being shut. He 
anoints the hands in the manner above-mentioned; then he proceeds to the 
soles of the feet, and afterwards advances upwards to the reins, but this for 
men only ; nor are they anointed in this part but when they can be easily 
turned in their beds, or be laid down in them without danger. The 
anointing being ended, the priest rubs those fingers which have touched 
the oil, and afterwards washes his hands. The crumbs of bread with 
which he rubbed his fingers, and the water with which he washed them 
must be thrown into the fire. The pieces of cotton that have been em¬ 
ployed in anointing are carried into the church, where they are burned, 
and the ashes are thrown into the sacrarium. 

The anointing being ended, the priest repeats some prayers, which are 
lollowed by an exhortation to the sick ; after which the priest goes away, 
leaving a crucifix with the sick person, in order that the representation of 
his dying Saviour may administei some consolation to him. 

















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCII. 


327 


When the sick person has expired, the priest, standing uncovered, says 

a response, in which the saints and angels are invoked to assist the soui of 

Ceremonies ob- the deceased : he afterwards repeats a prayer. At the 
served at Fune- . . . 

mis. same time orders are sent to toll the bell, to give notice of 

the sick person’s death, by which every one is reminded to pray for his 
soul. 

Then the priest withdraws; and the corpse is thus put in order. They 
wash some parts of it, close its eyes and mouth, according to the ancient 
practice ; and, wrapping it in a shroud, or leaving it with the clothes on, 
as in Italy, they lay it in a decent place, observing to put a little crucifix 
in its hands, which must lie upon its breast: sometimes the hands are laid 
crosswise. A vessel full of holy water, and a sprinkler, must be placed at 
its feet, in order that those who come to pay him their last respects may 
sprinkle both themselves and the corpse with holy water. In the mean 
time, some clergyman must stay by the corpse, and pray for the deceased, 
till such time as he is laid in the earth. If the deceased was a priest, or 
of any other order in the church, he must have the tonsure according to 
his order, and his square cap with a little cross on his breast. 

It was anciently the custom, as soon as any person died, to send for some 
clergyman, who always spent the night with the relations of the deceased, 
and discoursed with them about the word of God, for their instruction. 
They used to sing psalms by anthems or verses, the one answering the 
other. They also recommended the soul of the deceased to God, and be¬ 
sought him to preserve it from hell, &c. 

Priests and ecclesiastics, after their decease, are all clothed in habits 
suitable to their respective ranks ; and the corpse of a clergyman is carried 
to the grave by the clergy only, in the same manner as that of a layman 
is carried by the laity. Ecclesiastics do not put on mourning for their 
relations, nor accompany them to the grave in the same order with lay 
relations, but walk with the rest of the clergy in their sacerdotal vest¬ 
ments. 

Church-yards being the places generally used for the interment of the 
dead, the bishop blesses them solemnly in the manner following:—The 
Ceremony of eve before the day on which the blessing is to be performed, 
yards" 8Church a wooden cross, of the height of a man, must be set up in 
the middle of the church-yard, and four smaller ones are to be set up at 
rne corners. Before the cross a piece of wood must be placed, about six¬ 
teen inches high, on which wood three tapers are placed, when the bless¬ 
ing is performed. The next morning, before the ceremony begins, a carpet 
must be spread in the church-yard near the cross; and the several things 
necessary for the blessing of the place must be got ready ; viz. holy water, 
the thuribles, tapers, &c. Then the priest, being clothed in his sacerdotal 
vestments, comes out of the sacristy in procession, attended by an exorcist, 



































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


























































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


farther on from the officiating priest, in proportion to their rank or supe¬ 
riority in the Church. Every thing must be ordered in this manner, 
provided there be room for it; for it often happens, that the cross stands 
at the door on that side where the funeral is to go, and that the choir are 
obliged to range themselves on each side, in order to leave room for the 
officiating priest in the middle. During this interval, the tapers and torches 
of yellow wax are lighted, and given to those who are appointed to carry 
them. 

The officiating priest now standing before the cross, with his face turned 
towards the body, the assistant who carries the holy water presents him 
with the sprinkler, with which the priest sprinkles the corpse thrice, with¬ 
out saying a word. 

Then follow certain other ceremonies, after which the corpse is carried 
to the church, where the service for the dead is read, and also mass, if the 
time will permit. 

Prayers now follow; the corpse is again sprinkled ; after which it is 
carried to the grave in the same manner in which it was carried to the 
church. 

Being come to the grave, the whole company pull off their hats, and 
draw up in much the same order as at church. The bearers lay the corpse 
near the grave, with its feet turned towards the east, it being affirmed that 
Jesus Christ was buried in that manner. If the corpse be buried in the 
church,its feet must be turned towards the altar; but those of priests must 
nave their heads turned in a contrary direction. 

After the body has been laid on the brink of the grave, the officiating 
priest blesses it by a prayer, in which he makes the general commemora¬ 
tion of the dead who have been interred therein. The prayer being ended, 
he again sprinkles and incenses the body, and also the grave thrice. He 
afterwards begins this anthem, Ego sum Resurrectio , &c., Iam the resur¬ 
rection and the life , &c., and concludes with the Requiem . Then the 
officiating priest performs a third time the triple sprinkling of the corpse 
with holy water, but does not incense it; which is followed by another 
prayer, with the anthem, Si iniquitates, and the De profundis. The body 
being laid in the grave, the relations and friends of the deceased come, 
before the earth is thrown into it, and sprinkle it with holy water, in their 
turns. When the grave has been filled up, the company condole with the 
relations of the deceased, and they all return to the church, where, after 
the mass for the deceased is ended, the funeral sermon is preached. 

Sometimes the funeral happens in a season when mass cannot be said ; 
in which case, the ceremony is performed with much greater simplicity; 
for then the corpse is only sprinkled and incensed by a priest clothed in 
his black chasuble, and accompanied with two clerks, the one carrying the 
cross, and the other the sprinkler and the thurible. 


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Independently of the age requisite for marriage, the liberty of contract¬ 
ing so solemn an engagement, and the publication of the bans, the rituals ^ 

_ . . require further, “ That the persons to be joined together in 

Marriage. matrimony shall be sufficiently instructed in the Christian 

doctrine ; that they should know the nature of the sacrament of marriage, 
its ends and obligations; and that they should first confess themselves, and 
receive the sacrament, before they join themselves together for ever. 

When the priest in his proper vestments goes to the altar, he is preceded 
by one or two clerks in their surplices, carrying the holy-water pot, the 
sprinkler, the ritual, and a little basin, in which to put the ring when it is 
to be blessed. After he has said the usual prayer for the couple, he ad¬ 
vances towards them on the last step of the altar ; the man standing on the 
epistle and the woman on the gospel side, so that the man stands at the 
woman’s right hand. The relations and witnesses stand behind them. 

Then the priest asks the couple their names and surnames; which is only 
a formality, their names being already known to him, by the publication 
of the bans, and by a certificate confirming the same, which the couple are 
obliged to produce at the time. He afterwards addresses himself to the 
man and woman separately, in their mother-tongue, calling them both by 
their proper names, and asks the man whether he will have such a one foi 
his wife? and the woman whether she will have such a one for her hus¬ 
band ? Reciprocal consent is absolutely requisite in this case, and without 
it the marriage would be null. After mutual consent has been given, by 
expressly answering “Yes,” the priest, who before was covered, uncovers 
himself, takes the couple by the hand, and making them join hands, says, 

Ego jungo vos in matrimonium , &c.; that is, I join you together in mar¬ 
riage , in the name of the Father , &c. At the same time he makes the 
sign of the cross upon them, and then sprinkles them with holy water. 

This being done, he blesses the wedding-ring, and sprinkles it also with 
holy water, in the form of a cross; after which he gives it to the man, 
who puts it on the wedding-finger of the woman’s left hand. This ring 
is the pledge of the conjugal chastity and fidelity which the wife owes 
the husband. To all this the priest adds some prayers ; after which fol¬ 
lows an exhortation to the married couple and to the assembly, and after¬ 
wards mass. 

The married couple are blessed in the following manner, when the 
woman is a virgin, and has always had the reputation of chastity:—The 
priest, after the offertory, goes to the foot of the altar, and the married 
couple make what oblation they think proper; the husband first, and the 
wife afterwards. The priest likewise repeats some prayers ; and the cere¬ 
mony ends with an exhortation to the married couple. The subject of this 
exhortation is on the duties of the conjugal life, the end and design of 
marriage, reciprocal We, &c.; after which he sprinkles them with holy ib- WW*; 

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water. Young people are not to inhabit under the same roof, or he in 
company together, except in the presence of their parents or relations, till 
such time as they have received the blessing of the Church; but when 
this is over, they are at liberty to consummate the marriage, which would 
be criminal if done without the formalities established by the Church. 

The married couple must now desire the priest to bless the marriage-bed; 
and among other blessings which are asked by the mediation of the priest 
when he blesses the marriage-bed, one is, that those who are to lie in it 
may increase and multiply. The holy water completes the sanctification 
of the nuptial bed. 

SEC. III.-HOLY ORDERS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


The Seven Or¬ 
ders in the Catho¬ 
lic Church. 


There are seven orders in the Catholic Church, viz. the 
sacristan or door-keeper, the reader, the exorcist, the acolyte , 
the sub-deacon , the deacon, and the priest. 

The employment of the door-keeper, called sacristan, is to open and shut 
the church-doors, and also to take care that the bells be rung in due time ; 
that of the reader, to read aloud the lessons and prophecies which are sung 
at matins and mass ; that of the exorcist, to cast out devils from the bodies 
of persons possessed ; that of the acolyte, to bring in the tapers to light 
them, to take care to put fire into the thurible and frankincense into the 
navicula, to prepare the wine and water for the sacrifice, and to attend upon 
the sub-deacon, the deacon, and the priest. 

The duty of the priest is to offer up the sacrifice of the mass, to admi¬ 
nister the sacraments, (those of confirmation and orders excepted,) to preacl 
the word of God, to bless the people, and to watch over the souls commit 
ted to his charge. 

Church-benefices or livings, being the appurtenances of holy orders and 
the ecclesiastical state, can belong to those only who have been ordained, 

Benefices and or who have received the tonsure. Ecclesiastical dignities 
Church 68 ° f the are of much more ancient date than benefices, the latter 
taking their rise from the latter ages of the Church. 

A person must be full fourteen years of age before he can be entitled to 
possess a benefice, and must have received the tonsure beforehand. On 
all incumbents, especially those who have a cure of souls, residence is 
compulsory; but they frequently leave that duty to their curates. How¬ 
ever, bythe laws of the Church they are forbidden to receive any of the 
fruits of their benefices during the time they may have been absent from 
them. 

Bishops are considered as the fathers and pastors of the faithful, and the 
successors of the Apostles ; by virtue of which superiority they are allowed 
the chief places in the choir, in chapters, and processions. As succes- 


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sors to the Apostles, they claim respect and homage from 
the laity ; and as fathers and pastors, they are obliged to 
preach God’s holy word to the faithful. This was the custom in the pri¬ 
mitive Church; and there can be no prescription on this head, since, in 
the consecration of bishops, they are commanded to preach the Gospel to 
those over whom they are appointed pastors. 

The ceremonial enjoins that bishops shall be clothed in purple, though 
the regular bishops may continue to wear the habit of their order. During 
Lent and Advent they must be in black, and always clothed in their sutane ; 
but they are allowed to wear short clothes when on a journey. 

The pope only has the right of electing bishops. This is a prerogative 
which the partisans of the Court of Rome carry to a very great height, and 
to the prejudice of kings and other sovereign princes. Nevertheless, some 
of these have reserved to themselves the right of nominating to bishoprics ; 
after which, -the pope sends his approbation and the bulls to the new 
bishop. 

When a person hears that the pope has raised him to the episcopal 
dignity, he must enlarge his shaven crown, and dress himself in purple. 
If he be in Rome, he must go and salute his holiness, and receive the 
rochet from him. Three months after being confirmed in his election, he 
is consecrated in a solemn manner. 

The archbishops are superior to bishops, and are distinguished by the 
‘pallium, or pall, which the pope sends them. Anciently some bishops 
were honoured with the pallium, probably because of their 

Arch jishops. hjgh quality. The bishop of Bamberg in Germany, and 

those of Lucca and Pavia in Italy, enjoy the same privilege at this time. 

If the person nominated to an archbishop’s see be at Rome, the chief 
cardinal-deacon performs the ceremony of putting the pall on his shoulders, 
although it was formerly done by the pope. After mass, the officiating 
prelate, clothed in his pontifical vestments, receives the oath of the arch¬ 
bishop elect; who is clothed in similar pomp, the gloves and mitre ex¬ 
cepted. The officiating prelate then rises up, and putting the pall upon 
the shoulders of the archbishop elect, says these words to him : “ To the 
glory of God, of the blessed Virgin, of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, 
of our Lord the Pope, and of the holy Church of Rome, &c., receive this 
pall, which is taken from the body of St. Peter, and in which the plenitude 
or perfection of the function of pontiff, or patriarch, or archbishop, is found ; 
make use of it on certain days, noted in the privileges which are granted 
to you by the holy Apostolic See, in the name of the Father,” &c. The 
archbishop is to wear the pall in the solemnities of the mass, and on high 
festivals, at the consecration of a church, at ordinations, at the consecration 
of a bishop, and at giv.ng the veil to nuns. The pope alone has the privi¬ 
lege of always wearing the pall. 


Appointment and 
eleclion of Bishops. 











































































After the archbishop has received the pall, he goes up tc the altar and 
blesses the people. The pall consists of certain pieces of white woollen 
stuff; three fingers in breadth, and is embroidered with red crosses. Be¬ 
fore it be given to the archbishop, either at Rome or elsewhere, by proxy, 
it must be left for one whole night on the altar of St. Peter and St. Paul. 
r J he use of the pall is rather ancient in the church, and some footsteps of 
that ornament are to be found among the Romans. The officers who served 
at feasts and sacrifices used to wear on the left shoulder a pretty broad 
i iece of woollen stuff, with plaits or folds hanging down from it. This 
was the badge of their ministerial function ; and after it had been conse¬ 
crated to the use of the Christian Church, it received an additional sacred 
character by being anointed. The pall being made of wool, and worn on 
the bishop’s shoulders, is said to be the emblem of the lost sheep , which 
the shepherd lays on his shoulders, and brings back into the sheepfold. 

Every particular pall serves for the use of that archbishop only to whom 
it was first given; neither can he make any use of it in case he be trans¬ 
lated from one archbishopric to another, nor leave it to his successors. 
When an archbishop dies, his pall is buried with him ; and if he be buried 
in his own diocese, it is laid upon his shoulders; but if out of it, under his 
head. An archbishop who has been translated to several sees has all his 
palls buried with him ; that of his last archiepiscopal see being laid up«>n 
his shoulders, and the rest under his head. 

The principal functions of the master of the ceremonies are to take care 
that all those who have lately taken orders observe the ceremonies and 
„ , practices of the church, and that every thing be done in the 

Masters of the r ... J . 

Ceremonies. choir conformably to discipline. He must likewise regulate 
the order and march in all precessions, assist at all pontifical ceremonies, 
such as solemn masses, the entry and consecration of bishops, synods, the 
visitation of a diocese, &c. 

The master of the ceremonies must be in holy orders, and his vestments 
are of a purple colour; but he must be clothed in a surplice when in the 
choir, and at the divine offices of the church. On high festivals he carries 
a wand, which is generally of a purple colour. 

The prebends, or canons, are considered the senators of the church. 
When a person is promoted to a prebend, he must be presented in a very 
, ceremonious manner to the chapter, who assemble in the 

Prebends and # t 1 

Canons. cathedral to receive him. He is presented by a deputy cf 

the chapter, accompanied by the bishop’s notary and some witnesses. This 
deputy conducts the person elected to the altar, which the latter kisses 
thrice ; after which, he goes and takes his seat in the choir, and stays 
there some time, during which the deputy gives the chapter an account of 
his promotion ; and afterwards he goes and takes hiir into the choir, and 
presenting him to the chapter, desires them to receive him as one of their 
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brethren. The prebend elect then makes his confession of faith aloud, and 
swears to observe the ordinances of the church, and of our Holy Father the 
Pope. Being thus solemnly installed, he is empowered to assist at the 
chapter, and to chant the office in the choir, &c. 

The arch-deacon is superior to deacons and sub-deacons; his office is to 
examine the candidates for holy orders, and to present them to the bishop , 
and by virtue of this office, the arch-deacon is superior to a 
priest, notwithstanding that the order itself is inferior to that 
of the priesthood. 

The arch-priest is superior to other priests. In the absence of his 
bishop, he celebrates the solemn masses. It is he who, on Ash-Wednesday, 
leads the penitents out of the church, puts ashes on their 
heads, and presents them to the bishop on Holy Thursday. 

Pescara assures us, that the office of Prothonotary was instituted by 
St. Clement, and that at that time, and under the popes, St. Antherus and 
St. Julius I., their office was to write the acts of the mar- 
Prothonoumes. and to ] 00 k a ft er the church-registers, &c. This 

office being of so great antiquity, greatly heightens the prerogatives 
of the pope. Prothonotaries are dignified with the title of prelates at 
Rome, and are empowered to create doctors, and to make bastards legiti¬ 
mate. 


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The word Abbot , which is originally Hebrew, or Syriac, signifies 
father. An abbot is a prelate inferior to a bishop : he is the Lord’s vicar 
over his monks, their father, and the mystical spouse of 
his convent; which is said to be an epitome of the church 
of God. But it must be observed that we are here speaking of regular 
abbots. 

When an abbess-elect is to be blessed, she first takes the oath of fidelity 
to her ordinary, and to the church over which she presides; then the 
prelate who receives her gives her his blessing. After 
having laid both his hands on her head, he gives her the 
rule ; and if she be not already a nun, blesses the white veil, and puts it 
on her head, in such a manner as to let it hang down over her breast and 
shoulders. The rest of the ceremony has nothing particular in it; it con¬ 
sists only of kissing the pix, and introducing the newly-elected abbess 
among the nuns. 

Nuns or abbesses never receive the veil but on solemn days, such as 
Sundays or high festivals. In general, young women ought not to be 
allowed to take the veil till five and twenty, nor till after they have passed 
the strictest examination, and particularly till it has been strongly inculcated 
to them that they must live in a state of virginity during the remainder of 
their days; a vow that may indeed be sincere in the warmth of devotion, 
or from the effect of pique ; but the execution thereof depending upon 






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innumerable t ircumstances, it is exposed to many dreadful temptations- 
ev*en in the most strict retirement. 

At the profession of a nun, the habit, the veil, and the ring of the can¬ 
didate are all carried to the altar, and she herself, dressed in magnificent 
apparel, and accompanied by her nearest relations, is conducted to the 
bishop. Two venerable matrons are her bride-women, when the bishop 
says mass. After the gradual is over, the candidate or candidates for the 
veil, attended by the same persons as before, and with their faces covered, 
enter the church, and present themselves before the bishop ; but before this 
be done, the arch-priest chants an anthem, the subject of which is, That 
they ought to have their lamps lighted, because the bridegroom is coming 
to meet them; and while he is singing, they light their lamps. The arch¬ 
priest now presents them to the bishop, who calls them thrice in a kind 
of chanting tone ; and they answer him in the same manner. The first 
time they advance to the entrance of the choir, the second to the middle, 
and the third to the chancel of the altar; they kneel down before the 
bishop, with their faces to the ground, and afterwards rise up, singing this 
verse, Receive me, 0 Lordl according to thy holy word. Being come 
before the prelate, and on their knees, they attend to the exhortation he 
makes them concerning the duties of a religious life. After this, they kiss 
his hand, and then lie prostrate before him while the choir chants the lita¬ 
nies. Then the bishop, having the crosier in his left hand, completes the 
benediction. After they have risen, he blesses the new habits, which 
denote the contempt of the world, and the humility of their hearts. A 
sprinkle of holy water concludes the consecration, and then the candidates 
go and put on their religious habits. 

The veil, the ring, and the crowns, are blessed after the same manner. 
All these benedictions being ended, they present themselves in the habit 
of nuns before the bishop, and sing the following words on their knees, 
Ancilla Christi sum, fyc.; i. e. I am the handmaid or servant of Christ, fyc. 
“In this posture they receive the veil, and afterwards the ring; on deliver¬ 
ing which the bishop declares he marries them to Jesus Christ. And 
lastly, the crown of virginity is given, to which they are called by the 
chanting of the anthem, Veni sponsa Christi, fyc.; “Come, O spouse of 
Christ, and receive the crown.” In the first ages of the church, it was 
usual to set a crown on the heads of those who died virgins, which custom 
is still observed in several parts of Christendom. Being thus crowned, an 
anathema is denounced against all who shall attempt to turn them from 
God, by endeavouring to make them break their vow in what manner 
soever, or on those who shall sieze upon any part of their wealth. After 
the offertory, they present lighted tapers to the bishop, who afterwards 
gives them the communion ; and as it is the custom in several convents 
for the nuns to read the office and canonical hours, the bishop gives the 
























































oreviary to those who are taken into such convents. These ceremonies 
being ended, the prelate gives them up to the conduct of the abbess, saying 
to her, Take care to preserve , pure and spotless , these young women, whom 
God has consecrated to himself, &c. 

The custom of giving the veil to nuns is of great antiquity, and was 
practised before the age of St. Ambrose and Pope Liberius, as is manifest 
from the writers of the second and third centuries. 

The cardinals are senators of the church, and counsellors of the suc¬ 
cessors of St. Peter. There are now three orders of cardinals, viz., bishops, 
priests, and deacons ; six of these are bishops, fifty are priests, 
and fourteen deacons. Sixtus V. fixed the number of car¬ 
dinals to seventy, in order to imitate the ancient Sanhedrim of the Jews, 
which was composed of seventy elders, and it is this assembly which is 
now called the Sacred College. 

When his holiness makes a promotion of cardinals, he gives them the 
title of priest, or deacon, as he thinks proper ; they afterwards arrive at 
episcopacy by right of superiority, or by assuming the title of those who 
die ; and because all cardinals are equal by their dignity, they take place 
according to the date of their promotion and the quality of their title. 

As cardinals, with regard to spirituals, govern the Church of Rome in 
all parts of the Christian world, subjects of the different nations of it are 
allowed to aspire to this dignity, according to the decisions of the Council 
of Trent. For this reason the popes often create those persons cardinals 
who are nominated by crowned heads ; who, it is presumed, propose the 
most eminent among their subjects for that purpose. Formerly the pope, 
in promoting cardinals, used to advise with the ancient ones ; but now he 
creates them without consulting any person. 

Those cardinals who are in greatest credit with the reigning pope have 

• Prerogatives of certa,n kingdoms, states, republics, and religious orders 
Cardinals. under their protection. They have the privilege of confer¬ 

ring the four orders called minor, viz. that of door-keeper , reader , exorcist , 
and acolyte, on their domestics, and on other persons. They are exempt from 
the reversion of their church-lands and effects to the Apostolical Chamber, 
as is customary in Italy, and may bequeath ecclesiastical wealth in the same 
manner as patrimonial. They have likewise some other very considerable 
privileges ; such as a power of resigning their pensions, by particular 
grants from popes; to be exempt from the examination of bishops, when 
they are put into Sees; to be believed in a court of justice upon their 
bare words, without being obliged to take an oath ; and their single testi¬ 
mony is equal to that of two witnesses. They are considered as citizens 
of whatever city the pope resides in, and do not pay any taxes. They 
grant a hundred days’ indulgence to whomsoever they please, and acknow¬ 
ledge no one but the pope for their iudge or superior, particularly in criminal 


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matters ; for as to civil causes, they are always heard before the auditors 
of the Apostolic Chamber. 

They have several other prerogatives; such as that of wearing purple 
habits, a mantle royal with a train of six ells long, a red hat, and an epis¬ 
copal mitre, though they be no more than priests, deacons, or clerks. Car¬ 
dinals wore only the common vestment of priests, which was like a mo¬ 
nastic habit, till the time of Innocent IV. The red hat was given them in 
1243, in the Council of Lyons. Innocent IV. was desirous of gaining 
their friendship by this honourable badge, and to win them over to his in¬ 
terest, on account of the difference he had with the emperor. Under 
Boniface IX. they were clothed in scarlet, and even in purple, and their 
robes were the same then as at present. According to other writers, they 
were not clothed in scarlet till the pontificate of Paul II.; others pretend 
that their robes were of that colour as early as Innocent III.; and others 
again, that they wore the purple under Stephen IV. Paul II. distin¬ 
guished them by the embroidered silk mitre, and the red cope and cap, 
red housings for their mules, and gilt stirrups. Gregory XIV. granted 
the red cap to the regulars, but ordered that their vestments should be of 
the colour of their order, and that they should have no rochet, nor wear a 
cloth cassock. Urban VIII., in order to add fresh splendour to the cardi- 
nalate, ordered that the title of Eminence should be given to them. 

When a cardinal goes to Rome to receive his hat from the pope, a 
variety of ceremonies are performed, which our limits will not allow us to 
notice. 

When the pope, by special favour, is pleased to send the hat to an 
absent cardinal, the following ceremonies are observed:—In the first place, 
Ceremonies ob- it is to be observed, that whenever any person out of Italy 

served at the crea- . . .. , , , . , , . , 

lion of a cardinal, is created cardinal, he is not permitted to put on the scarlet 
vestments until his holiness has sent him his hat; but he is nevertheless 
allowed to assume the title of cardinal. The hat is carried by an hono¬ 
rary chamberlain, together with a brief directed to the nuncio, or to the 
sovereign, or bishop of the place where the cardinal elect resides. As 
soon as the latter hears of the approach of the chamberlain who brings the 
hat, he sends his household to meet him, with as many of his friends as 
he can collect together for that purpose,to do him the greater honour; and 
they all make their entry together in cavalcade, if allowed by the custom 
of ihe place. In this procession, the pope’s chamberlain holds the red 
hat aloft on the mace, in order that it may be seen by all the spectators. 

The pope’s envoy, and the prelate who is to perform the ceremony, 
afterwards meet on a Sunday, or on some high festival, at the newly- 
elected cardinal’s house, with their domestics, and as many friends as they 
can collect, and go in cavalcade to the principal church of the place, in the 









































































338 



% 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


The march is opened by drums and trumpets ; then come the livery- 
s-'ervants. The soldiers upon guard, in case there be any, or the inhabit¬ 
ants of the town under arms, march before the gentlemen; and afterwards 
ihe pope’s chamberlain appears in a purple habit, holding the red hat 
aloft, and uncovered. Immediately after follows the newly-elected cardi¬ 
nal, with his cope on, his capuche on his head, and over all a black hat. 
On the right hand the prelate marches who is to perform the ceremony, 
and on his left some other person of quality, such as the king, prince, or 
chief nobleman of the place ; and behind him the coaches of the cardinal, 
and of all such persons as are proud of doing him honour, with a great 
train. When this ceremony is performed in any place where a king or 
prince resides, their guards always attend on the newly-elected cardinal. 

When the cavalcade is come to the church, mass is sung in it, and it is 
usual for the king or prince of the place, and likewise the chief lords and 
ladies of the court, to be present at it. Mass being ended, the prelate 
who is to perform the ceremony puts on his cope and mitre ; then, being 
seated on a sort of throne, which stands on the steps of the altar, with his 
back turned to it, the person who brought the hat lays it on the altar, 
and presents the pope’s brief to the prelate, who gives it to his secretary, 
and the latter reads it with an audible voice, so as to be heard by the 
whole congregation. Immediately after, the prelate makes an oration 
in praise of the newly-elected cardinal, and at the conclusion declares 
that he is ready to deliver the hat to him, according to the order of his 
holiness. 

Then the cardinal-elect advances towards the altar, and, kneeling down, 
takes the same oath before the prelate which the newly-created cardinals 
take at Rome before the pope. Then the prelate arises from his seat, and, 
taking off his mitre, says some prayers over the new cardinal, whose head 
is covered with the capuche; after which,the prelate puts his hat on, and 
at the same time repeats a prayer out of the Roman Pontifical. He after¬ 
wards gives him the kiss of peace, upon which the Te Deum and some 
prayers are sung, which conclude the ceremony. The newly-created car¬ 
dinal returns in cavalcade, with the red hat on his head. 

The newly-elected cardinal is obliged to make the legate, or messenger, 
a present of one hundred ducats at least, this being the fixed sum ; but it 
amounts frequently to one, three, five thousand, and sometimes more 
ducats. The hat is usually handed to the officiating prelate by the pope’s 
nuncio ; but in case there be no such personage present, this office is per¬ 
formed by the emperor, king, archbishop, duke, or other highest person in 
authority. 

When a cardinal dies, he is immediately embalmed, and the following 
night is carried into the church where his obsequies are to be solemnized. 
One of the largest churches is generally made use of for this purpose, 























































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ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


33 3 






Interments of * n or( * er l h at the greater concourse of people may assem- 

cjarii inais. ble in it. The inside is hung, throughout, with black velvet, 

and adorned with escutcheons, on which the arms of the deceased are re¬ 
presented ; and a great number of white tapers are lighted up on both 
sides of the nave. 

In the middle of the church a very high and large bed of state U 
set, covered with black brocade, with two pillows of the same colour, 
which, being put one above another, are laid under the head of the de¬ 
ceased cardinal, whose corpse lies in the middle of the bed in such a 
manner that his feet point towards the great gate, and his head towards the 
high altar. 

The corpse of the deceased cardinal is clothed in pontifical vestments, 
viz. the mitre ; the cope, if he were a bishop ; the chasuble, if a priest; 
and the ^tunic, if a deacon. The six masters of the ceremonies assist 
in this church, clothed in cassocks of purple serge, and all the pope’s 
couriers, in long robes of the same colour, with silver maces in their hands. 
There are, likewise, two of the deceased’s tall lackeys, each holding a 
wand, on which are fixed purple tafTety streamers, with the arms of the 
deceased cardinal; with these they continually fan his face, in order to 
keep off the flies. 

On the morrow, after vespers, the religious mendicants meet together in 


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a chapel of the same church, where they sing the matins of the dead, each 


order repeating alternately a Nocturnum , and the pope’s music the Lauds. 
In the mean time the cardinals arrive, clothed in purple, and at their 
coming into the church they put on a cope of the same colour. They 
then advance towards the high altar, where the host is kept, and there 
offer up their prayers, and adore it upon their knees. They afterwards go, 
one after another, to the feet of the deceased, and repeat the Pater Noster , 
fyc.; to which they add certain verses out of the scripture, and the prayer, 
Absolve, fyc., from the office of the dead. 

They then make the usual sprinkling with holy water, and go and seat 
themselves in the choir, where they hear the office of the dead sung by 
several monks and priests with great solemnity. Others repeat it to them¬ 
selves, not stirring out of their places till it be ended ; the cardinals, priests 
and bishops being on the epistle side, and the rest of the clergy in the 
lowest seats, which stand round the choir. The cardinals are always seated 
on the highest chairs or benches. 

This being done, the congregation return to their respective homes, with¬ 
out any farther ceremony. At night, the corpse is stripped, and laid in a 
leaden coffin, which is put in another of cypress-wood covered with black 
cloth. The corpse is then carried in a coach, accompanied by the rector 
o { the parish and the chaplains of the deceased, who go by torch-light to 
the church where he is to be interred. 


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340 


The majority of the cardinals who die in Rome are buried in the church 
of their title, unless they were Romans of exalted condition, and had desired 
to be interred in the vaults of their ancestors ; or in the case of some foreign 
cardinal, who chooses to be buried in the church in Rome belonging to the 
clergy of his nation. 

Four of the cardinals are buried with greater pomp and magnificence 
than the rest, viz. the dean of the Apostolic College, the grand penitentiary 
the vice-chancellor, and the camerlingo. 

The Romish rituals enjoin that his holiness, finding himself on his death¬ 
bed, must recollect himself, examine his conscience, make his confession, 

, , desire his confessor to give him a plenary indulgence, make 

Interment of a . b 1 J . 

p °r e - some reparation to those whom he has offended in his life¬ 

time; afterwards receive the viaticum, assemble the sacred college, make 
a profession of faith before them, and beseech his eminences to forgive him 
for all those things in which he may have offended any of them during his 
pontificate. The Roman ceremonial, among other particulars, enjoins his 
holiness, when he finds his last hour approaching, to recommend to the 
cardinals the choice of a pastor worthy to be his successor. 

When the pope is at the last gasp, his nephews and domestics strip the 
palace of all its furniture ; for immediately after his holiness has expired, 
the officers of the Apostolic Chamber come to seize the goods; but the 
pope’s relations usually take care that they find nothing but bare walls, 
and the corpse lying on a strau) bed with an old wooden candlestick , in 
which there is only the snuff of a taper burning. 

At the same time, the cardinal camerlingo comes, in purple vestments, 
accompanied by the clerks of the chamber in mourning, to inspect the 
pope’s corpse. He calls him thrice by his Christian name; and finding he 
gives no answer, nor discovers the least sign of life, he causes an instru¬ 
ment of his death to be drawn up by the apostolical prothonotaries. He 
then takes, from the master of the pope’s chamber, the fisherman’s ring, 
which is the pope’s seal, (made of solid gold, and worth a hundred crowns,) 
and breaks it to pieces; giving them to the masters of the ceremonies, 
whose perquisite they are. The datary and secretaries, who have the rest 
of the seals of the deceased pope, are obliged to carry them to the cardinal 
camerlingo, who causes them to be broken in presence of the auditor of the 
chamber, the treasurer, and the apostolic clerks. 

After this, the cardinal-patron and the pope’s nephews are obliged to 
leave the palace in which he died, which is generally the Vatican, or 
Monte Cavallo, unless he happens to die suddenly. The cardinal camer- 
iingo takes possession of these palaces in the name of the Apostolic Cham¬ 
ber; and after having entered it with the formality above mentioned, he 
takes a short inventory of the remaining movables; but, as before observed, 
there is seldom any thing left. 









































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CIIURCH. 


341 









In the mean time, the penitentiaries of St. Peter, and the almoner of the 
deceased pope, after having caused the corpse to be shaved and washed, 
have it immediately embalmed. The dead pontiff is then clothed in his 
pontifical vestments, having his mitre on his head, and the chalice in h s 
hand. The camerlingo, in the mean time, sends a body of guards to secure 
the gates of the city, the castle of St. Angelo, and other posts. The capo- 
rioni,or captains of the districts, likewise patrole night and day with their 
guards, to prevent those who are caballing for the election of a new pope 
from raising any sedition. 

After the camerlingo has thus provided for the security of Rome, he comes 
out of the apostolical palace, and goes round the city in his coach accom¬ 
panied by the Swiss guards, and the captain of the guards, who usually 
attended upon the deceased pope. When this march begins, the great bell 
of the capitol is rung, which is never heard but at the death of the pontiff, 
to give notice of it to the citizens. 

At this signal, the rota and all the tribunals of justice are shut up, as 
likewise the datary, pursuant to the bull of Pius V. in eligcndis. No 
more bulls are now given out; the ordinary congregations are likewise 
suspended, insomuch that none hut the cardinal camerlingo and the cardinal 
grand penitentiary continue in their employments. 

As the popes have made choice of St. Peter’s Church for the place of 
their interment, when they die at Mount duirinal, (now Monte Cavallo,) or 
in some other of their palaces, they are carried to the Vatican in a large 
open litter, in the middle of which is a bed of state, on which the corpse of 
the pope is laid, clothed in his pontifical vestments. 

The litter is preceded by a van-guard of horsemen and trumpeters, who 
make a mournful sound, their instruments being furled with purple and 
black crape; these trumpeters march at the head of the first troop, mounted 
on dapple horses, the housings of which are of the same colour with the 
streamers fixed to the trumpets ; hut those of the van-guard are black 
velvet, with gold and silver fringe. These horsemen have their lances 
reversed ; each squadron has a standard before it, surrounded with kettle¬ 
drums, muffled, which are beaten in a mournful manner. 

Several battalions of the Swiss guards advance next ; one half having 
muskets and the other halberds, reversed. These are followed by twenty- 
four grooms, each leading a horse covered with sable housings that trail 
upon the ground. Several of the deceased pope’s tall lackeys walk with¬ 
out order, between the led horses, with lighted torches of yellow wax iri 
their hands. 

Then the twelve penitentiaries of St. Peter’s advance, with each a flam¬ 
beau in his hand, and surrounded with Swiss guards armed with back¬ 
swords and halberds, and having the pope’s litter in the midst of them. 
Immediately before the litter comes the cross-bearer mounted on a tall 


























































342 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

horse, with a caparison of wire all in network, like a horse prepared for 
battle. Behind the bed of state, on which the pope’s body lies, is seen the 
chief groom on a black horse, whose ears are cropped, and whose harness 
consists only of several stripes of linen cloth, a piece of white satin, and a 
grand plume of feathers, in three ranges, one above the other, on his head, 
and some gaudy tinsel. 

Afterwards, twenty-four more grooms come forward, leading black 
mules with white housings, and twelve tall lackeys with white horses 
covered with black velvet. After these, a troop of light horse advance, the 
men being all clothed in purple. Then come a troop of cuirassiers: and 
lastly, the remainder of the Swiss guards, whose march is closed by a troop 
of carabineers, who guard a few pieces of brass cannon gilt, drawn on their 
carriages. 

In the event of the pope dying in the Vatican, his body is immediately 
carried, by the back stairs, into Sextus V.’s Chapel. After it has lain 
there twenty-four hours, it is embalmed, and on the same day is carried to 
St. Peter’s Church, attended only by the penitentiaries, the almoners, and 
other ecclesiastics, who follow the pontiff’s corpse as far as the portico of 
the great church. The canons of the church come and receive it, singing 
the usual prayers appointed for the dead ; and afterwards carry it into the 
chapel of the Blessed Trinity, where it is exposed for three days, on a bed 
of state raised pretty high, to the sight of the people, who crow r d to kiss the 
feet of his holiness through an iron rail by which this chapel is enclosed. 

Three days after, the corpse, being again embalmed with fresh perfumes, 
is laid in a leaden coffin, at the bottom of which the cardinals, whom he 
had promoted, lay gold and silver medals, on one side of which is the head 
of the deceased pope, their benefactor, and on the reverse his most remark¬ 
able actions. This coffin is afterwards enclosed in another made of cypress 
wood, and is deposited within the wall of some chapel, till such time as a 
mausoleum can be erected to his honour in St. Peter’s, or any other church, 
in case he himself had not given any orders for the erecting of one during 
his lifetime, which is frequently the case. But when his holiness declares 
by his last will, or by word of mouth, that he chooses not to be buried in 
St. Peter’s, but in some other church which he names, then his body must 
not be translated till after he has lain a whole year in some of the chapels 
of that church ; and in this case the corpse cannot be removed till a large 
sum of money has been paid to the chapter of St. Peter; it sometimes 
costs upwards of a million of livres, in case the pope, whose corpse they 
are desirous of removing, was famous for his piety, and that any grounds 
exist to presume that he will one day be canonized. 

The Apostolic Chamber defrays the expenses of the pope’s burial, which 
are fixed at one hundred and fifty thousand livres; in which sum, not only 
the expenses of the funeral are included, but also those to be paid for the 






































































ROMA IN CATHOLIC CHURCH 


• 43 



erection of a mausoleum in St. Peter’s, and illuminating a chapel of state, 
where a mass of Requiem is to be sung every morning for a week together, 
in presence of the sacred college, for the repose of the soul of the deceased 
pc ntifF. The funeral obsequies end the ninth day by another solemn mass, 
which is sung by a cardinal bishop, assisted at the altar by four other car¬ 
dinals with their mitres on, who, together with the officiating priest, at the 
conclusion of the office, incense the representation of the coffin, and sprinkle 
it in the manner enjoined in the ritual in presence of four other cardinals, 
and all the prelates and officers of the late pope’s court, who immediately 
retire as soon as the last Requiescat in pace is pronounced, to which they 
answer, Amen. 

After the pope’s decease, the office of the mass is said according to the 
circumstances of the times ; and one of the lessons is applied to the sacred 
college. On the first and last day of the nine days’ devotion, two hundred 
masses are said for the soul of the deceased pontiff, the solemn mass is 
sung by a cardinal-bishop, and a hundred masses are sung on the other 
days. 


SEC. IV.-HIERARCHY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


The pope, considered as a bishop, has a diocese subordinate to him. In 
this quality he appoints for his vicar-general a bishop, who, ever since Pius 
The Pope’s Vi- IV ‘> is always a cardinal. The office of vicar-general is for 
car-general. life. He eX officio, the proper judge of ecclesiastics both 
secular and regular of both sexes, and also of the Jews and courtesans at 
Rome, and in its dependencies. He confirms and confers all sacred orders. 
He is empowered to inspect and visit a'l churches, monasteries, hospitals, 
and other pious houses, those of foreign nations excepted, which are all 
exempt. He has a vicegerent, who is always a bishop, to assist him in his 
episcopal functions. He has likewise a lieutenant, who is a prelate, but 
under the rank of bishop ; a referendary of both signatures, who takes 
cognisance of all civil causes at his court; and a judge criminal, who is a 
layman, to judge all crimes committed by clerks and regulars. But that 
which makes the post of grand-vicar very considerable and profitable, is the 
power he has of deciding all differences that arise relating to matrimony. 

The Apostolic Chamber pays him provisionally, exclusive of the profits 
arising from his courts, twelve hundred crowns of gold annually. He has, 
besides the above-mentioned officers, for notaries or registrars, a provost, 
and a company of t^iliffs and sergeants. 

The chancellor wrote formerly, in the pope’s name, all the rescripts, 
doubts, and scruples w T ith respect to faith, which bishops and others pro- 
The Pope’s posed to him ; insomuch that he executes the office of secre- 
V^c"-oianceiu>i\ tary of state, of the briefs, and that of chancellor. This 








































344 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


dignity is purchased, and costs a hundred thousand crowns ; it yields about 
twelve thousand crowns per annum to the incumbent, and is for life. The 
jurisdiction of the cardinal vice-chancellor extends to the issuing out ail 
apostolical letters and bulls, and also to all petitions signed by the pope. 

The regent of the apostolic chancery is established by the vice-chan¬ 
cellor’s patent, by which he is empowered to commit all appeals to the 

Regent and Re- referendaries and auditors of the rota; and these he distri- 
f>ope’s S Chancery e butes to them by order, that each of them may be employed, 
and get money in their turns. There are twelve referendaries, who are 
all prelates, and are called registrars of the high court; they are clothed 
in long purple robes. These employments are purchased, and the vice- 
chancellor has the nomination of six, the others being in the gift of the 
pope. The post of regent is purchased at 30,000 crowns, and the annual 
produce amounts to 3000. The posts of the prelates referendaries, of both 
signatures, who are registrars of the high court, sell for 13,000 crowns, 
and produce each 1200 crowns annually. These thirteen prelates have their 
seats when the pope assists solemnly at the office; but the regent never 
appears there in that quality, to prevent any disputes about precedency. 

The registrars of the high court draw up the minutes of all bulls, from 
the petitions signed by the pope, and collate them after they are written on 
parchment; they afterwards send them to the registrars of the lower court, 
who, with the registrars or apostolical writers, tax them. All these em¬ 
ployments would not be worth so much, nor produce tender cent, profit, 
were the bulls which collate to rich benefices issued out gratis; but no¬ 
thing is ever purchased from the apostolical chancery, without paying sums 
proportionately to the value of the benefices, or other grants. 

The cardinal-nephew, if the pope have any, or another cardinal, is 
always the pope’s principal secretary of state ; for this post is never given 

D , e to any person under the dignity of cardinal. There are ten 

Pope’s Secre- J r o J 

tary of State. other secretaries of state, between whom the provinces of 
the ecclesiastical state are divided ; but they are in such subordination to him, 
that they do nothing without his participation ; so that, properly speaking, 
they are no more than under-secretaries of state. 

The cardinal-secretary signs, by the pope’s order, all letters directed to 
princes, nuncios, vice-legates, governors, and prefects ; and the patents of 
all those who are appointed for the government and administration of jus¬ 
tice, in the whole territory of the ecclesiastical state. But the provisions 
or patents of governors of cities, and large towns surrounded with walls, 
•hose of legates, vice-legates, and presidents, are drawn up by brief, under 
the fisherman’s ring or seal; and all those who are raised to these employ¬ 
ments, cardinals excepted, take an oath before the cardinal camerlingo, in 
the presence of a notary of the chamber, and swear on their own briefs. 
The absent do the same by proxy. 



































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


345 


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All the ambassadors of princes, after having had audience of the pope, 
come and visit the cardinal-secretary before they wait upon any of the 
magistrates of Rome; because the post of superintendent of the ecclesi¬ 
astical state is annexed to this particular office. These two posts are for 
life, and the pope generally bestows them gratis; but sometimes, in case 
he be in urgent necessity for money, he sells them : they produce 15,000 
crowns annually. 

The under-secretaries of state are, by their office, obliged to draw up all 
the minutes which the cardinal-secretary may require, and to make a fair 
copy of all the letters and patents which he is to sign. 

The prefect of the briefs is always a cardinal, whose post is purchased, 
and is for life : it costs 20,000 crowns, and produces annually 2500 crowns, 

Prefect of the exclusive of the extraordinary perquisites which he receives 
Bnefs - from all those whose briefs he despatches. By his office he 

is obliged to review all the minutes, and sign all the copies of assessed 
briefs; but he is neither empowered nor commissioned to view the secret 
briefs. He is generally deputed by his holiness, with other prelates, to 
assist at the signature of grants, which is made in the pontifical palace. 
His post is very honourable and profitable, for he has a seat in the pope’s 
palace, near the datary; and when he revises the briefs, he may add or 
cut off any clauses : on which account, the secretaries, who all in their 
several turns assess these briefs, rate them either higher or lower, accord¬ 
ingly as they are desirous of favouring those who are to have them 
despatched ; for which reason, all who come on these occasions pay their 
court assiduously to this prefect, and endeavour to bribe him to their interest 
by some present, proportionable to the advantages granted by those briefs. 

The office of prefect of the signature of favour is never given to any 
person under the dignity of cardinal, who receives from the Apostolical 
Chamber a yearly pension of 1200 crowns, so long as, by 

The Prefects of 

both Signatures, the pope’s favour, he enjoys this post, who removes him 
whenever he pleases. The chief employment of the cardinal-prefect is 
to preside over all those prelates who assist at the signature of favour, 
made every Tuesday before the pope. He likewise signs all the petitions 
which are presented to this assembly, in which twelve cardinals, at least, 
always meet by the order of his holiness, one of whom is generally the 
cardinal-prefect of the signature of justice. There are likewise in this 
assembly twelve prelates-referendaries, who have each their vote in the 
signature of justice. 

The jurisdiction of the prefect of the signature of justice extends to judge 
the causes or those persons who think themselves injured by any sentence 
given by the ordinary judges. Every Thursday, twelve prelates assemble 
at his house, and these are the most ancient referendaries of the signature, 
and have an active voice. 



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The Prelates 
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The Pope’s 
Datary. 



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The college of the prelates referendaries is not limited as to the number, 
and the employments are not purchased, but are only titles of honour, 
which the pope bestows on persons of high birth and learn¬ 
ing, as a step towards the most considerable employments 
of the court of Rome. A person, before he can be thus promoted, must 
first have the nomination of the cardinal-patron, and the pope’s consent. 
The cardinal-prefect of the signature of justice afterwards orders one of his 
officers to institute the proper inquiries, pursuant to the constitution of 
Sextus V., by which it is enacted, that every candidate must prove he is 
doctor of both laws, that he has been an inhabitant of Rome for two years, 
that he is twenty-five years of age, and that he has wealth sufficient to 
support the prelature with honour. 

The pope’s datary and the chancery courts were formerly one and the 
same thing ; but the multitude of affairs to be transacted therein obliged 
his holiness to divide it into two tribunals, which are so 
nearly related to one another, that the chancery does no 
more than despatch all that has passed through the datary court. 

The officer called datary is a prelate, and sometimes a cardinal, deputed 
by his holiness to receive all such petitions as are presented to him, touch¬ 
ing the provisions for benefices. By this post, the datary is empowered 
to grant all benefices that do not produce upwards of twenty-four ducats 
annually, without acquainting his holiness therewith ; but for those which 
amount to more, he is obliged to cause the provisions thereof to be signed 
by the pope, who admits him to an audience every day. In case there be 
several candidates for the same benefice, he is at liberty to bestow it on 
whomsoever of them he thinks proper, provided he has the requisite quali¬ 
fications. The datary has a yearly salary of two thousand crowns, exclu¬ 
sive of the immense perquisites which he receives from those who address 
him for any benefice. 

A Dominican friar, of the order commonly called the Preaching Brothers, 
is always Master of the Pope's Palace, ever since the founder, who was 

The Major- canonized by the name of St. Dominic, was raised to that 
others an of° l the dignity by Honorius III. in 1216. He preaches once a 
rope’s Household. mo nth in the public chapel of the palace, or appoints 

one of his brethren to perform the service for him. He has a seat in 
the pope’s chapel, next to the deacon, or most ancient auditor of the rota. 
He has no fixed salary, because, by the statutes of his order, he is not 
allowed to have any money which he can call his own ; but he is allowed 
a table at court with his companions and servants, and a coach is kept for 
him. 

He is the judge in ordinary of all printers, engravers, and booksellers, 
who are not permitted to publish, or sell, any work without his permission 
being first obtained. All books that come to Rome are examined by him, 



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or his officers, who confiscate all that are prohibited by the index of the 
Council of Trent. 

The other chief officers that reside in the pontifical palace, and near the 
person of his holiness, are the major-domo , or master of the household 
which officers, in the courts of other princes, are called high-stewards. 
The pope’s master of the household superintends all the domestics of the 
apostolical palace ; but his holiness employs the chief steward of the hos¬ 
pital of the Literate Orphans to furnish him with provisions, and the 
hospital has proper fees allowed to it. 

I -K 

There are always two gentlemen near the pope’s person, who have the 
title of masters of the chamber. The chief cup-bearer, who is called cop- 
piere , presents the glass to his holiness, with a salver which he holds 
before him, and kneels on both knees when the pope drinks. The officer 
whose business it is to see the dishes brought in order to the pope’s 
table is called in Italian scalco. The carver , who cuts up the meat before 
the sovereign pontiff—the chief harbinger , who regulates the apartments 
of the pope’s household, and all the other officers above mentioned, are 
prelates, who wear purple vestments, and have each two deputies to officiate 
in their absence. 

There are, likewise, several privy-chamberlains , all prelates, who are 
clothed in long purple cassocks with sleeves trailing to the ground, but have 
no cloak. Among these, eight are declared partakers , and divide among 
themselves whatever presents are made them ; and of these the pope 
chooses one to be his privy-treasurer, whose business it is to distribute 
such alms as his holiness bestows privately. 

Another of these privy-chamberlains is appointed master of the ward¬ 
robe. He is intrusted with all the plate, whether of gold or silver, all the 
jewels and shrines for relics, as also the Agnus Dei's , which he distributes 
daily to pilgrims and strangers at a certain hour. The pope's physician in 
ordinary is also a privy-chamberlain, but not the other two, who are phy¬ 
sicians of his household. 

The fixed pension of each privy-chamberlain amounts to a thousand 
crowns annually : and the partakers have at least double that sum, arising 
fiom the presents made at the creation and death of every cardinal. The 
chamberlain who distributes the Agnus Dei's receives more than all the 
rest, particularly when any extraordinary solemnity induces foreigners to 
visit Rome ; such as the years of the jubilee, an embassy, a holy canoni¬ 
zation that makes a great noise, or any famous miracle. In such cases he 
has several thousand crowns given him for the little consecrated images 

of wax. 

The pope’s privy-chaplains have the same salary as the chamberlains. 
They assist in saying the office of the breviary, and wait upon him at 
ss, when he celebrates it in private. One of these carries the cress 






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efore his holiness when he goes abroad, and in case he goes on foot 
another of them supports his train. 

When the pope assists at solemn ma^, and in processions, his chaplains 
carry the mitres and triple crowns, enriched with precious stones, which 
they display in a very pompous manner, holding them aloft with both their 
hands to show them to the people as his holiness walks along. There are 
also chaplains belonging to the guards and grooms, who say mass every 
morning in the guard-room, &c.; these are called common chaplains ; their 
yearly salary amounts to no more than fifty crowns, but, then, they are paid 
besides for whatever masses they celebrate. 

The pope’s assistants and valets-de-chambre have five hundred crowns 
a year, and several other very considerable profits; not to mention that, as 
they have a more free access to his holiness than the rest of his domestics, 
they never fail of benefices. 

There are likewise honorary chamberlains, who are prelates of the first 
quality, among whom the pope generally makes choice of a Frenchman, a 
German, and a Spaniard. The chamberlains of the Boussole are so many 
ushers, because they always keep a guard at his holiness’s chamber-door. 
The chamberlains without the walls are so called because they follow 
the pope without the Vatican, and attend upon him in all his public 
cavalcades, with the chamberlain’s esquires, clothed in red cloth, and 
covered with a large cope of the same colour furred with ermine. Each 
of these do duty in the apostolical palace, and have their distinct office ; 
but the honorary chamberlains never mount guard, nor appear in the 
pope’s ante-chamber but when they please. These are generally em¬ 
ployed by the pope to carry the red cap or hat to any newly-elected 
cardinals who are not in Rome at the time of their being raised to that 
dignity 

The pope has a master of the household and scalco, in the Vatican as 
well as on Monte Cavallo ; and another carver, whose office it is to pre¬ 
pare the banquet which he gives to the cardinals on certain extraordinary 
occasions, and on solemn festivals; another scalco and carver for the am¬ 
bassadors, and other distinguished foreigners, whom the pope entertains in 
a splendid manner; and another, who prepares the dinner given to the 
thirteen poor pilgrims, serves up the first dish at their table, and treats them 
in a magnificent manner every day, in imitation of Pope Clement VIII., 
who restored this custom, first introduced by Gregory the Great. These 
officers are clothed in purple. 

The pope always makes choice of a native of Rome for the master of his 
stables. This officer bears the name of cavallerizzo. 

The harbingers above mentioned assign the apartments to the pope’s 
household, and have deputy harbingers and their assistants, who are in¬ 
trusted with the hangings, ornaments, and other furniture of the pontifical 


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palace. They are likewise employed to adorn the apartments when either 
consistory, signature of favour, or congregation is held. 

There are likewise footmen, called grooms , who keep guard in the halls 
of the pope’s palace, and are very numerous, because the pope bestows 
this place on all those who were his grooms when he was cardinal; and 
moreover, he likewise gives those places to all the chiefs of the grooms that 
are in the service of the cardinals and ambassadors who are present at 
Rome at the time of his creation. Their clothing is a red flowered satin ; 
and whenever they go out, they have a blue cloth cloak and a sword, the 
hilt of which is of silver gilt. 

The pope has twelve officers, who have each a red wand, and twelve 
others who carry silver maces, and walk before him in a ceremonial habit, 
every time he appears in public with his mitre and cope on. When the 
consistory is held, they guard the door, and wait upon his holiness when 
he is entering or departing. These twenty-four posts are all purchased 
for six hundred crowns each, and produce about fifty annually. 

The pope’s sacristan, who takes the title of prefect, is always a friar of 
the order of the hermits of St. Austin. This prefect is intrusted with all 
the ornaments, gold and silver vessels, crosses, cups, thuri¬ 
bles, shrines for enclosing relics, and other valuable things 
belonging to his holiness’s sacristy. 

It is he that prepares the host, and inspects the bread and wine, when 
the pope celebrates mass pontifically, or in private. Whenever his holiness 
assists solemnly at mass, his sacristan places himself among the assisting 
bishops, above the dean, or the senior auditors of the rota; and observes 
to take off or put on the pope’s mitre, as often as he is required by the 
rubric of the Roman Pontifical. 

He distributes the relics and signs the memorials of those indulgences 
which pilgrims desire for themselves and relations. We shall make two 
remarks on this head '.—First, that indulgences are never granted to any 
pilgrims but to those who are actually upon a journey, and appear person¬ 
ally before the pope’s sacristan. 

Secondly, with regard to those indulgences which persons who go to 
Rome desire for their relations, they are not to be granted to them but 
when they are in their expiring moments : i. e. the pope grants by briefs, 
addressed to certain persons, for whose names blanks are left, a power of 
making choice of what confessor they shall think proper, when at the 
point of death ; and to be absolved by him from all sins in general, and all 
reserved cases, of what nature soever; with a full power to this confessor 
of remitting to the person to whom this brief is given all the punishments 
which God might otherwise have inflicted on him for his sins, whether in 
this life or after his death, in hell or in purgatory. 

Formerly, the chancellor superintended the pope’s library * but in latter 
23 



































































350 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


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under the dignity of a cardinal, who assumes the title of 
librarian of the Vatican. He has two sub-librarians ; the first of whom is 
generally one of the pope’s domestic prelates, and has six hundred crowns 
a year, with an allowance of bread and wine for the whole year. The 
second has four hundred crowns, and the same provision as the former. 

These three places are always filled by persons of great learning, who 
to the knowledge of other tongues add the Oriental languages in particu¬ 
lar. The librarian has the direction of a noble printing-house, where no¬ 
thing is printed without his permission. It abounds with types of all the 
known tongues in which the learned are conversant. 

His holiness has six masters of the ceremonies ; two of whom are called 
assistants, and the other four supernumeraries. The two assistants re- 

Master of the ce ^ ve °f ever y newly-created cardinal 224 crowns of gold, 
Ceremonies. and 0 f the heirs of those who die 100 crowns, which sums 

they equally share. Their employments bring them in altogether about 
J000 crowns yearly, besides a table in the Vatican. All the chamber¬ 
lains have an equal authority to regulate pontifical functions, to acquaint 
the cardinals with their duty, and to issue orders to all persons belonging 
to the court. 

They all have admission into the conclave, and, likewise, in the congre¬ 
gation of rites, but one only goes to the ceremonial congregation. When¬ 
ever the pope sends any cardinal a latere out of Rome, he deputes one of 
the supernumerary masters of the ceremonies to attend upon him. They 
are clothed in purple cassocks, with black buttons and facings, and sleeves 
trailing on the ground ; in the papal chapel they wear a red cassock, as 
the rest of the cardinals, and rochets like the prelates. 

The Ruota is one of the most august tribunals of Rome, and is composed 
of twelve prelates, one of whom must be a German, another a Frenchman, 

Tribunal of the anc ^ tvvo Spaniards. Each of the sovereigns of these three 
nations names a prelate, who bears the name of his crown. 
The other eight are Italians, three of whom must be Romans, one Bo¬ 
lognese, a Ferraran, a Milanese, a Venetian, and a Tuscan. Each auditor 
has four notaries or registrars, and the senior auditor performs the functi >n 
of president. 

They meet in the apostolical palace every Monday and Friday, except 
during vacations ; but when the pope resides in the palace of Mount 
Quirinal, the assemblies are held in the chancery. 

They take cognisance of all such suits in the territory of the church as 
are brought in by way of appeal, and also of matters beneficiary and patri¬ 
monial. This tribunal does not judge a cause at once, but pronounces as 
many sentences, called decisions, as there are points contested in a suit 


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ages it is an office apart, yielding twelve hundred crowns in gold annually 
Pope’s Libra to P ossessor * The pope never bestows it on any person 






















































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


351 


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/\fier these sentences are given, the party may get his cause revised again 
Ly the pope himself, at the signature of favour, which is a kind of civil 
{ etition. The place of these auditors produces but one thousand crowns 
yearly to each, and they receive no fees; but then they are generally 
created cardinals by way of reward for the pains they have taken. 

1 his council has the direction of all the pope’s demesnes, the finances of 
which consist in what is called the revenues of the Apostolic Chamber. 

The Apostolic ^ consists °f the cardinal great chamberlain, who is at the 
Chamber. head 0 f j t . 0 f the governor of the ruota, who is the vice- 

chamberlain ; of a treasurer-general, an auditor, a president, an advocate- 
general, a solicitor-general, a commissary, and twelve clerks of the chamber; 
of whom four are, first, the prefect of the plenty of grain ; a second the 
prefect of provision, and such like commodities ; the third, the prefect of 
the prisons; and the fourth, the prefect of the streets. The remaining 
eight are deputed to take cognisance of various causes, each privately in 
his chamber. 

Formerly the pope used to depute six clerks of his household for the 
direction of his revenues, from which those who have the management of 
them receive their names. Sextus V. ordered that their employments 
should be purchased, and increased their number to twelve. They meet 
every Monday and Friday in the pope’s palace, and their jurisdiction 
extends to all things relating to the pope’s demesnes. 

Each clerk of the chamber takes immediate cognisance of all causes that 
are sent up from the Apostolical Chamber by appeal. None of the places 
of clerk of the chamber are purchased for less than 80,000 crowns, nor 
yield less than 8000 crowns annually. The posts of treasurer-general 
and auditor of the Apostolical Chamber are purchased for similar sums, and 
produce similar revenues. 

The temporal dominions of the pope are at present confined to a territory 
south of the river Po, in Italy, containing not more than fifteen thousand 

Present state of square miles, and two millions and five hundred thousand 
lilfchinfh. Calho ~ inhabitants. The ecclesiastical subjects of the pope are 
variously estimated from eighty to one hundred and twenty millions, who 
are scattered over the whole world. The countries which are considered 
entirely papal, are the pope’s dominions in Italy, Spain, Portugal, ind 
South America; France, Austria, Poland, Belgium, Ireland, and Canada, 
almost entirely. Switzerland has seven hundred thousand; England more 
than half a million. Others are found in Russia, Sweden, Denmark, the 
West India Islands, and the United States. 

As a temporal prince, the political power of the pope is now regarded 
with absolute contempt by all the European governments; but it is still 
supported by them as a matter of policy. 

France, more particularly, appears almost ready to throw off entirely the 










































































352 


ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


trammels of the papal yoke ; for, as the Catholic priesthood has been 
found uniformly to give its support to an arbitrary form of government, 
and to neglect the instruction of the people, the Bourbon dynasty has been 
overthrown by the revolution of 1830, and the Romish Church cut off from 
being the established religion, and free toleration granted. Still, as the 
Roman Catholic is the professed religion of the majority in the French 
nation, its clergy at present continue to receive their usual salaries from the 
new government. So grossly have the French been deluded with the 
popish ceremonies and superstitions, that the more intelligent have become 
infidels. Such, indeed, is the case throughout the Roman Catholic coun¬ 
tries, and especially in Italy ; the people, therefore, are ill prepared, at 
present, to embrace the pure Christianity of the New Testament, of which, 
indeed, they are almost universally ignorant. Nevertheless, the vigorous 
efforts of some devoted servants of Christ at Paris, with several agents from 
the Methodists, Continental, London, and Baptist Missionary Societies in 
England, and especially with the revival of religion among the Protestants 
of the South of France, all contributing to the circulation of the Scriptures, 
and the diffusion of divine knowledge, will, we trust, be blessed of God, to 
produce an evangelical reformation in that great country. 

Education being vigorously promoted through many parts of Germany, 
and the Holy Scriptures being extensively circulated, popery will not be 
able much longer to retain its hold on the millions in Austria and Hungary. 
Even the Italian States, and Rome itself, have received many copies of the 
blessed word of God; and it is believed that not a few Catholics, and some of 
the priests, are sincerely studying the Scriptures of Truth for their internal 
salvation. Knowledge, by the British system of education, is increasing in 
South America; and, with it, the Holy Scriptures are circulated among 
the superstitious Catholics. 

In British India and the East, the Roman Catholic Church has an es¬ 
tablishment of three archbishops and seventeen bishops, with many priests, 
besides Romish missionaries; but scriptural knowledge, as we have seen, 
is advancing in those populous regions of the earth. Canada has the 
Roman Catholic system for the established religion; and efforts are being 
made to extend the influence of popery in the United States of America, 
particularly in the wondrous valley of the Mississippi; but its antidote is 
provided in the Bible. 

Ireland is chiefly popish ; and in that injured, degraded, and distracted 
country, there are nearly five thousand Roman Catholic priests. But 
scriptural light and knowledge are advancing among the people, notwith¬ 
standing their prejudices against the Protestants. 

England, at the commencement of this century, it is said, had not 
quite fifty Roman Catholic chapels: that the number should now exceed 
five hundred cannot be matter of wonder, when we consider the amazing 


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increase of its population, the influx of Irish, and the ignorance of 
multitudes of the lower classes concerning the essentials of religion as 
taught in the New Testament. 

In 1870 a Council was gathered at Rome to raise to the rank of an 
article of faith the mediaeval pretension of the Pope to absolute domin¬ 
ion over the church, kings, and nations, which Gregory the Great 
denounced as an abomination and a blasphemy. 

Preparation for this Council was begun several years before by direct¬ 
ing bishops in different countries to hold synods and pass decrees dic¬ 
tated or revised at Rome, in which Jesuits pretended to see a general 
and wonderful unanimity in favor of Papal Infallibility as a doctrine 
already held by all good Catholics. 

The decree was passed July 18th, and it is now a rule of faith that 
the Pope is supreme judge and director of the consciences of men 

Not one diplomatic person was present, all being absent in obedience 
to orders from their governments. 

The Pope aimed from the first day to destroy all freedom in the 
Council by his regulations, and exercised a power over it destructive of 
the rights of the bishops and the freedom of the church. 

In order to cover up his methods of coercion and insure his hold even 
on the opposition, the Pope prepared two papers for the signature of 
every bishop attending the Council, which they were required to sign 
before leaving Rome : the first was a profession of faith, including the 
dogma of infallibility; the second declaring that the Council had been 
free from restraint throughout its whole course! 

The oflicial record of the vote on the dogma of infallibility is: the 
whole number of bishops attending as members 754; number present 
in Rome at the time of the vote 520; number voting placet (yes) 283 ; 
non-placet (no) 85; conditional 61; declining to vote 91; leaving a 
majority of 26 in favor of the dogma ; or, if those who dodged the vote 
by absence were against it, the majority against it would stand 208. 

Among the opponents were Dr. Dollinger, of Germany, who was 
supported by Strossmayer and nearly all of the German bishops; 
Dupanloup, of Orleans, and Darboy, of Paris, France; the leading 
historians and scholars of the Catholic Church in all countries; the 
foremost bishops of America; the entire Oriental church, and the 
Hungarians, and the only real support of the dogma was found in the 
ItHian and Irish branches of the church, led by Bishop Manning, of 
England. 

This is the most perfect form of absolutism ever yet devised by any 
man, and Pius IX is himself more than content; his supreme desire, 
the crown of his life and work, is attained. 

Almost at the same instant, when the Pope imagined himself elevated 
to the highest pinnacle of earthly power, as the umpire and arbiter of 
all rulers, in his assumed character of Vicar of Christ, his temporal 
dominion crumbled away from under his feet, and Victor Immanuel, 
as the rightful king of united Italy, entered Rome July 4, 1871 as its 
sovereign, thus restoring to Italy the States of the Church, which have 
been ruled by the popes for several centuries. 














































































PART TV 


RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES OF 
PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


Under the head of Protestant Communities it is proposed, for the sake 
of convenience, to treat of the principal denominations which, whether 
strict or lax, orthodox or otherwise, deny the supremacy of the pope of 
Rome, and the discipline of that church; adopting for their profession of 
faith articles in their estimation more scriptural, and ceremonies and modes 
of worship varying according to their views of the requirements of the 
gospel. 


SECTION I.—LUTHERANS 


The Lutherans derive their name from Martin Luther, a celebrated re¬ 
former, who, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, 
° rl&in ‘ opposed the church of Rome with great zeal and success. 

The system of faith embraced by the Lutherans was drawn up by 
Luther and Melancthon, and presented to the Emperor Charles V., in 
1530, at the diet of Augusta or Augsburg, and hence 
System of Faith. ca |j e( j t jj e Augustan or Augsburg Confession. It is divided 

into two parts, of which the former , containing twenty-one articles, was 
designed to represent, with truth and perspicuity, the religious opinions of 
the reformers; and the latter , containing seven articles, is employed in 
pointing out and confuting the seven capital errors which occasioned their 
separation from the church of Rome: these were, communion in one kind, 
the forced celibacy of the clergy, private masses, auricular confession, 
legendary traditions, monastic vows, and the excessive power of the church. 
From the time of Luther to the present day, no change has been introduced 
into the doctrine and discipline received in this church. The method, how¬ 
ever, of illustrating, enforcing, and defending the doctrines of Christianity, 
has undergone several changes in the Lutheran church; and, though the 
confessions continue the same, yet some of the doctrined which were 
warmly maintained by Luther have been, of late, wholly abandoned by his 























































































LUTHERANS 


followers. 1 he Lutherans are far from allowing that good works are in 
any wise meritorious with regard to salvation. They acknowledge, gene¬ 
rally, that Christ died for all who were partakers of Adam’s transgression ; 
but that those, only, who should believe in him, and persevere in that faith 
to their lives’ end, should be saved. The foreknowledge of God from all 
eternity of this faith is made by them the basis, or foundation, of the elec¬ 
tion or predestination of the faithful. They view election in the very 
same light as they do justification. If the instrumental cause of the latter 
be faith, God’s foreknowledge of that faith of the faithful is their election. 
As to free-will, the Lutherans deny its power before the conversion of a 
sinner, and maintain that none are converted but by the prevailing efficacy 
of grace alone. The Lutherans acknowledge but two sacraments, that is 
to say, baptism and the Lord’s supper. They deny transubstantiation, 
the mass, the elevation and adoration of the host, the ceremonies, and 
all that external worship which the church of Rome observes with respect 
to the body and blood of Jesus Christ: but they believe, that the real 
presence of the humanity of Jesus Christ is with, in, and under the ele¬ 
ments of bread and wine in the holy communion, and maintain, in vindica¬ 
tion of their ubiquity, that all the perfections of Christ’s divinity were 
communicated to his humanity. They reject the adoration of saints and 
relics. Although it be our bounden duty, they say, to imitate the saints, 
and set them before our eyes as great examples, yet we ought not to invoke 
them, nor imagine that there are any latent virtues in their relics, &c. 
They condemn all acts of penance and human expiations, such as solemn 
vows, pilgrimages, nine days’ devotions, macerations, and other works of 
supererogation ; that is to say, such mortifications, as, by the laws of 
Christianity, are no ways imposed upon us, &c. They reject all distinc¬ 
tion of meats, and the observance of Lent, all monastic vows and con¬ 
vents, the celibacy of the clergy, and the performance of divine service in 
an unknown tongue ; and, in short, all the ceremonies practised in the 
Romish church. 

Their pastors, with their several congregations, either meet at the 
parsonage, or at some convenient place near the church intended to be 
consecrated, and afterwards march in procession two and 
two, once at least, and sometimes thrice, all round it, sing¬ 
ing certain divine hymns or canticles all the way. As soon as this previous 
act of devotion is over, they enter the church, where the service is opened 
with singing again ; after which some portion of the sacred Scriptures is 
read to them, and a sermon preached on the solemnity of the day. If the 
income, or revenue, of the church will admit of it, or the congregation are 
able and willing to defray the expense, the superintendent of their me¬ 
tropolis is requested to assist at the ceremony, to give his benediction to the 
church, and consecrate it with some proper discourse of his own composing; 


Consecration of 
their Churches. 


































































35G 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


Their Ministers. 


which favour is acknowledged, not only by a handsome gratuity, but an 
eJegant entertainment. 

Two divines are generally appointed for the purpose of ordination, who 
not only inquire into the real merit and natural qualifications of the candi¬ 
dates, such, for instance, as a proper stature, a musical voice, 
health and strength, but also into their knowledge of the 
learned languages, and their abilities to argue, on both sides, all contro¬ 
versial questions. They inquire likewise into the religious principles and 
particular tenets of the respective candidates. It is highly requisite and 
just that they should be sound and orthodox, that is to say, be in all respects 
conformable to the doctrines which they are intended to maintain and teach, 
and which the church they are to serve professes ; and that they should 
be fixed and unalterable during their establishment in that sacred function. 
After such due inquiries have been made, the candidate is ordered to 
preach before his examiners on some particular text of their own choosing. 
Upon the report of his being duly qualified, a church may be offered him ; 
however, according to the Saxon discipline, he is obliged, before he is 
absolutely declared minister of any congregatien, to preach several times 
before them ; and the opinion of the people must afterwards be consulted, 
and their approbation and consent procured. 

The day of ordination being fixed, the candidate repairs to the church, 
where he is to be ordained in the presence of several ministers, ecclesiasti- 
_ . . cal judges, and a numerous congregation of the faithful. 

Ministers. He there makes a confession of his faith, either before or 

some time during the sermon. In the prayer after the sermon, the candi¬ 
date is particularly taken notice of, and prayed for by name. As soon as 
the minister withdraws from the pulpit, the Veni Spiritus Sancte is imme¬ 
diately sung, and during the performance the superintendent, who is pri¬ 
mate of the Lutheran clergy, repairs to the altar, accompanied by six 
colleagues, or coadjutors, and followed by the candidate, who falls down on 
his knees before him. Here the superintendent, addressing himself to his six 
colleagues, having first communicated the candidate’s request, invites them 
to join with him in prayer on his behalf; in the next place he reads the 
formulary of election, which is accompanied with another prayer; and 
after that, directs his discourse to his six coadjutors, saying, “ Dearly 
beloved brethren in our Lord Jesus, I exhort you to lay your hands on 
this candidate, who presents himself here before us in order to be admitted 
a minister of the church of God, according to the ancient apostolical insti¬ 
tution, and to concur with me in investing him with that sacred office.” 
After this formal address, he lays his hands directly on the head of the 
candidate, and says to him, Sis maneasque consecratus Deo, which literally 
construed is, Be thou, and so remain to be, devoted to the service of God. 
The six colleagues repeat, after the superintendents, the ceremony of im- 



























































































































position of hands, and make use of the same form of words: after which 
the superintendent addresses himself to the person thus ordained in the 
terms following: “Being assembled here with the aid and assistance ol 
the Holy Ghost, we have made our humble supplications to God for you, 
and hope that he will vouchsafe to hear our prayers. Wherefore, I ordain, 
confirm, and establish you, in the name of the Lord, pastor and spiritual 
instructor of the saints belonging to the church, &c.; govern it in the fear 
of the Lord, and have a watchful eye over it, as a faithful shepherd over 
his flock,” &c. These words are, properly speaking, the very essence of 
ordination. The superintendent, after he has pronounced this exhortation, 
withdraws from the altar, and the stated minister of the place approaches 
it, dressed in his sacerdotal vestments, to read the communion service, and 
to consecrate the bread and wine, which he administers to the new pastor, 
who receives it upon his knees. Some few hymns, or canticles, and the 
usual benediction, conclude the ceremony. 

At their first entrance into the church, both men and women put up an 
ejaculatory prayer, the former holding their hats and the latter their fans 

Mode of Wor- before their faces. The same ceremony is observed as 
sllip> soon as divine service is over. The prayer generally made 

use of on these occasions is the Lord’s Prayer. When the congregation 
of the faithful are met in order to apply themselves to any exercise of devo¬ 
tion, whether it be preaching, or reading the Scriptures only, or praying, 
it is always introduced by the singing of some psalms or spiritual hymns 
suitable to the occasion. 

They have two sermons at least every Sunday, especially if it be a 
solemn festival, that is to say, one in the morning, and another in the after¬ 
noon. There is a catechetical lecture besides, at which their probationers 
are always examined. Their burials are frequently put off, likewise, till 
Sunday, for the benefit of a prayer, or, at least, a funeral sermon, which 
the Lutherans always preach upon the decease of any of their members, 
whether young or old, rich or poor. Their texts are very seldom taken 
out of those books which the Lutherans and the Protestants call apocry¬ 
phal. The last thing which we shall take notice of in relation to their 
sermons, is, that of their circular predications, which is the term they 
make use of to distinguish those sermons which their pastors are obliged 
to preach at particular times in the metropolitan church, in presence of 
the superintendent, in order that he himself may form a just judgment of 
their method, and the progress they make in the ministerial office; also 
that he may examine their principles, and prevent them deviating from the 
orthodox faith. 

After the sermon, the service concludes with some select prayers or 
supplications to Almighty God, thanksgivings, and publications. In the 
first, all sick persons, all women labouring of child, or in child-bed, all 


LUTHERANS. 




































































358 


PROTESTANT COMMUN1TIES. 


I 


that travel by land or by water, all persons any way afflicted or distressed 
in mind, body, or estate, are recommended to God as proper objects of his 
succour, comfort, and assistance. In Denmark, all those who are drawing 1 
near to the time appointed for the consummation of their marriage are 
likewise recommended to God in the prayers of the church. In their 
thanksgivings, those particular persons who had received great mercies 
desire to return their grateful acknowledgments to Almighty God for the 
same. In their publications, timely notice was given of such matters as 
particularly related to the church ; that is to say, of some extraordinary 
acts of devotion, such as the observance of an ensuing solemn festival, or 
fast, or the like, &c. In some places, the public orders of the civil magis¬ 
trate are read in the pulpit. 

The Lutherans retain the use of the altar for the celebration of the holy 
communion. They likewise make use of lighted tapers in their churches, 
of incense, and a crucifix on the altar, of the sign of the cross, and of 
images, &c. Several of their doctors acknowledge that such materials add 
a lustre and majesty to divine worship, and fix at the same time the atten¬ 
tion of the people. 

The Lutherans retain the observance of several solemn festivals after 
their reformation. They keep three solemn days of festivity at Christmas. 

In some Lutheran countries, the people go to church on the 
night of the nativity of our blessed Saviour with lighted 
candles or wax-tapers in their hands ; and the faithful, who meet in the 
church, spend the whole night there in singing, and saying their prayers 
by the light of them. Sometimes they burn such a large quantity of in¬ 
cense, that the smoke of it ascends like a whirlwind, and their devotees 
may properly enough be said to be wrapped up in it. It is customary 
likewise in Germany to give entertainments at such times to friends and 
relations, and to send presents to each other, especially to the young people, 
w T hom they amuse with very idle and romantic stories, telling them that 
our blessed Saviour descends from heaven on the night of his nativity, and 
brings with him all kinds of playthings. 

They have three holidays at Easter, and three at Whitsuntide, as well 
as those before mentioned at Christmas. These festivals have nothing 
peculiar in them with respect to the ceremonies observed at those times; 
but with regard to some particular superstitions, they are remarkable 
enough; as, for instance, that of the Paschal water, which is Jooked on as 
a sovereign remedy for sore eyes, and very serviceable in uniting broken 
limbs. This Paschal water is nothing more than common river water, 
taken up on Easter-day, before the rising of the sun. They have another 
superstitious notion with respect to their horses: they imagine that the 
swimming them in the river on Easter-day, before the sun rises, preserves 
them from lameness. 


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The other festivals observed by the Lutherans arc, New-Year’s day, or 
the Circumcision, a festival not near so ancient as the four above men¬ 
tioned ; the festival of the Three Kings, or, otherwise, the Epiphany ; 
the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, or Candlemas ; and Lady-day, or 
the Annunciation. There is no public work nor service devoted to the 
Blessed Virgin, nor are there any processions, or other ceremonies, which 
are observed by the Roman Catholics on the two latter festivals. The fes¬ 
tival of the Sacred Trinity is solemnized on the Sunday after Whit-Sunday ; 
that of St. John Baptist, on the 24th of June ; and that of the Visitation 
of the Blessed Virgin, on the 2d of July, as it is by the Roman Catholics. 

To conclude, the festival of St. Michael the Archangel, or rather the cere¬ 
monies observed by the Lutherans on that day, are the remains only of an 
ancient custom, which has been preserved among them, although some¬ 
what extraordinary, as the members of their communion retain no manner 
of veneration for angels. 

In 1523, Luther drew up a formulary of the mass and communion for 
the particular service of the church of Wittemberg. Without attempting 
to particularize the various parts of it, it may be observed 

that all the churches where Lutheranism prevailed were ^ 

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obliged entirely to conform to it. However, those orders were never punc- 
tually obeyed. Some Lutheran countries have one ritual, and some an- t v 
other. There is a difference, likewise, in their liturgies, though as to the 
fundamental articles, they all agree. 

On the Sunday when the communion is to be administered, the minister, 
immediately after the sermon, prays to Almighty God for all those in 
particular who purpose to receive the holy communion. 

There is no form of prayer, however, for that purpose; but 
the minister is at free liberty to say what he thinks most suitable to that 
solemn occasion. After the sermon, likewise, they sing a psalm, or some 
short hymn or hymns, adapted to that particular act of devotion. While 
they are singing, those of the congregation who are duly prepared for the 
receiving of the sacrament advance towards the altar, and fall down on 
their knees ; at least, so many of them as can with convenience approach 
it at once. As soon as the hymn is over, the minister says, Let us pray ; 
and sings, at the same time, the Lord’s Prayer; and when the congrega¬ 
tion have said Amen, he sings the words of the institution of the Lord’s 
Supper. In some places the whole congregation sing, with an audible 
voice, both the prayer and the words of the institution along with the mi¬ 
nister, which is a manifest error, since the voice of the whole church, in 
general, drowns that of the celebrant, or officiating pastor. They have an¬ 
other custom, which is not, however, looked on as absolutely essential, and 
that is, to make the sign of the cross on the host at the time of pronounc¬ 
ing these words, This is my body ; and another on the cup, when those 




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other words are repeated, viz. This is my blood, Sfc. Though these signs, 
after all, are only made in commemoration of the cross of Christ , which 
neither add or diminish, yet it has been observed that, should the minister 
neglect those signs, some feeble-minded persons would be offended at such 
omission, and imagine that the sacrament would thereby lose its sacred 

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force and virtue. It is not only this sign of the cross made on the ele- 
\| ments of bread and wine that the populace lay such a stress upon as a 
fundamental article; but they very seldom cut a loaf which has not the 
sign of a cross first made upon it with a knife. 

In several parts of Saxony, and, indeed, in some of their principal cities, 
when the minister consecrates the elements, he rings a little bell twice, in 
a very solemn manner; and in most Lutheran churches, the pastor, before 
he administers the sacrament, puts on his surplice, and over that a vestment 
with several crosses fastened on it, which, however, ought not to be con¬ 
founded with the stole worn by the Roman Catholic priests, as there is no 
manner of resemblance between them. In some places, the pastor, after 
he has read the gospel at the altar, throws the vestment before mentioned 
over his head, and lays it on the table. After the creed is sung, he goes 
into the pulpit, and preaches in his surplice. After the sermon is over, he 
; returns to the altar, and resumes his vestment. 

We shall reckon among the number of the ceremonies still preserved 
among them, that of making use of wafers instead of bread at the com¬ 
munion, on each of which there is the figure or impression of a crucifix. 
When the communicant has received, he falls down on his knees before the 
altar,in order to return God thanks for his spiritual refreshment: in several 
places it is customary to congratulate each other on that joyful occasion. 
Two clerks, or two young choristers, who attend at the altar, generally 
hold a white linen napkin before the communicants, lest, either through the 
carelessness of the pastor, who administers the communion, or the com¬ 
municant himself, some part of the host should accidentally fall upon the 
ground, or any part of the wine be spilt. As soon as the communion is 
over, the pastor sings a verse or two of some psalm suitable to the occasion, 
with a Hallelujah, to which the choir answers with another. The pastor 
afterwards continues to read some general thanksgivings, and the congre¬ 
gation, joining with the choir, answer, Amen. 

The Lutherans never administer the sacrament to infants; but it is cus¬ 
tomary among them to carry it to those who are sick, or on a death-bed ; 

Communion to an ^ ^is * s met hod observed by them on those particular 
the Sick. occasions. In some places they make a kind of altar of the 

table which stands in the sick person’s room, that is to say, they cover it 
with a piece of tapestry, or clean linen cloth, and set two lighted candles, 
or wax-tapers, upon it, and a crucifix between them, with a paten and 
chalice, or utensils, or vessels appropriated to the like service. According 


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to the discipline of the Lutherans, the communion ought to be administered 
in the presence of some of the party’s relations and domestics ; but if the 
communicant should happen to have no such friends nor servants near 
him, then some neighbours ought to be invited to be witnesses to the cele¬ 
bration of it. The relations or friends of the sick person are permitted, if 
they think proper, to partake with him of that holy ordinance, and for that 
purpose, they must have notice on the previous night, or some few hours at 
least, that they may be duly prepared to join in that solemn act of devotion. 
The Lutherans do not only carry this their private communion to those who 
are sick or dying, but to those persons likewise who are far advanced in 
years, and incapable of attending the public worship. To these persons 
the minister who gives the communion to them makes a serious exhortation, 
which may, with propriety, be called a domestic sermon, adapted to such 
private or domestic communion. 

Confession is looked on as highly necessary and expedient in all places 
where Lutheranism prevails. And in the short Lutheran catechism, there 
are several forms of confession for the peculiar assistance and 
direction of those, who have not capacity sufficient of them¬ 
selves to reflect and contemplate, as they ought, on the nature of their 
sins : such, for example, are those forms of confession principally intended 
for the spiritual improvement of masters and servants. In the introduction 
to these formularies, there is a discourse by way of dialogue between the 
penitent and the minister who takes his confession, beginning with the fol¬ 
lowing address : “Reverend and dear Sir, I humbly beseech you to take my 
confession, and for the love of God to pronounce the pardon and remission 
of my sins.” If the penitent be not conscious to himself of his being guilty 
of any of the sins particularly specified in the formularies, he must mention 
such others as his conscience shall at that time accuse him of. If he can 
think of none, which is morally impossible, let him, says the catechism, 
mention no one in particular, but receive the pardon and remission of his 
sins, on making a general confession only. The same catechism informs 
us, that the confessor asks the penitent the following question, which, 
beyond all doubt, is introduced between the confession and the absolution: 
“ Do not you firmly believe, that this absolution pronounced by me is an ab¬ 
solution from God himself ?” After the penitent has answered in the 
affirmative, the minister adds, Amen, or, So be it. 

In Denmark and Sweden, their form of excommunication is accompanied 
with very severe penance. The Danish ritual informs us, that the party ex¬ 
communicated, when he first appears at church, is turned out 

Form of Excom¬ 
munication. with disgrace by the clerk of the parish, in the presence of 

the whole congregation. However, if the excommunication be of any long 

continuance, he is not excluded from the privilege ot attending public 

worship, and joining with the congregation in their sermons, and other acts 


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of devotion ; but he is obliged to sit in a place appointed, and at some dis¬ 
tance from them ; and when the minister comes down from the pulpit, the 
clerk before mentioned, who admits him, conveys him out of the church 
again. In regard to the Swedes, their form of excommunication is equally 
rigid and severe. Their discipline disclaims, in the same manner as that 
of all the other states in which Lutheranism prevails, every thing which 
has the least appearance of civil punishment. For, according to the doc¬ 
trine of the Lutherans in general, no minister ought to confound eccle¬ 
siastical penalties, that is to say, the exclusion of any of their members out 
of the congregation, and their prohibition, or withholding from them the 
holy communion, with those punishments which none but the civil magis¬ 
trates ought to inflict. 

The Lutherans baptize their children within a day or two after their 
birth. In case the infant should prove too weak to be carried to church, 
they baptize him at home, at which ceremony one or two 
Baptism. godfathers must always attend. The exorcism is a cere¬ 
mony still practised in some countries. Where the infant is in apparent 
danger of death, a layman and a midwife together may baptize it. By 
the ecclesiastical law of Saxony, a midwife is not permitted to baptize a 
dying child, till after she has found out some man to assist her. Infants 
who are illegitimate are not baptized in Denmark at the same time as those 
who are born in wedlock. When a bastard is baptized, there is no obla¬ 
tion made on the altar. As to foundlings, their birth being only precari¬ 
ous and uncertain, they are baptized at church as other children ; and 
although, when they are taken up, there be a billet, or note, to intimate 
that they have been baptized, yet they are always baptized again, because 
a testimony of that nature is deemed at best but dubious. Where the 
infant is not in apparent danger of death, they never baptize it till it be 
entirely weaned from the mother’s breast. To conclude, they never bap¬ 
tize adult fools, nor lunatics, at least, till they are restored to the free exer¬ 
cise of their rational faculties, and are capable of being instructed in the 
principles of the Christian religion. In Sweden, a father is under no obli¬ 
gation to attend at the baptism of his child; at least, he is not always 
required to be present. All legitimate children are baptized before divine 
service begins, but bastards after it is over. 

There are baptismal fonts in some of the Lutheran churches, but not 
generally in all of them. In several of the Saxon churches, an angel, 
with a basin in his hand, descends from the ceiling by a private pulley, or 
some other secret spring, and presents the basin to the minister who is to 
baptize the child. In other places, a table is brought out of the vestry, and 
placed before the altar with a basin upon it. 

The preliminary questions over, which are merely formal, the minister 
makes a discourse, bv way of exhortation; after which, he exorcises the 






































































LUTHERANS. 


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devil in the form following: “ Get thee hence, thou unclean spirit, and 
make room for the Holy Ghost.” The minister, at the same time, makes 
the sign of the cross upon the infant, saying unto him, Receive the sign 
of the cross, &c., and laying his hand upon him, reads the prayers, and 
repeats the exorcism. At the very instant the child is baptized, the minister 
asks the sureties for him, If he renounces the devil and all his works, and 
if he believes in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, &c. After that, 
he baptizes him by a triple aspersion, in honour of the Sacred Trinity. 
The whole ceremony concludes with a prayer of thanksgiving, a benedic¬ 
tion on the child, and an exhortation to the sureties. 

As to the form of confirmation observed by the Lutherans, a virgin of 
Hvelve years of age, or a youth of fourteen, is deemed duly qualified to 
receive the Lord’s Supper, provided they have had a liberal 

Confirmation. e( j uca ti on> The first time of their admission to the holy 

communion is either at Easter or Michaelmas. Their pious intention is 
published three weeks before from the pulpit, and they are accordingly 
instructed and examined twice a week during that interval, by way of 
preparation. Their ministers explain to them the duties incumbent on a 
communicant, and the spiritual benefits and advantages arising from the 
participation of that blessed sacrament. In short, they make their con¬ 
fession on Easter-Monday, and receive the communion the day following, 
sometimes in private, and sometimes in public with the whole congregation. 
Such young communicants range themselves in the form of a semicircle, 
by degrees, as they rise from the altar. After that act of devotion, the 
minister reads a prayer, and then addressing himself to the whole congre¬ 
gation, acquaints them, that those youths are ready, with an audible voice, 
to render a satisfactory account of the grounds and principles of the religion 
which they profess. He examines them accordingly; and after they have 
fully answered all his queries, he spends some time in a suitable exhorta¬ 
tion : the congregation sing a hymn, and then the ceremony concludes with 
a proper collect, and the general benediction. 

The Lutheran discipline, with respect to matrimony, is exceedingly uni¬ 
form and regular. Luther composed a formulary at first for that ordinance, 
from which there has been afterwards no very material 

Marriage cere- > J 

monies. deviation. It begins with their banns, and in order to the 

consummation of a marriage, where there is no lawful impediment, the 
parties present themselves at church before their pastor, who asks the 
bridegroom whether they be mutually agreed to enter that holy state, and 
thereupon they join their right hands, and make an exchange of theii 
respective rings. Then the pastor proceeds in the words, or to the purporl 
following: A and B being desirous to enter into the holy state of matri- 
i monv, before all this congregation here present, I do hereby declare them 
Iran and wife, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy 











































































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TROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


Gnost, &c. After that, he reads or pronounces extempore at the altar, 
several texts of Scripture which are serious exhortations to those who are 
married ; and the whole ceremony concludes with a prayer for the blessing 
of God on their future endeavours. This is the form according to Luther’s 
direction, and which is still observed to this day, so far as relates to the 
jurisdiction of the church in that particular. 

In Saxony, the mechanics, and those who may be called the inferior 
tradesmen, go to church to be married, attended by a long train of their 
friends and acquaintance, with a band of musicians before them. The 
same custom is observed, more or less, in several other places; and a great 
degree of caprice and extravagance is everywhere blended with their nup¬ 
tial ceremonies. In some of the northern provinces, as soon as the proper 
inquiries have been made with respect to the bridegroom, the father brings 
his daughter with an air of gravity to her suitor, saying to him at the same 
time, “ I give you my daughter, that she may reverence and obey yon, 
that she may be your wedded wife, that she may lie with you, be the 
keeper of your keys, and be put into possession of one-third of your 
money and effects.” In several states of Germany, notwithstanding it is 
customary for the parents of the new-married couple to defray the whole 
charges of their nuptials, yet all the guests who are invited thereto make 
presents to the bride, which, for the most part, are so valuable that the 
bride’s relations are so far from being at any expense, that they are con¬ 
siderable gainers in the end. 

Whenever the married couple have lived in that state for twenty-five 
vears together, their nuptials (at least as to the external form) are revived ; 
which second marriage is called their silver nuptials. If the parties have 
cohabited for fifty years, they then solemnize their golden nuptials. In 
the celebration both of the one and the other, the same gayety and amu 
ments are observed as those at their first marriage. Persons of distinction 
and those who are very rich, give medals to their friends at the celebration 
of the silver and golden nuptials. 

Their burials are always attended with singular testimonies of true piet 
and devotion ; and sometimes likewise with extraordinary pomp and mag 
„ . nificence. Moreover, it is customary among them to make 

rno,lies - a funeral oration over the deceased without distinction, be 

the party rich or poor, of the highest or the meanest extraction. After 
the sermon is over, an abstract of the life of the deceased is read in public 
High encomiums are given of all those who have distinguished themselves 
by their exemplary piety; and if any of them have led loose and profligate 
lives, they never fail to publish the misdemeanors of the dead, for the 
benefit and amendment of their surviving friends and relations. It is cus¬ 
tomary, likewise, to make funeral processions, and accompany the corpse 
to the grave, singing all the time some select hymns, or iirges, suitable to 






















































































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tlie solemn occasion. In some places, the principal magistrates, and other 
persons of respectability in the city, are invited to those processions, espe¬ 
cially if the deceased were a person of distinction ; and those who accom¬ 
pany the corpse to the grave receive an acknowledgment in proportion to 

2 their quality and degree. 

On the day appointed for the interment of the corpse, the relations, 
friends, and acquaintances of the deceased, meet at his house. One or 
more Lutheran pastors resort likewise to the same place, attended by a 
train of young scholars, sometimes greater and sometimes less, with their 
masters at the head of them. These youth, in the first place, sing two 
or three hymns, or dirges, before the door of the deceased ; after which 
they march in the front of the procession ; having a large crucifix, or at 
least a cross, carried before them. An inferior clerk, or some young 
scholar appointed for that purpose, marches close by the side of the corpse 
with a small cross, which is afterwards fixed in that part of the church¬ 
yard where the body was interred. The relations and friends of the 
deceased follow the corpse; the men first, and the women after them. 
During the procession, the bells are generally tolled, out of respect and 
complaisance to the deceased, and several hymns and other dirges are sung 
as they march along. It is customary likewise to open the coffin at the 
grave, and to take a last farewell, a last melancholy view, of their departed 
friend, and afterwards to nail his coffin up, singing at the same time a short 
hymn suitable to the occasion. After which the minister reads a proper 
collect, and pronounces the benediction. In the next place, the procession 
enters the church, where there is generally a funeral sermon, either out 
of respect to the deceased, at the request of his friends, or by his own im¬ 
mediate direction. 

As soon as the corpse is let down into the grave, the minister throws a 
small quantity of earth upon it three times successively: at the first he 
says, Of the dust of the ground wast thou born : at the second, To dust 
shalt thou return : and at the third, Out of the dust shalt thou rise again. 
After that, the bearers fill up the grave. The funeral oration is pro¬ 
nounced immediately after the interment, if the relations be willing to 
defray the expense of it, or if the deceased have left any legacy or devise 
in his will for that purpose. 












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SEC. II.—CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 

The Church of England dates its origin from the time of the Reforma¬ 
tion, when Henry VIII. shook off the pope’s authority, and took upon 
himself the title of “Head of the Church ,” as he had been 
r >-r n - previously dignified by his holiness with that of “Defender 
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of England, was obtained as a reward for a book the king had written on 
ihe Seven Sacraments, against Luther’s book “Of the Captivity of Baby¬ 
lon.” The first title was an assumed one ; but soon obtained legal sanc¬ 
tion by the consent of the nation at large ; taken up because the pope 
refused to sanction Henry’s divorce from Queen Catherine, his affections 
having been transferred to Anne Boleyn. The Archbishop of Canterbury, 
who took upon himself to annul the former marriage, was solemnly con¬ 
demned by the pope ; and Henry, out of revenge, annulled his connection 
with, and threw off his obedience to, the papal see. He became supreme 
head of the church himself, and he may, in a sense, be said to have been 
the founder of the church of England. Its principles, however, are 
grounded on those of the Reformation, having, in many respects, a resem¬ 
blance to the Lutheran tenets and practice. 

The religious tenets or doctrines of this church are to be found in the 
book of Homilies, consisting of short moral and doctrinal 
discourses, and in the Thirty-Nine Articles, which, with 
the three Creeds and Catechism, are inserted in the Book of Common 
J’layer. 

Having given the articles of the Jewish faith, and entered fully into the 
creed of the Mohammedans, the articles of the Christian faith, as held by 
the Church of England, cannot be omitted. To these, also, will be added 
a Table of the Constitutions and Canons ecclesiastic. The Royal Decla¬ 
ration will first be given. 


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ROYAL DECLARATION. 

Being by God’s ordinance, according to our just title, Defender of the Faith, and Su¬ 
preme Governor of the Church , within these our Dominions, We hold it most agreeable to 
this our Kingly office, and our own Religious zeal, to conserve and maintain the Church 
committed to our charge in the unity of true Religion, and in the bond of peace; and not 
to suffer unnecessary disputations, altercations, or questions to be raised, which may nou¬ 
rish faction both in the Church and Commonwealth. We have, therefore, upon mature 
deliberation, and with the advice of so many of our Bishops as might conveniently be 
called together, thought fit to make this Declaration following. 

That the Articles of the Church of England —which have been allowed and authorized 
heretofore, and which our Clergy generally have subscribed unto.—do contain the true 
doctrine of the Church of England, agreeable to God’s word: which we do therefore 
ratify and confirm ; requiring all our loving subjects to continue in the uniform profession 
thereof, and prohibiting the least difference from the said Articles; which to that end we 
command to be new printed, and this Our Declaration to be published therewith. 

That we are Supreme Governor of the Church of England: and that if any difference 
arise about the external policy, concerning the Injunctions , Canons, and other Constitu¬ 
tions whatsoever thereunto belonging, the Clergy in their Convocation is to order and 
settle them, having first obtained leave under our Broad Seal so to do: and We approving 
their said Ordinances and Constitutions ; providing that none be made contrary to tho 
Laws and Customs of the land. 

That out of our Princely care that the Churchmen may do the work which is proper 
unto them, the Bishops and Clergy, from time to time in Convocation, upon their humble 
desire, shall have license under our Broad Seal to deliberate of and to do all such things, 
as, being made plain by them, and assented unto by Us, shall concern the settled continu¬ 
ance of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England, now established; from 
which we will not endure any varying or departing in the least degree. 

That for the present, though some differences have been ill-raised, yet We take comfort 
in this, that all Clergymen within our Realm have always most willingly subscribed to 
the Art : cles established; which is an argument to Us, that they all agree in the true, 
usual literal meaning of the said Articles; and that even in those curious points, in which 

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the present differences lie, men of all sorts take the Articles of the Church of England to 
be for them ; which is an argument again, that none of them intend any desertion of the 
Articles established. 

That therefore in these both curious and unhappy differences which have for so many 
hundred years, in different times and places, exercised the church of Christ, We will that 
all further curious search be laid aside, and these disputes shut up in God’s promises, as 
they be generally set forth to us in the Holy Scriptures, and the general meaning of the 
Articles of the Church of England according to them. And that no man hereafter shall 
either print or preach, to draw the Article aside any way, but shall submit to it in the plain 
and full meaning thereof; and shall not put his own sense or comment to be the meaning 
of the Article, but shall take it in the literal and grammatical sense. 

That if any public Reader in either of our Universities, or any Head or Master of a Col- 
ler person respectively in either of them, shall affix any new sense to any 
l publicly read, determine, or hold any public disputation, or suffer any such 
ler way, in either of the Universities or Colleges respectively ; or if any 
Divine in the Lffiiversities shall preach or print any thing either way, other than is already 
established in Convocation with our Royal assent ; he or they, the offenders, shall be 
liable to Our displeasure, and the Church’s censure in our Commission Ecclesiastical, as 
well as any other: and we will see there shall be due execution upon them. 




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THE TABLE OF THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES, 

Agreed upon by the Archbishops and Bishops, and the whole Clergy , in the Convocation* 

holden at London , in the year 1562. 


1. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. 

2. Of Christ the Son of God. 

3. Of his going down into Hell. 

4. Of his Resurrection. 

5. Of the Holy Ghost. 

6. Of the Sufficiency of the Scripture. 

7. Of the Old Testament. 

8. Of the three Creeds. 

9. Of Original or Birth Sin. 

10. Of Free Will. 

11. Of Justification. 

12. Of Good Works. 

13. Of Works before Justification. 

14. Of Works of Supererogation. 

15. Of Christ alone without Sin. 

16. Of Sin after Baptism. 

17. Of Predestination and Election. 

18. Of obtaining Salvation by Christ. 

19. Of the Church. 

20. Of the Authority of the Church. 

21. Of the Authority of General Councils. 


22. Of Purgatory. 

23. Of Ministering in the Congregation. 

24. Of Speaking in the Congregation. 

25. Of the Sacraments. 

26. Of the Unworthiness of Ministers. 

27. Of Baptism. 

28. Of the Lord’s Supper. 

29. Of the Wicked, which eat not the Body 

of Christ. 

30. Of both Kinds. 

31. Of Christ’s One Oblation. 

32. Of the Marriage of Priests. 

33. Of excommunicate Persons. 

34. Of the Traditions of the Church. 

35. Of Homilies. 

36. Of Consecration of Ministers. 

37. Of Civil Magistrates. 

38. Of Christian Men’s Goods. 

39. Of a Christian Man’s Oath. 

The Ratification. 


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I.— Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. 

There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of 
infinite power, wisdom, and goodness ; the Maker and preserver of all things, both visible 
and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons of one substance 
power, and eternity ; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 

II._ Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very Man. 

The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the 
very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the womb 
of the Blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect natures—that is 
to say, the Godhead and Manhood—were joined together in one Person, never to be 
divided; whereof is one Christ very God and very Man: who truly suffered, was cruci- 





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fied, dead and buried, to reconcile his father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for origt 
nal guilt, but also for actual sins of men. 

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III.— Of the going down of Christ into Hell. 

As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also it is to be believed, that he went down 
into Hell. 

IV.— Of the Resurrection of Christ. 

Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and 
nil things appertaining to the perfection of Man’s nature, wherewith he ascended into 
Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all men at the last day. 


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V.— Of the Holy Ghost. 

The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty 
and glory, with the Father ana the Son, very and eternal God. 


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VI.— Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation. 

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation : So that whatsoever is not 
read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should 
be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the 
name of the Holy Scripture, we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New 
Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church. 




OF THE NAMES AND NUMBER OF THE CANONICAL BOOKS. 


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Genesis. 

Exodus. 

Leviticus. 

Numbers. 

Deuteronomy. 

Joshua. 

Judges. 

Ruth. 

The First Book of Samuel. 
The Second book of Samuel. 
The First Book of Kings. 
The Second Book of Kings. 


The First Book of Chronicles. 
The Second Book of Chronicles. 
The First Book of Esdras. 

The Second Book of Esdras. 
The Book of Esther. 

The Book of Job. 

The Psalms. 

The Proverbs. 

Ecclesiastes, or Preacher. 
Cantica, or Songs of Solomon. 
Four Prophets the greater. 
Twelve Prophets the less. 


And the other Books, as Hierome saith, the Church doth read for example of life and 
instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine : such 
are these following 


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The Third Book of Esdras. 
The Fourth Book of Esdras. 
The Book of Tobias. 

The Book of Judith. 

The rest of the Book of Esther. 
The Book of Wisdom. 

Jesus the Son of Sirach. 


Baruch the Prophet. 

The Song of the Three Children. 
The Story of Susanna. 

Of Bel and the Dragon. 

The Prayer of Manasses. 

The First Book of Maccabees, 
The Second Book of Maccabees. 


All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, 
and account them Canonical. 




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VII.— Of the Old Testament. 

The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the New and Old Testa¬ 
ment everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between 
God and Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which 
feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the Law given 
from God to Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the 
civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any Commonwealth: yet not¬ 
withstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the Command¬ 
ments which are called moral. 

VIII.— Of the Three Creeds. 

The three Creeds, Nicene Creed. Athanasius’s Creed, and that which is commonly 
called the Apostle’s Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed : for they may be 
proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture. 

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IX.— Of Original, or Birth Sin. 

Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam—as the Pelagians do vainly talk— but 
it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the 
offspring of Adam ; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his 




own nature inclined to evil, so that the Flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and 


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therefore. in every person, born into this world, it deserveth God’s wrath and damnation. 

And this infection of nature (loth remain—yea, in them that are regenerated ; whereby the 
lust ol the flesh, called In Greek phronema sarkos , which some do expound the wisdom, 
some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire of the flesh, is not subject to the Law 
of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized, 
yet the Apostle doth confess that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin. 

X. — Of Free Will. 

The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare 
hmself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God: 

V\ herefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without \ 
the grace of God. by Christ, preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working 
with us, when we nave that good will. 

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XI. — Of the Justification of Man. 

We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are 
justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort: as more 
largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification. 

XII. — Of Good Works. 

Albeit that good works, vrhich are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, 
cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God’s Judgment ; yet are they pleasing 
and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out, necessarily, of a true and lively faith ; 
insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the 
fruit. 

XIII. — Of Works before Justification. 

Works done before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of the Spirit, are not pleasant 
to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ: neither do they make men 
meet to receive grace, or, as the School Authors say, deserve grace of congruity ; yea 
rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we 
doubt not but they have the nature of sin. 

XIV. — Of Works of Supererogation. 

Voluntary works besides, over and above God’s Commandments, which they call 
works of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety. For by them 
men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, 
but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required : whereas Christ 
jaith plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable 
servants. 

XV. — Of Christ alone without Sin. 

Christ, in the truth of our nature, was made like unto us in all things, sin only except ; 
from which he was clearly void, both in his flesh and in his spirit. He came to be the 
Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the sins of 
the world : and sin, as St. John saith, was not in him. But all we the rest, although bap¬ 
tized and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things ; and, if we say we have no sin. 
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

XVI. — Of Sin after Baptism. 

Not every deadly sin, willingly committed after Baptism, is sin against the Holy Gr eat, 
and unpardonable. Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as faL 
into sin after Baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from 
grace given, and fall into sin ; and by the grace of God we may arise again, and amend our 
lives. And therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they can no more sin as .ong 
as they live here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent. 

XVII. — Of Predestination and Election. 

Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby, before the foundations 
of the world were laid, he hath constantly decreed by his counsel, secret to us, to deliver 
from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to 
brine- them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they 
which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called, according to God’s purpose, 
by his Spirit working in due season: They through grace obey the calling: They be 
justified freely: They be made sons of God by adoption: They be made like the image 
of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ: They walk religiously in good works: and, at 

length, by God’s mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity. _ . . _ 

As the trodly consideration of Predestination and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, 
pleasant and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the 
working’of the Spirit cf Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh and their earthly mem- 



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bers, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things; as well because it doth 
greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation to be enjoyed through Christ, 
as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God: so, for curious and carnal 
persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of 
God’s Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them 
either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than 
desperation. 

Furthermore, we must receive God’s promises in such wise as they be generally set 
forth to us in Holy Scripture: And in our doings, that will of God is to be followed, which 
we have expressly declared unto us in the word of God. 

XVIII.— Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ. 

They also are to be had accursed, that presume to say, that every man shall be saved by 
the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to 
that law, and the light of nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the name 
of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved. 

XIX.— Of the Church. 

The visible Church of Christ is a Congregation of faithful men, in the which the pu e 
word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ a 
ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. 

As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also the Churcn 
of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters 
of faith. 


XX.— Of the Authority of the Church. 

The Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in controversies 
of faith : And yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to 
God’s Word written ; neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repug¬ 
nant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a witness and a keeper of Holy 
Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing against the same, so besides the same ought 
it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of salvation. 

XXI.— Of the Authority of General Councils. 

General Councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will 
of Princes; and when they be gathered together—forasmuch as they be an assembly of 
men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God—they may err, and 
sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore, things ordained 
by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be 
declared that they be taken out of Holy Scripture. 

XXII.— Of Purgatory. 

The Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping, and Adoration, as 
well of Images as of Reliques, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, 
and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God. 

XXIII.— Of Ministering in the Congregation- 

It is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or minis¬ 
tering the Sacraments in the Congregation, before he be lawfully called and sent to exe¬ 
cute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen 
and called to this work by men who have public authority given unto them in the Congre¬ 
gation, to call and send Ministers into the Lord’s vineyard. 

XXIV.— Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue as the People undersiindeth. 

It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the primitive 
Church, to have public prayer in the Church, or to minister the Sacraments, m a tongue 
not understanded of the people. 

XXV.— Of the Sacraments. 

Sacraments ordained of Christ, be not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s pro¬ 
fession ; but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God’s 
good- will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, 
but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him. 

There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, 
Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord. 

Those five, commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, 
Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, 
Veing such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states 
of life allowed in tm Scriptures; but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Bap- 







































































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'.ism and the Lord’s Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained 
oi God. 

The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about, 
but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they 
have a wholesome effect or operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to 
themselves damnation, as St. Paul saith. 


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XXVI.— Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders not the Effect of the Sura • 

ments. 

Although in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometiifros 
the evil have chief authority in the ministration of the Word and Sacraments; yet foras¬ 
much as they do not the same in their own name, but in Christ’s, and do minister bv hi# 
commission and authority, we may use their ministry, both in hearing the Word of God, 
and in the receiving of the Sacraments. Neither is the effect of Christ’s ordinance taken 
away by their wickedness, nor the grace of God’s gifts diminished from such as, by faith, 


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and rightly, do receive the Sacraments ministered unto them; which be effectual, because 
of Christ’s institution and promise, although they be ministered by evil men. 

Nevertheless, it appertained to the discipline of the Church, that inquiry be made of 



evil Ministers, and that they be accused by those that have knowledge of their offences ; 
and finally, being found guilty, by just judgment be deposed. 


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XXVII.— Of Baptism. 

Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian 
men are discerned from others that be not christened; but it is also a sign of Regenera¬ 
tion, or New Birth; whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly, 
are grafted into the Church ; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption 
to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; faith is con 
firmed, and grace increased, by virtue of prayer unto God. The Baptism of young chil 
dren is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution ol 
Christ. 

XXVIII.— Of the Lord's Supper. 

The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have 
among themselves one to another; but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by 
Christ’s death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the 
same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ; and likewise, the 
cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ. 

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of the Lord—cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of 
Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many su¬ 
perstitions. 

The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after an heavenly and 
spiritual manner. And the mean, whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in 
the Supper, is Faith. 

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was not by Christ’s ordinance reserved, carried 
about, lifted up, or worshipped. 







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XXIX. 


Of the Wicked, which eat not the Body of Christ in the Use of the Lord's 

Supper. 

The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly 
press with their teeth, as St. Augustine saith, the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of 
Christ; yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ, but rather, to their condemnation, do 
eat and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing. 

XXX— Of both Kinds. 

The Cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the Lay-people; for both the parts of the 
Lord’s Sacrament, by Christ’s ordinance and commandment, ought to be ministered to all 
Christian men alike. 


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XXXI.— Of the One Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross. 

The offering of Christ once made, is that perfect Redemption, Propitiation, and Satis¬ 
faction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual: and there is none other 
satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it waa 
commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remis¬ 
sion of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits. 


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XXXIL— Of the Marriage of Priests. 

Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, are not commanded by God’s Law, either to vow the 
estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage: Therefore it is lawful for their, as for 
all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to 
serve better to godliness. 


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XXXIII. — Of excommunicate Persons, how they are to he avoided. 

Tiiat person, which by open denunciation of the Church is rightly cut of! from the 
unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be taken of the whole multitude of 
the faithful, as an Heathen or Publican, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and 
received into the Church by a Judge that hath authority thereunto. 

XXXIV.— Of the Traditions of the Church. 

It is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly like ; 
for at ail times they have been diverse, and may be changed according to the diversity of 
Countries, Times, and Men’s Manners, so that nothing be ordained against God’s Word. 
Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the 
traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, 
and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly—that 
others may fear to do the like—as he that offendeth against the common order of the 
Church, and hurteth the authority of the Magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of the 
weak brethren. 

Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish cere¬ 
monies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man’s authority, so that all things be done 
.o edifying. 

XXXV.— Of Homilies. 

The Second Book of Homilies, the several titles whereof we have joined under this 
Article, doth contain a godly and wholesome doctrine, and necessary for these times; as 
doth the former Book of Homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth ; 
and therefore we judge them to be read in Churches by the Ministers diligently and dis¬ 
tinctly, that they may be understanded of the people. 


OF THE NAMES OF THE HOMILIES. 


1. Of the right Use of the Church. 

2. Against Peril of Idolatry. 

3. Of Repairing and Keeping clean of 

Churches. 

4. Of Good Works ; first of Fasting. 

5. Against Gluttony and Drunkenness. 

6. Against Excess of Apparel. 

7. Of Prayer. 

8. Of the Place and Time of Prayer. 

9. That Common Prayer and Sacraments 

ought to be administered in a known 
Tongue. 

10. Of the reverent Estimation of God’sWord. 


11. Of Alms-doing. 

12. Of the Nativity of Christ. 

13. Of the Passion of Christ. 

14. Of the Resurrection of Christ. 

15. Of the worthy Receiving of the Sa 

crament of the Body and Blood ol 
Christ. 

16. Of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 

17. For the Rogation Days. 

18. Of the State of Matrimony. 

19. Of Repentance. 

20. Against Idleness. 

21. Against Rebellion. 


XXXVI. — Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers. 

The book of Consecration of Archbishops and Bishops, and Ordering of Priests and 
Deacons, lately set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth, and confirmed at the same time 
by authority of Parliament, doth contain all things necessary to such consecration and 
ordering; neither hath it any thing that of itself is superstitious and ungodly. And there¬ 
fore, whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to the rites of that book since the 
second year of the fore-named King Edward, unto this time, or hereafter shall be conse¬ 
crated or ordered according to the same rites, we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and 
lawfully consecrated and ordered. 


XXXVII.— Of the Civil Magistrates. 

The King’s Majesty hath the chief power in this realm of England and other his domi¬ 
nions, unto whom the chief government of all estates of this Realm, whether they be 
ecclesiastical or civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, nor ought to be, subject to 
any foreign jurisdiction. 

Where we attribute to the King’s Majesty the chief government, by which titles we 
understand the minds of some slanderous folks to be offended, We give not to our Princes 
the ministering either of God’s Word or of the Sacraments, the which thing the Injunc¬ 
tions also, lately set forth by Elizabeth our C^ueen, do most plainly testify; but that only 
prerogative which we see to have been given always to all godly Princes in Holy Scrip¬ 
tures by God himself; that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed'to 
their charge by God, whether they be ecclesiastical or temporal, and restrain with the civil 
sword the stubborn and evil-doers. 

The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England. 

The laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with death for heinous and grievous 
offences. 

' It is lawful for Christian men. at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, 
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XXXVIII.— 0/ Christian Men's Goods, which are not common. 

'1 he riches and goods of Christians are not common, as touching the right, utle, and 
possession of the same, as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every 
man ought, of such things as he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according 
to his ability. 

XXXIX.— Of a Christian Man's Oath. 

As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord! 
Jesus Christ, and James his Apostle; so we judge that Christian religion doth not 
prohibit but that a man may swear when the Magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith 
md charity ; so it be done, according to the Prophet’s teaching, injustice, judgment, and 
truth. 


THE TABLE OF THE CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS ECCLESIASTIC IS AS 

FOLLOWS :- 

Of the Church of England. 

1. The King’s Supremacy over the Church of England, in causes Ecclesiastical, to be 

maintained. 

2. Impugners of the King’s Supremacy censured. 

3. The Church of England a true and Apostolical Church. 

4. Impugners of the Public Worship of God, established in the Church of England, 

censured. 

5. Impugners of the Articles of Religion, established in the Church of England 

censured. 

6. Impugners of the Rites and Ceremonies, established in the Church of England 

censured. 

7. Impugners of the Government of the Church of England by Archbishops, Bishops 

&c., censured. 

8. Impugners of the Form of consecrating and ordering Archbishops, Bishops, &c., in 

the Church of England, censured. 

9. Authors of Schism in the Church of England, censured. 

10. Maintainers of Schismatics in the Church of England, censured. 

11. Maintainers of Conventicles, censured. 

12. Maintainers of Constitutions made in Conventicles, censured. 

Of Divine Service and Administration of the Sacraments. 

13. Due celebration of Sundays and Holy-days. 

14. The prescript Form of Divine Service to be used on Sundays and Holy-days. 

15. The Litany to be read on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

16. Colleges to use the prescript Form of Divine Service. 

17. Students in Colleges to wear Surplices in time of Divine Service. 

18. A reverence and attention to be used within the Church in time of Divine Service. 

19. Loiterers not to be suffered near the Church in time of Divine Service. 

20. Bread and Wine to be provided against every Communion. 

21. The Communion to be thrice a year received. 

22. Warnings to be given beforehand for the Communion. 

23. Students in Colleges to receive the communion four times a year. 

24. Copes to be worn in Cathedral Churches by those that administer the Communion. 

25. Surplices and Hoods to be worn in Cathedral Churches, when there is no corn 

munion. 

Notorious Offenders not to be admitted to the Communion 
Schismatics not to be admitted to the Communion. 

Strangers not to be admitted to the Communion. 

Fathers not to be Godfathers in Baptism, and Children not Communicants 
The lawful use of the Cross in Baptism explained. 










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Ministers , their Ordination , Function , and Charge. 

Four solemn times appointed for the making of Ministers. 

None to be made Deacon and Minister both in one day. 

The Titles of such as are to be made Ministers. 

The Quality of such as are to be made Ministers. 

The Examination of such as are to be made Ministers. 

Subscription required of such as are to be made Ministers. 

The Articles of Subscription.—The Form of Subscription. 

Subscription before the Diocesan. 

Rpvo'tprs after Subscription, censured. 








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39. Cautions for Institution of Ministers into Benefices. 

40. An Oath against Simony at Institution into Benefices. 

41. Licences for Plurality of Benefices limited, and Residence enjoined. 

42. Residence of Deans in their Churches. 

43. Deans and Prebendaries to Preach during their Residence. 

44. Prebendaries to be resident upon their Benefices. 

45. Beneficed Preachers, being resident upon their Livings, to Preach every Sunday. 

46. Beneficed Men, not Preachers, to procure Monthly Sermons. 

47. Absence of Beneficed Men to be supplied by Curates thai are allowed Preachers. 

48. None to be Curates but allowed by the Bishop. 

49. Ministers, not allowed Preachers, may not expound. 

60. Strangers not admitted to Preach without showing their Licence. 

51. Strangers not admitted to Preach in Cathedral Churches without sufficient authority. 

52. The Names of Strange Preachers to oe noted in a book. 

53. No Public Opposition between Preachers. 

54. The Licences of Preachers refusing Conformity to be Void. 

55. The Form of a Prayer to be used by all Preachers before their Sermons. 

56. Preachers and Lecturers to read Divine Service, and administer the Sacraments, 

twice a year at the least. 

57. The Sacraments not to be refused at the hands of unpreaching Ministers. 

58. Ministers reading Divine Service, and administering the Sacraments, to wear Sur¬ 

plices, and Graduates therewithal Hoods. 

59. Ministers to Catechise every Sunday. 

60. Confirmation to be performed once in three years. 

61. Ministers to prepare Children for Confirmation. 

62. Ministers not to Marry any Persons without Bans or Licence. 

63. Ministers of exempt Churches not to marry without Bans or Licence. 

64. Ministers solemnly to bid Holy-days. 

65. Ministers solemnly to Denounce Recusants and Excommunicates. 

66. Ministers to Confer with Recusants. 

67. Ministers to Visit the Sick. 

68. Ministers not to refuse to Christen or Bury. 

69. Ministers not to defer Christening if the Child be in danger. 

70. Ministers to keep a Register of Christenings, Weddings, and Burials. 

71. Ministers not to Preach, or administer the Communion, in Private Houses. 

72. Ministers not to appoint Public or Private Fasts, or Prophecies, or to Exorcise, bat 

by authority. 

73. Ministers not to hold Private Conventicles. 

74. Decency in Apparel enjoined to Ministers. 

75. Sober Conversation required in Ministers. 

76. Ministers at no time to forsake their Calling. 

Schoolmasters. 

77. None to teach School without Licence. 

78. Curates desirous to Teach, to be licensed before others. 

79. The Duty of Schoolmasters. 

Things appertaining to Churches. 

80. The Great Bible and Book of Common Prayer, to be had in every Church. 

81. A Font of Stone for Baptism in every Church. 

82. A decent Communion Table in every Church. 

83. A Pulpit to be provided in every Church. 

84. A Chest for Alms in every Church. 

85 Churches to be kept in sufficient Reparations. 

86. Churches to be Surveyed, and the Decays certified to the High Commissioners. 

87. A Terrier of Glebe-lands, and other Possessions belonging to Churches. 

88. Churches not to be profaned. 

Church-wardens , or Quest-men ; and Side-men , or Assistants. 

89. The Choice of Church-wardens, and their Account. 

90 The Choice of Side-men, and their joint office with Church-wardens. 

Parish- Clerks. 

91. Parish-Clerks to be Chosen by the Minister. 

Ecclesiastical Courts belonging to the Archbishop's Jurisdiction. 

92. None to be Cited into divers Courts for Probate of the same Will. 

93. The Rate of Bona Notab ilia liable to the Prerogative Court. 

94. None to be cited into the Arches or Audience, but dwellers within the Archbishop’s 

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The Restraint of double Quarrels. 

Inhibitions not to be granted without the Subscription of an Advocate. 

Inhibitions not to be granted until the Appeal be exhibited to the Judge. 

Inhibitions not to be granted to factious Appellants, unless they first Subscribe. 

None to marry within the Degrees prohibited. 

None to marry under Twenty-one Years, without their Parents’ Consent. 

101. By whom Licences to marry without Bans shall be granted, and to what sort of persona. 

102. Security to be taken at the granting of such Licences, and under what Conditions. 

103. Oaths to be taken for the Conditions. 

104. An Exception lor those that are in Widowhood. 

105. No Sentence for Divorce to be given upon the sole confession of the parties. 

106. No Sentence for Divorce to be given but in open Court. 

107. In all Sentences for Divorce, Bond to be taken for not marrying during each other’s life* 

108. The Penalty for Judges offending in the Premises. 

Ecclesiastical Courts belonging to the Jurisdiction of Bishops and Archdeacons , and the 

Proceedings in them. 

109. Notorious Crimes and Scandals to be certified into Ecclesiastical Courts by Pre¬ 

sentment. 

110. Schismatics to be presented. 

111. Disturbers of Divine Service to be presented. 

112. Non-Communicants at Easter to be presented. 

113. Ministers may present. 

114. Ministers shall present Recusants. 

115. Ministers and Church-wardens not to be sued for presenting. 

116. Church-wardens not bound to present oftener than twice a year. 

117. Church-wardens not to be troubled for not presenting oftener than twice a year. 

118. The old Church-wardens to make their Presentments before the new be sworn. 

119. Convenient time to be assigned for framing Presentments. 

120. None to be cited into Ecclesiastical Courts by process of Quorum Nomina. 

121. None to be cited into several Courts for one Crime. 

122. No Sentence of Deprivation or Deposition to be pronounced against a Minister, but by 

the Bishop. 

123. No Act to be sped but in open Court. 

124. No Court to have more than one Seal. 

125. Convenient Places to be chosen for the keeping of Courts. 

126. Peculiar and inferior Courts to exhibit the original Copies of Wills into the Bishop’s 

Registry. 

Judges Ecclesiastical , and their Surrogates. 

127. The Quality and Oath of Judges. 

128. The Quality of Surrogates. 

Proctors. 

129. Proctors not to retain Causes without the lawful Assignment of the Parties. 

130. Proctors not to retain Causes without the counsel of an Advocate. 

131. Proctors not to conclude in any Cause without the knowledge of an Advocate. 

132. Proctors prohibited the Oath, In animam domini sui. 

133. Proctors not to be clamorous in Court. 

Registrars. 

134 Abuses to be reformed in Registrars. 

135. A certain Rate of Fees due to all Ecclesiastical Officers. 

136. A Table of the Rates and Fees to be set up in Courts and Registries. 

137 The whole Fees for showing Letters of Orders, and other Licences, due but orioe Ll 
every Bishop’s time. 

Apparitors. 

138. The Number of Apparitors restrained. 

Authority of Synods. 

139. A National Synod the Church Representative. 

140. Synods conclude as well the absent as the present. 

141. Depravers of the Synod, censured. 




























































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AN ADMONITION, 

TC ALL SUCH AS SHALL INTEND HEREAFTER TO ENTER THE STATE OF MATRIMONY. 

GODLY AND AGREEABLE TO LAWS. 

First,—That they contract not with such persons as be hereafter expressed, nor with any 
of like degree, against the law of God, and the laws of the realm. 

Secondly,—That they make no secret contracts, without consent or counsel of theii 
parents or elders, under whose authority they be, contrary to God’s laws and man’s 
ordinances. 

Thirdly,—That they contract not anew with any other upon divorce and separation made 
by the judge for a time, the laws yet standing to the contrary. 

I. It is to be noted, That those persons which be in the direct line ascendent and descend- 

ent, cannot marry together, although they be never so far asunder in degree. 

II. It is also to be noted, that Consanguinity and Affinity, (letting and dissolving Matri¬ 
mony,) is contracted as well in them and by them which be of kindred by the one 
side, as in and by them which be of kindred by both sides. 

III. Item, That, by the laws, Consanguinity and Affinity, (letting and dissolving Matri¬ 
mony,) is contracted as well by unlawful company of nan and woman, as by lawful 
marriage. 

IV. Item, In contracting betwixt persons doubtful, which be not expressed in this Table, 
it is most sure first to consult with men learned in the laws, to understand what is 
lawful, what is honest and expedient, before the finishing of their contracts. 

V. Item, That no Parson, Vicar or Curate, shall solemnize Matrimony out of his or their 

cure, or parish church or chapel, and shall not solemnize the same in private houses, 
nor lawless and exempt churches, under the pains of the law forbidding the same. 
And that the Curate have their certificates, when the parties dwell in divers parishes. 

VI. Item, The Bans of Matrimony ought to be openly announced in the Church by the 
Minister three several Sundays or Festival-days, to the end that who will and can 
allege any impediment, may be heard, and that stay may be made till further trial, if 
any exception be made there against it, upon sufficient caution. 

VII. Item, Who shall maliciously object a frivolous impediment against a lawful matri¬ 
mony to disturb the same, is subject to the pains of the law. 

VIII. Item, Who shall presume to contract in the degrees prohibited, (though he do it 
ignorantly,) besides that the fruit of such copulation may be judged unlawful, is also 
punishable at the Ordinary’s discretion. 

IX. If any Minister shall conjoin any such, or shall be present at such contracts making, 
he ought to be suspended from his ministry for three years, and otherwise to he 
punished according to the laws. 

X. Item, It is further ordained, That no Parson, Vicar, nor Curate, do preach, treat, or 
expound, of his own voluntary invention, any matter of controversy in the Scriptures, 
if he be under the degree of a Master of Arts, except he be licensed by his Ordinary 
thereunto, but only for the instruction of the people read the Homilies already set 
forth, and such other form of doctrine as shall be hereafter by authority published; 
and shall not innovate nor alter any thing in the Church, or use any old rite or cere¬ 
mony, which be not set forth by public authority. 




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DEGREES OF MARRIAGE, 


SET FORTH BY THE MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, MATTHEW PARKER, ARCHBISHOP OF 
CANTERBURY, PRIMATE OF ENGLAND AND METROPOLITAN. 1563. 


None shall come near to any of the kindred or his flesh to uncover their shame : 

I am the Lord.’—L evit. xviii. 6. 


“ A Man may not Marry his 

Grandmother, Grandfather’s Wife, Wife’s 
Grandmother. 

Father’s Sister, Mother’s Sister, Father’s 
Brother’s Wife, Mother’s Brother’s Wife, 
Wife’s Father’s Sister, Wife’s Mother’s 
Sister. 

Mother, Step-Mother, Wife’s Mother, 
Daughter, Wife’s Daughter, Son’s Wife’s 
Sister, Wife’s Sister, Brother’s Wife, 
Son’s Daughter, Daughter’s Daughter, 
Son’s Son’s Wife. 

Daughter’s Son’s Wife, Wife’s Son’s 
Daughter, Wife’s Daughter’s Daughter. 

Brother’s Daughter, Sister’s Daughter, 
Brother’s Son’s Wife, Sister’s Son’s 
Wife, Wife’s Brother’s Daughter, Wife’s 
Sister’s Daughter. 


“ A Woman may not Marry with her 

Grandfather, Grandmother’s Husband, Hus¬ 
band’s Grandfather. 

Father’s Brother,Mother’s Brother,Father’s 
Sister’s Husband, Mother’s Sister’s 
Husband, Husband’s Father’s Brother, 
Husband’s Mother’s Brother, Father, 
Step-Father, Husband’s Father, Son, 
Husband’s Son, Daughter’s Husband, 
Brother, Husband’s Brother, Sister’s 
Husband. 

Son’s Son, Daughter’s Son, Son’s Daugh¬ 
ter’s Husband, Daughter’s Daughter’s 
Husband, Husband’s Son’s Son, Hus¬ 
band’s Daughter’s Son. 

Brother’s Son, Sister’s Son, Brother’s 
Daughter’s Husband, Sister’s Daughter’s 
Husband, Husband’s Brother’s Son, 
Husband’s Sister’s Son.” 


Concerning some of the doctrines professed by the church of England, 
her members are not agreed: a very great majority of the clergy insisting 
upon it that the church is not Calvinistic, in regard to the doctrine of pre¬ 
destination, irresistible grace, and the final perseverance of the saints; 
while a very respectable and increasing portion of the clergy and laity 
maintain, with great confidence, that the 17th article roundly and plainly 
asserts the great and important doctrine of predestination, as taught by 
Calvin and the first reformers. The warm, not to say acrimonious, dis¬ 
putes which this difference of construction put upon the articles has occa¬ 
sioned, have tended to increase the number of dissenters. 




Two archbishops are at the head of the English hierarchy ; those of 
Canterbury and of York both style themselves primates ; and in order to 
reconcile the difference, it was decided, that the Archbishop 
rarchy. 0 f Canterbury should be called primate of all England , and 

the Archbishop of York only primate of England. The oath of supre¬ 
macy is taken by the king as head of the church, and as such on the day 
of his coronation, he puts on a surplice, a stole, and a dalmatic. When a 
bishopric becomes vacant, the canons of the cathedral give notice of it to 
the king, and desire his leave to choose another. His majesty, at the same 
time that he sends the conge-d’elire, recommends the individual whom 


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it is his will they should elect; and then the dean and chapter choose 
the person so named. The bishop so chosen is consecrated, installed, 
renders homage to the king, takes the oath, and pays the first-fruits. The 
other prerogatives which the king enjoys, as head of the church, are to 
make ordinances respecting ceremonies and exterior rites, with the advice 
of the ecclesiastical commissioners, or of the metropolitan ; to call or pro¬ 
rogue the convocation ; and to enact the decrees of synods into laws. But 
all this still leaves him in the state and condition of a lay head, and the 
profession of faith says, that the supreme governing of all the states of the 
kingdom, whether ecclesiastical or spiritual, in all cases whatever, belongs 
to him, yet so that he is not invested with a power to preach the word of 
God, or administer the sacraments. 

The bishop is superior to a priest, and a priest to a deacon. The essen¬ 
tial office of a deacon is to see that the wants of the poor be supplied, to 

Ordination of ass ^ st P r i est ( or minister) at the communion service, to 
Deacons. bless those who present themselves to be married, to bap¬ 

tize, to bury the dead, to preach, and to read to the people the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures, or the homilies. Their ordination consists first in a sermon or 
exhortation preached to them, which being concluded, the archdeacon, or 
whoever officiates in his stead, presents them to the bishop, who inquires 
of the said archdeacon, whether he has examined them and found them 
deserving ; he then directs his speech to the congregation present, both to 
know if there be any existing impediment to the election, and to recom¬ 
mend the candidates to the prayers of the congregation. After some 
prayers and litanies, the third chapter of St. Paul’s first epistle to Timothy, 
from v. 8 to the end of that chapter, is read to the deacons, or chapter vi. 
of the Acts of the Apostles, from v. 2 to 8. Then they take the oath of 
supremacy, and among several questions put to them, the bishop asks 
them, whether they have m them an interior call from the Holy Ghost to 
take upon them *he office of a deacon. The answer to this question being 
made in the affirmative, the bishop puts the New Testament into their 
hands, and gives them authority to read and preach the word of God to the 
faithful. He receives the communion himself, and gives it to all whom he 
has ordained. The whole ceremony is concluded with a prayer suitable 
to the occasion, and the blessing. 

The ordination of priests consists of prayers, exhortations, and imposi¬ 
tion of hands. By the constitutions of the year 1603, the time appointed 

M 

chial churches where the bishops reside, in the presence of the archdeacon, 
the dean, and two prebendaries, or at least of four grave persons, who must 
be masters of arts, and have lawful power to preach. They are only as 
v/ tnesses to the ordination, which belongs solely to the bishop ; he alone 





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Ordination of f° r gi v i n & orders is on those Sundays which follow the 
Priests Ember weeks during the service, in the cathedral or paro- 


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has authority to say to those who are ordained, “receive the Holy Ghost:” 
the other four only pray with the bishops, and lay their hands upon the 
ordained, with this difference, that> among the English as with the Catho¬ 
lics, the imposition of the bishop’s hands denotes his power and authority 
to ordain, whereas that of the witnesses is only a mark of their approbation 
and consent to their being admitted to the brotherhood, if that expression 
may be used. To become a priest, it is necessary to be made first a dea¬ 
con ; but both orders may be received on one and the same day. After 
the examen, and the exhortation which is immediately before the commu¬ 
nion service, the epistle is read, Acts, chap. xx. from v. 17 to 36, and if 
both orders be given on the same day, the 3d chap, of the first epistle to 
Timothy is added. The reading of the gospel follows, out of the last 
chapter of St. Matthew, from v. 11 to the end of that chapter; or out of 
St.John, chap. xx. from v. 10 to 24. Then the Veni Creator is sung or 
read. The rest differs but little from the deacon’s ordination. The con¬ 
gregation is desired to join in mental prayer for the happy success of this 
ceremony ; silence is maintained for some short time ; then the bishop 
prays aloud, and immediately lays his hands, and the priests then present 
lay theirs upon those who are ordained, and who are kneeling. The 
bishop uses at the same time this form, so much found fault with by the 
puritans or dissenters: “Receive the Holy Ghost. Sins shall be forgiven 
to all those to whom you forgive them, &c. Be faithful dispensers of the 
word of God and of the sacraments,” &c. This being said, he puts the 
Bible into their hands. 

The bishop is, under Christ, according to the doctrine of the Church of 

Ordination of England, the first pastor of the church. Inferior ministers 
bishops. are only his deputies ; when he is absent, the priest may 

bless the people, but whenever he is present at the divine service, it 
belongs to him to pronounce the blessing. 

There are two archbishops and twenty-four bishops in England ; they 
enjoy the dignity of barons, and take place before those of the laity; so 
the Bishop of London, being the first bishop, is likewise the first baron ; all 
are peers of the realm, and sit in the House of Lords, except the Bishop 
of the Isle of Man, who is named by and holds of a subject. The arch' 
bishops are called Your Grace, which title is also bestowed on dukes. The 
bishops are styled Right Reverend Fathers in God. 

At the consecration of bishops or archbishops, the 3d chap, of St. Paul’s 
first epistle to Timothy, from v. 1 to 8, is read ; then some verses out of 
chap. x. or xxi. of St. John’s Gospel ; the creed is said ; the bishop elected 
is presented by two other bishops to the archbishop of the province, or to 
another bishop officiating for him. “Right Reverend Father in Christ,” 
they say, “ we present to you this pious and learned man, to be consecrated 
bishop.” The king’s order for his consecration is produced and read 
























































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openly. The bishop elect takes the oath of supremacy, and that of obedi¬ 
ence to his metropolitan, which last is omitted at the consecration of an 
archbishop. The consecrator moves the congregation to pray, saying to 
them,—Brethren, it is written in the gospel of St. Luke, that our Saviour 
Christ continued the whole night in prayer, before he did choose and send 

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forth his twelve apostles. It is written also in the Acts of the Apostles, 
that the disciples did fast and pray before they laid hands on Paul and 
Barnabas and sent them forth. Let us, therefore, following the example 
of our Saviour Christ and his Apostles, first fall to prayer, &c. Then the 
litany is said ; and after this passage, That it may please thee to illumi¬ 
nate all bishops, &c., the following prayer is inserted : That it may please 
thee to bless this our brother elected, and to send thy grace upon him, that 
he may duly execute the office whereunto he is called, to the edifying of 
thy church, &c. The people answer, We beseech thee to hear us, &c. 
The litany ends with a prayer, after which the archbishop, sitting in his 
chair, says to him that is to be consecrated, “Brother, forasmuch as the 
holy Scripture and the ancient canons command that we should not be 
hasty in laying on hands, and admitting any person to government in the 
church of Christ, which he has purchased wfith no less price than the 
effusion of his own blood ; before I admit you to this administration, I will 
examine you,” &c. The question ends with a prayer, which is followed 
by the hymn of the Holy Ghost, or the Veni Creator, said or sung, at the 
end of which the archbishop says another long prayer. Then th* 3 irchbi- 
shop and bishops present lay their hands upon the head of the '^cted 
bishop, the archbishop saying: Receive the Holy Ghost; ard remember 
that thou stir up the grace of God which is given thee by this imposition 
of our hands, &c. Still keeping one hand on the head of the bishop eiect, 
with the other he delivers him the Bible, saying, Give heed ur.to reading, 
exhortation, and doctrine; think upon the things contained in this book,&c. 
Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a wolf; hold up the weak ; be 
so merciful; so minister discipline, &c. Then the archbishop and the new 
bishops, with others, receive the communion : and the whole ceremony 
concludes with a prayer by way of collect, to desire Almighty God to pour 
down his blessing on the new bishop. 

English bishops have their own vicars, and officials, in each diocese ; 
but the officials are more known in England by the name of chancellors. 
These are the true and chief officials, but there are some commissioners 
who are often mistaken for them. Their archdeacons, who in ancient 
times were only the first among deacons, are now in the English church 
above priests. Bishops are called reverend, archbishops most reverend, 
archdeacons venerable : common priests have no title bestowed upon them. 
The archdeacon’s chief function is to visit the diocese by procuration in 
default of the bishop or vicar, at least once in three years. 


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The chief ornament by which churchmen are distinguished from the 
laity is the surplice: the ministers of the Church of England are to put it 
on whenever they administer any sacrament, and on several other occa¬ 
sions, the particulars of which we need not mention. Bishops, deans, 
canons in cathedral churches, wear a cope besides the surplice, and are to 
put it on at the communion service, administration of sacraments, or any 
other religious function which is to be performed with solemnity. 

No one can be made a deacon before twenty-three, nor a priest before 
twenty-four, nor a bishop before thirty. Some pastors, either priests or 
ministers, have the title of rectors, as belonging to such churches as at 
the Reformation were independent of any monastery. Others are only 
vicars, but for life. Lastly, some are barely curates, without any benefice, 
and receive their scanty salary from the rectors or bishops. 

The convocation of the clergy is a kind of parliament: the archbishops 
and bishops are the upper house ; the lower is composed of the inferior 
clergy, viz. twenty-six deans, sixty archdeacons, five hundred and seventy- 
six canons, besides curates and deacons. They meet upon the concerns of 
the church, tithes, raising taxes, ecclesiastical laws, which must afterwards 
be approved by the king and parliament. They hold likewise national 
synods, which keep an exact correspondence in their deliberations, and 
make no absolute definition, but with a unanimous consent. 

The customs established in the performance of divine service, and 
appointed by the English liturgy, are: that all priests and deacons are 
required to say daily the morning and evening prayers. The 
Divme Service. or( j er |j 0t jj j s t h e sam e. They begin with several passages 

of Scripture, which the minister says aloud. These passages are followed 
by an exhortation to prepare for the general confession of sins, which is 
said kneeling, by the minister and the whole congregation : this ceremony 
is as ancient as St. Basil, and was not then peculiar to his diocese, but 
universally practised in the whole church. The absolution is pronounced 
by the priest standing, the people still kneeling; for receiving forgiveness 
7 requires an humble posture, but forgiving shows authority. The Church of 
England uses three different forms of absolution ; one in the morning and 
evening prayer, another at the visitation of the sick, and a third at tho 
communion service. After the absolution, the priest and congregation, all 
kneeling, say the Lord’s prayer, which is followed by some responses, a 
psalm, some lessons out of the Old Testament, as set down in the calendar 
at the beginning of the liturgy, the singing or reciting the Te Deum or 
Benedicite omnia; another lesson out of the New Testament, a hymn, or 
a psalm ; the creed said or sung, to which the people stand ; the Lord’s 
prater a second time ; several responses, three collects, a prayer for the 
king and queen, another for the royal family, a third for the clergy, St. 
Chrysostom’s prayer, and the blessing. The rubric says 


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382 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


must stand when he reads the lessons, and turn himself towards the con¬ 
gregation, that he may be heard the better: this is very rational, for those 
^lessons, the decalogue, &c., are an instruction to the people : but when he 
addresses himself to God by prayer, by saying or singing a psalm, or by 
confession, he must then turn from the people and look towards the upper 
end of the chancel, which is the chief and most reverential part of the 
church. Hymns and psalms are sung or said in a standing posture, as an 
evident token that the hearts of the people are raised to God with joy : the 
same situation is kept at the singing or saying the creed, to show how 
ready they are to make an open profession of their faith, to give an account 
of it, to justify and defend it. Betwixt the creed and the Lord’s prayer 
repeated a second time, the priest says, “The Lord be with you.” The 
people answer, “ And with your spirit.” We shall not trouble our readers 
with the various expositions of the oremus, the short litany, and the re¬ 
sponses ; but we cannot omit, that the collects are said to be so named 
because the priest said them when the whole assembly was met, or because 
the devotion of all the faithful was collected or joined to offer that prayer to 
God, or because the priest unites several petitions into one, or lastly, 
because it is a collection of several short sentences of Scripture. 

The prayers, collects, and lessons often vary, on some days, as Christ¬ 
mas, Epiphany, &c. The Athanasian creed is said or sung instead of that 
of the Apostles or of Nice. Sunday morning, Wednesday, and Friday, the 
long litany is said or sung. Particular prayers are said likewise on special 
occasions, as for rain, for fair weather, for a time of famine, or great dearth, 
for success in war, against popular commotions, epidemic or contagious 
distempers; every day also in Ember weeks, for those who are to be or¬ 
dained, for the parliament while it sits ; which prayers are all either to 
obtain mercy from God, or to give him thanks for favours received. 

Sunday is a day which all Christians keep with great solemnity ; but 
none more than the English ; the gravity, decency, regularity, and out¬ 
ward devotion, which are apparent throughout the kingdom on that day, 
are worthy of commendation. 

The communion is one of the principal sacraments of the Church of 
England, for which purpose the altar, for this name is often given by the 

Administration m embers of the Church of England to the communion table, 
ot Sacraments. ought to have a clean white linen cloth upon it, and to stand 
in the body of the church, or in the chancel, where morning and evening 
prayers are appointed to be said. At all other times the said table is 
covered with a silk carpet, and set in a decent place altar-wise. The 
priest, standing at the north side of the table, says the Lord’s prayer, with 
a collect, then rehearses distinctly the ten commandments ; after each, the 
people, kneeling, say, “Lord have mercy on us, and incline our hearts to 
keep this law.” This *s followed by a collect for the king [or queen 




























































































CHURCH OF ENGLAND 


regnant,] which tile priest says standing; the collect of the day, the epistle, 
and gospel, at which last the people stand, as they do likewise at the sing¬ 
ing or reciting the Nicene or Constantinopolitan creed, which is done 
immediately after the gospel. Then the curate declares unto the people 
what holidays and fasting days are in the week following to be observed ; 
and, if occasion be, publishes the bans of matrimony, reads briefs, citations, 
and excommunications, and nothing is proclaimed or published in the 
church during the time of divine service but by the minister; nor by him, 
any thing but what is prescribed in the rules, or enjoined by the king, or 
by the ordinary of the place. 

Then follows the sermon, which being ended, alms are taken for the 
poor, or other purposes; this is followed by prayers and exhortations; 
after which, the priest stands up before the table, and having so ordered 
the bread and wine that he may with the more readiness and decency 
break the bread before the people, and take the cup into his hands, says 
the prayer of consecration, which begins the third part of the communion 
service; the wording of it is very remarkable, and runs thus :—“Hear us, 
O merciful Father, and grant that we, receiving these thy creatures of 
bread and wine, according to Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remem¬ 
brance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed 
body and blood, who in the same night that he was betrayed took bread, 
and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, 
saying, Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you, do this in 
remembrance of me. Likewise, after supper, he took the cup, and when 
he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this, 
for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for you, for 
th'- remission of sins. Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance 
of me.” 

The priest first receives the communion in both kinds himself, then 
proceeds to deliver the same to the bishops, priests, and deacons, (if any be 
present;) and after that, to the people also in order into their hands, all 
meekly kneeling. They receive it in their hands, because the custom of 
receiving it in their mouths, from the priest’s hand, savours too much of 
transubstantiation. 

The priest says a prayer when he gives the bread, and another when 
the cup is given to any one. If the consecrated bread or wine be exhausted 
before all have communicated, the priest is to consecrate more. If, on the 
contrary, there remains any when all have communicated, the minister 
returns to the Lord’s table, and reverently places upon it what remains of 
the consecrated elements, covering the same with a clean linen cloth. Here 
begins the fourth and last part of the communion service. The Lord’s 
prayer is said by the minister, the people repeating after him every peti¬ 
tion ; then follows another form of thanksgiving; after which, “Glory be to 






































































4 

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384 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


God on high,” a hymn to which antiquity has given the appellation of 
angelical. The whole service is concluded by the priest (or bishop, it he 
be present) dismissing the congregation with a blessing. 

The rubric says, that it is most convenient baptism should not be ad¬ 
ministered but upon Sundays, and other holydays, when the greatest number 
of people are assembled ; as well for that the congregn- 
Baptism. tion there present may testify the receiving of them that be 
newly baptized into the number of Christ’s church ; as also because, in the 
baptism of infants, every man present may be put in remembrance of his 
own profession made to God in his baptism, or that made for them by their 
godfathers or godmothers. Nevertheless, (if necessity so require,) children 
may be baptized on any other day. Every male child must have two 
godfathers and one godmother; and every female one godfather and two 
godmothers ; who, with the children, must be ready at the font immediately 
after the last lesson of the morning or evening prayer. The priest coming 
to the font, which is then to be filled with pure water, and standing there, 
asks the usual question, exhorts the people to pray, says two prayers for 
the child, reads a gospel, (Mark x. 13, and following,) explains it, gives 
God thanks, tells the godfathers and godmothers their duty, receives their 
renouncing the devil, and repeats with them the profession of faith ; after 
which, and a few more prayers, he takes the child into his hands, desires 
the godfathers and godmothers to name the child; and then, naming it after 
them, he sprinkles it with the water, saying, N. I baptize thee, &c. The 
ceremony ends with the minister’s signing the child with the cross, saying 
the Lord’s prayer, giving thanks to God, and a second charge to the god¬ 
fathers and godmothers. 

As to the ministration of baptism to those who are of riper years, and 
able to answer for themselves: first, they are examined whether they be 
sufficiently instructed in the principles of the Christian religion ; then 
they are exhorted to prepare themselves with prayers and fastings for the 
receiving of his holy sacrament. If they be found fit, the godfathers and 
godmothers present them at the font on the day, and at the time appointed 
The god r ?.thers and godmothers are not to answer, as they did in infanl 
baptism, for the persons christened, in quality of their spiritual fathers or 
mothers ; they rather are present as witnesses only. The priest directs 
his discourse and exhortations to the persons baptized, prays for them, and 
with them; they themselves renounce the devil and all his works, the vain 
pomp and glory of this world, with all covetous desires of the same, and 
the carnal desires of the flesh. They make their profession of faith; after 
which, and some few prayers said by the minister, he takes each person 
to be baptized by the right hand, and placing him conveniently by the 
font, he dips him in the water, or pours water upon him, saying, N, I bap* 
*.ize thee, &c. Then he receives them into the church, signs them with 








Jo. 






































































CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 


33$ 


Confirmation. 


the cross, gives thanks to God, and ends with a short exhortation, first to 
the godfathers and godmothers, then to the person baptized, recommending 
it to him to be confirmed by the bishop so soon after his baptism as conve¬ 
niently may be, that so he may be admitted to the holy communion. 

In the Church of England, as among Catholics, the bishops are sole 
ministers of the religious ceremony of confirmation. The short catechism, 
which every person is to learn before he is brought to be 
confirmed by the bishop, is to be seen in the Book of Com¬ 
mon Prayer. The Church of England orders, that, for the instruction of 
the faithful beginners, “The curate of every parish shall diligently upon 
Sundays and holydays, after the second lesson at evening prayer, openly 
in the church instruct and examine so many children of his parish sent 
unto him in the catechism. All fathers, mothers, masters, or mistresses, 
shall cause their children, servants, and apprentices, who have not learned 
their catechism, to come to the church at the time appointed, and obedi¬ 
ently to hear and be ordered by the curate, until such time as they have 
learned all that is appointed for them to learn. The children who are 
sufficiently instructed shall be brought to the bishop, and every one shall 
have a godfather or a godmother, as a witness of their confirmation. All 
being placed and standing in order before the bishop, he or some other 
minister appointed by him shall read what is called the preface of confir¬ 
mation, which briefly explains the nature and end of it; then he makes 
them renew and confirm the promises which were made for them by their 
godfathers and godmothers at baptism, and prays for them, that they may 
receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost; then all of them kneeling in order 
before the bishop, he lays his hand upon the head of every one severally, 
says another prayer, the Lord’s prayer, and two collects, and dismisses 
them by giving his blessing. 

According to the ritual of the Church of England, the bans of all those 
v/ho are to be married must be published in the church three several Sun¬ 
days or holydays, in the time of divine service, immediately 

Marriage. ^ e f ore the sentence of the offertory. The form of asking 
is too well known to require being set down. If the persons who are to be 
married dwell in divers parishes, the bans must be asked in both parishes; 
and the curate of the one parish shall not solemnize matrimony, without a 
certificate of the bans being thrice asked from the curate of the other 
parish. At the day and time appointed for the solemnization of matrimony, 
the persons to be married shall come into the body of the church, with their 
friends and neighbours, and there standing together, the man on the right 
hand, and the woman on the left, the priest reads an exhortation on the 
duty, condition, and chastity of a married state; then another, particularly 
directed to the persons who are to be married. At which day of marriage, 
if any man do allege or declare any impediment, why they may not be 







































































3H6 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


coupled together in matrimony, by God’s law, or the laws of the realm, 
and will be bound, and sufficient sureties with him, to the parties, or else 
put in a caution (to the full value of such charges, as the persons to be 
married do hereby sustain) to prove his allegation ; then the solemnizaUon 
must be deferred until such time as the truth be tried. If no impediment 
be alleged, then the curate asks their mutual consent; which being de¬ 
clared, they give their troth to each other, taking alternately each other by 
the right hand, and saying, “I, N. take thee N. to be my wedded wife, (or 
husband,) to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, 
for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, (the 
wife says to love, cherish, and obey,) till death us do part, according to 
God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my troth.” Then they 
again loose their hands, and the man shall give unto the woman a ring, 
laying the same upon the book, with the accustomed dues to the priest and 
clerk. And the priest taking the ring, shall deliver it unto the man to put 
upon the fourth finger of the woman’s left hand, and the man, taught by 
the priest, shall say, “ With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee 
worship,” &c. Both kneel down, the minister says a prayer, joins their 
hands together, and adds a blessing, then going to the Lord’s table, say or 
sing a psalm, which being ended, the man and the woman kneeling before 
the Lord’s table, the priest, standing at the table, says a litany, followed by 
some prayers, and an instruction concerning the duties of man and wife, 
and so concludes. Only the rubric adds, that it is convenient the new- 
married persons should receive the holy communion at the time of their 
marriage, or at the first opportunity after their marriage. 

But though the ritual of the Church of England requires the publica¬ 
tion of the bans of such persons who are about to marry ; and though the 
lower classes always have their marriage bans published, yet it is the cus¬ 
tom of the higher, and to a great degree of the middle classes also, to marry 
by license, dispensing with the publication of bans. A license may be 
had on application to a surrogate. In the year 1837 a new Marriage Act 
came into force, which made a very considerable change in the marriage 
ceremony, to those who were desirous to avail themselves of it, while it 
left at liberty all who preferred the former course to pursue it as before. 
Members of the Church of England still marry in the churches by bans, 
or license, while Dissenters more generally avail themselves of the provi¬ 
sions of the new act. 

By the new act, persons desirous to marry may be joined together, 
either in dissenting meeting-houses, licensed for the purpose; or in the 
offices of the superintendent-registrars of the new Poor-Law Unions, in the 
districts of which the parties may live. The presence of the registrar of 
the district, and two witnesses, is indispensable to the lawfulness and vali¬ 
dity of the ceremony. Before any marriage can be contracted under the 




























































































CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 


387 




Vl 




m 


m 






new act either a license must be purchased of the registrar, on giving full 
seven days’ notice beforehand ; or three several notices of such intended 
marriage must be read and published at the Union Workhouse, before the 
Poor-Law Guardians of the Union, at three of their successive weekly 
meetings, which may be held within the twenty-one days, which must 
pass between the day of giving notice to the registrar and the day of mar¬ 
riage. A certificate also must be obtained of the registrar, before the 
marriage can take place, stating that no one has forbidden the marriage. 

One of the provisions of the new Marriage Act sets forth that the 
parties contracting matrimony shall, in some part of the ceremony, declare, 
in the presence of the registrar and two witnesses, that they know not of 
any lawful impediment why they may not be joined together in matri¬ 
mony, and that each of the parties shall say to the other, “ I call upon 
these persons here present to witness that I, A. B., do take thee, C. D., to 
be my lawful wedded wife, (or husband.”) 

In cases where the marriage takes place at the office of the superin¬ 
tendent-registrar, he, the superintendent, as well as the registrar of the 
district, must be present, with the two witnesses, and the ceremony must 
take place, with open doors, between the hours of eight and twelve in the 
forenoon. 

A proper office is appointed, called “The General Register Office,” for 
keeping a register of all births, deaths, and marriages in England, as well 
as a register-general to discharge the important duties of the same. 

At the churching of women, and the visitation of the sick, thanksgiving 
and suitable prayers are offered up by the minister, attended with very 
little ceremony. 


THE 

FORM AND ORDER 

OF THE 

CORONATION OF A KING AND QUEEN. 


Tins Form and Order consists of—1. The entrance into the Church. 2. The Recognition 3. The 
First Oblation. 4. The Litany. 5. The beginning of the Communion Service. 6. The Sermon 
7. The Oath. 8. The Anointing. 9. The Presenting of the Spurs and Sword, and the Oblation of 
the said Sword. 10. The investing with the Royal Robe, and the Delivery of the Orb. 11. The 
Investure per Annulum and Baculum. 12. The putting on of the Crown. 13. The presenting of 
the Holy Bible. 14. The Benediction, and Te Deum. 15. The Inthronization. 16. The Homage. 
17. The Queen’s Coronation. 18. The Communion. 19. The final Prayers. 20. The Recess. 


In the Morning upon the Day of the Coronation early, care is to be taken that the Ampulla be filled 
with Oil. and, together with the Spoon, be laid ready upon the Altar or Communion Table, in the 
Abbey-Church. 

Sect. I .—The Entrance into the Church. 

The Kimr and Queen, as soon as They enter at the West Door of the Church, are to be received with 
the following Anthem, to be sung by the Choir of Westminster. 














































































388 


r ROTE ST ANT COMMUNITIES. 


Anthem. Psal. cxxii. 1, 5, 6, 7. 

I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into the House of the Lord. For there 
is the Seat of Judgment, even the Seat of the House of David. O pray for the Peace oi 
Jerusalem; They shall prosper that love Thee. Peace be within thy walls, and Piosper- 
ity within thy Palaces. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost ; 

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen. 

The King and Queen in the mean time pass up through the Body of the Church, into and through 
the Choir, and so up the Stairs to the Theatre; and having passed by Their Thrones, J hey make 
Their humble Adoration, and then kneeling at the Faldstools set for Them before 1 heir Chairs, 
use some short private prayers ; and, after sitting down, (not in Their Thrones, butin I heir Chatrs 
before, and below, Their Thrones,) there repose Themselves. 

Sect. II. — The Recognition. 

The King and Queen being so placed, the Archbishop turneth to the East part of the Theatre, and 
after, together with the Lord Chancellor, Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord High Constable and Lari 
Marshal, (Garter King of Arms preceding them,) goes to the other three sides of the Theatre m this 
Order, South, West, and North, and at every of the four sides, with a loud Voice, speaks to the 
People: And the King in the mean time standing up by His Chair, turns and shows Himself unto 
.he People at every of the four sides of the Theatre, as the Archbishop is at every of them, and 
while He speaks thus to the People: 

Sirs, I here present unto you King - , the Undoubted King of this Realm : 

Wherefore all you who are come this Day to do your Homage, Are you willing to do the 
same ? 

The People signify their Willingness and Jov, by loud and repeated Acclamations, all with one 
Voice saying out, 

God save King- 

Then the Trumpets sound. 

Sect. III. — The First Oblation. 

The Archbishop goeth down, and before the Altar puts on his Cope; then goeth and standeth on the 
North Side of it: And the Bishops, who are to read the Litany, do also vest themselves. And the 
Officers of the Wardrobe, &c., spread Carpets and Cushions on the Floor and Steps of the Altar. 

And here, first the Bible, Paten, and Cup, are to be brought and placed upon the Altar. Which 
being done, the King, supported by the two Bishops, of Durham , and Bath and Wells, and attended, as 
always, by the Dean of Westminster, the Lords that carry the Regalia going before 
First Oblation, a Him, goes down to the Altar, and kneeling upon the Steps of it, makes his First 
Lill, and Wedge or Oblation. Uncovered ; Which is a. Pall ox Altar-Cloth oi Gold, delivered by the 
Master of the Great Wardrobe to the Lord Great Chamberlain, and by Him, 
kneeling, to His Majesty: and an Ingot or Wedge of Gold of a pound weight, which the Treasurer 
of the Household delivers to the Lord Great Chamberlain, and He to His Majesty, kneeling: Who 
being uncovered delivers them to the Archbishop, and the Archbishop standing (in which posture 
he is to receive all other Oblations) receives from Him, one after another, the Pall to be reverently 
laid upon the Altar, and the Gold to be received into the Basin, and with like Reverence put upon 
the Altar. 

Then the Queen ariseth from Her Chair, and being likewise supported by two Bishops, and the Lords 
The Queen’s Obla- which carry Her Regalia going before Her, goeth down to the Altar, and kneel- 
Uon a Pali of Gold. ing upon t he Cushions there laid for Her, on the left Hand of the King’s, maketh 
Her Oblation , which is a Pall, to be received also by the Archbishop, and laid 

upon the Altar. 

Then the Archbishop saith this Prayer, the King and Queen still kneeling. 

0 God, who dweliest in the high and holy Place, with them also who are of an humble 

Spirit, Look down mercifully upon these Thy Servants,-our King, and-our 

Queen, here humbling themselves before Thee at thy Footstool, and graciously receive 
these Oblations, which in humble Acknowledgment of Thy Sovereignty over all, and of 
Thy great Bounty to Them in particular, They have now offered up unto Thee, through 
J 3sus Christ our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. * 

The King and Queen having thus offered, and so fulfilled His Commandment, who said, Thou shalt 
not appear before the Lord thy God empty ; go to Their Chairs set for Them on the South Side of the 
Altar, where they are to kneel at Their Faldstools when the Litany begins. 

In the mean time, the Lords who carry the Regalia, except those who carry the Swords, come in 
Order near to the Altar, and present Every One what He carries to the Archbishop, who delivers 
them to the Dean of Westminster, to be by Him placed upon the Altar, and then retire to the Places 
and Seats appointed for Them. 

Sect. IV .—The Litany. 

Then followeth the Litany, to b*e read by two Bishops, vested in Copes, and kneeling at a Faldstool 
above the Steps of the Theatre, on the middle of the East side thereof, the Choir reading the 
Responses. 

O God the Father of heaven; have mercy upon us miserable sinners, &,c. 









































































CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 


339 


^ect. V. —The Beginning of the Communion Service. 

A Sanctus. 

Then the Archbishop beginneth the Communion Service with the Lord’s Prayer, followed by a 

Collect. 

^ Then shall the Archbishop, turning to the People, rehearse distinctly all the Ten Commandments 
and the People still kneeling, shall, after every Commandment, ask of God Mercy for their trail*- 
gression thereof for the time past, and Grace to keep the same lor the time to come, as followeth. 

Archbishop. 

God spake these words, and said, &c. 

If 'I lien shall follow this Collect for the King, the Archbishop standing as before and saying, 

Let us pray. 

Almighty God, whose kingdom is everlasting, and power infinite: Have mercy upon 

the whole Church, and so rule the heart of thy chosen Servant - our King and 

Governor, that he (knowing whose Minister he is) may above all things seek thy honour 
and glory: and that we and all his subjects (duly considering whose Authority he hath} 
may faithfully serve, honour, and humbly obey him, in thee, and for thee, according to thy 
blessed word and ordinance, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy 
Ghost liveth and reignethever one God world without end. Amen. 

The Epistle. —1 Pet.ii, 13. 

To be read by one of the Bishops. 

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord’s sake : whether it be to the 
King as supreme : or unto Governors, as unto them that are sent by him for t he punishment 
of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with 
well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men : As free, and not using your 
liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love 
the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King. 

The Gospel. —S. Matth. xxii. 15. 

To be read by another Bishop, the King and Queen with the People standing. 

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 
And they sent out unto him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, “ Master, we 
know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any 
man : for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou ? 
Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their wickedness, 
and said, “ Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute-money.” And they 
brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, “ Whose is this image and super¬ 
scription ?” They say unto him, “ Caesar’s.” Then saith he unto them, “ Render there¬ 
fore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s : and unto God, the things that are God’s.” 
When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. 

Then the Archbishop readeth the Nieene Creed : the King and Queen with the People standing, as 

before. 

Sect. VI. —The Sermon. 

At the end of the Creed one of the Bishops is ready in the Pulpit, placed against the Pillar at the 
North-East corner of the Theatre, and begins the Sermon, which is to be short, and suitable to the 
great Occasion: which the King and Queen hear sitting in their respective Chairs on the South 
side of the Altar, over against the Pulpit. 

And whereas the King was uncovered during the Offering and Service following; when the Sermon 
begins, He puts on His Cap of Crimson Velvet turned up with Ermins, and so continues to the End 
of it. 

Oil His right hand stands the Bishop of Durham , and beyond Him, on the same side, the Lords that 
carry the Swords: On His lefthand the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the Lord Great Chamberlain. 

The two Bishops that support the Queen are to stand on either hand of Her. And the Lady that bears 
up the Tra'n, and her Assistants, constantly attend Her Majesty during the whole Solemnity. 

On the North side of the Altar sits the Archbishop in a purple Velvet Chair; the Bishops being 
nlaced on Forms along the North side of the Wall, betwixt Him and the Pulpit. Near the Arch¬ 
bishop stands Garter King at Arms; On the South side. East of the King’s Chair, nearer to the 
Altar, stand the Dean of Westminster, the rest of the Bishops who bear any part in the Church Ser¬ 
vice, and the Prebendaries of Westminster. 

Sect. VII. —The Oath. 

The Sermon being ended, and his Majesty having, in the presence of the Two Houses of Parliament, 
made and signed the Declaration, the Archbishop goeth to the King, and standing before Him, ad¬ 
ministers the Coronation Oath, first asking the King, 

Sir, is your Majesty willing to take the Oath ? 

And the King answering 

I am willing. 








































































PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES 


The Archbishop niinistereth these Questions; and the King, having a Copy of the primed Form and 
Order of the Coronation Service in His Hands, answers each Question severally, as follows. 

Archb. Will You solemnly promise and swear to govern the People of this United King¬ 
dom of Great Britain and Ireland , and the Dominions thereto belonging, according to the 
Statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the respective Laws and Customs of the same ? 
King. —I solemnly promise so to do. 

Archb. —Will You to Your Power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in 
all Your Judgments ? 

King. —I will. 

Archb. —Will You to the utmost of Your Power maintain the Lawsof God, the true 
Profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law ? And 
will you maintain and preserve inviolably the Settlement of the United Church of England 
and Ireland , and the Doctrine, Worship, Discipline, and Government thereof, as by Law 
established within England and Ireland, and the Territories thereunto belonging ? And 
will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England and Ireland, and to the 
Churches there committed to their Charge, all such Rights and Privileges, as by Law do, 
or shall appertain to Them, or any of Them? 

King. —All this I promise to do. 

Then the King arising out of His Chair, supported as before, and assisted by the Lord Great Cham¬ 
berlain, the Sword of State being carried before Him, shall go to the Altar, and there being Un- 
The Bible to be covered, make His Solemn Oath in the sight of all the People, to observe the 
brought. Premises: Laying His right hand upon the Holy Gospel in the Great Bible, which 

was before carried in the Procession, and is now brought from the Altar by the 
Archbishop and tendered to Him as he kneels upon the steps, saying these Words: 

The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God. 

And a Silver Standish. Then the King kisseth the Book, and signeih the Oath. 

Sect. VIII.— The Anointing. 

The King having thus taken His Oath, returns again to His Chair; and both He and the Queen, kneel¬ 
ing at their Faldstools, the Archbishop beginneth the Hymn, Veni, Creator Spiritus, and the Choir 
singeth it out. 

This being ended, the Archbishop saith this Prayer. 

O Lord, Holy Father, who by anointing with Oil didst of old make and consecrate 
Kings, Priests and Prophets, to teach and govern thy People Israel: Bless and Sanctify 

thy Chosen Servant-, who by our Office and Ministry is now to be 

.® ere the , Arch- anointed with this Oil, and consecrated King of this Realm : Strengthen 
upon^the^mpaUa! 111 Him, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost the Comforter; Confirm and Sta- 
blish Him with thy free and Princely Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and 
Government, the Spirit of Counsel and Ghostly Strength, the Spirit of knowledge and 
true Godliness, and fill him, O Lord, with the Spirit of thy Holy Fear, now and for 
ever. Amen. 

This Prayer being ended, the Choir sing: 

Anthem. 1 Kings i. 39, 40. 

Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King; and all the People 
rejoiced, and said : God save the King, Long live the King, May the King live for ever. 
Amen. Hallelujah. 

In the mean time, the King rising from His Devotions, having been disrobed of his Crimson Robes, 
and having taken off his Cap of State, goes before the Altar, supported and attended as before. 

The King sits down in His Chair placed in the midst of the Area over against the Altar, with a Fald¬ 
stool before it, wherein He is to be Anointed. Four Knights of the Garter hold over him a rich 
Pall of Silk, or Cloth of Gold ; the Dean of Westminster taking the Ampulla and Spoon from off the 
Altar, holdeth them ready, pouring some of the Holy Oil into the Spoon, and with it the Archbishop 
anointeth the King, in the Form of a Cross: On the Crown of the Head, and on the Palms of both 
the Hands, saying, 

Be Thou anointed with Holy Oil, as Kings, Priests, and Prophets were anointed. 

And as Solomon was anointed King by Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, so 
be you anointed, blessed, and consecrated King over this People, whom the Lord your 
God hath given you to rule and govern, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 

Then the Dean of Westminster layeth the Ampulla and Spoon upon the Altar, and the King kneeleth 
down at the Faldstool, and the Archbishop standing on the North side of the Altar, saith this 
Prayer or Blessing over Him: 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who by his Father was anointed with the Oil 
of gladness above his fellows, by his Holy Anointing pour down npon your Head and Heart 
ihe Blessing of the Holy Ghost, and prosper the Works of your Hands: that by the 
Assistance of his Heavenly Grace you may preserve the People committed to your charge 
in Wealth, Peace, and Godliness; and after a long and glorious Course of ruling this 



















































































S' 



CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 


391 


Temporal Kingdom Wisely, Justly, and Religiously, you may at last 
cf an Eternal Kingdom, through the Merits oi Jesus Christ our Lord. 


The Spurs. 

The Sword of State 
returned. * 


Another 

brought. 


Sword 


be made Partaker 

Am n. 

Inis Prayer being ended, the King arises, and sits down again in his Chair, when the Dean of Wes*- 
minster will invest 11 is Majesty with the Supertunica. 

Sect. IX. The presenting of the Spurs and Sword, and the Oblation of the said Sword. 

The Spurs are brought from the Altar by the Dean of Westminster, and delivered 
to a Nobleman thereto appointed by the King. who. kneeling down, presents 
them to him, and forthwith sends them back to the Altar. Then the Lord, who 
carries the Sword of State , returning the said Sword to the Officers of the Jewel 
House, which is thereupon deposited in the Traverse in King Edward's Chapel, 
He receiveth thence, in lieu thereof, another Sword, in a Scabbard of Purple Velvety 
provided for the King, which He delivereth to the Archbishop: and the Arch¬ 
bishop laying it on the Altar, saith the following Prayer : 

Hear our Prayers, O Lord, we beseech thee, and so direct and support thy Servant, 
King , that he may not bear the Sword in vain; but may use it as the Minister of 

God for the terror and punishment of Evil-doers, and for the protection and encouragement 
of those that do well, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Then the Archbishop takes, the Sword from off* the Altar, and (the Bishops assisting, and going along 
Delivered to the with him) delivers it into the King’s Right Hand, and He holding it, the Arch- 

King. bishop saith: & ° ’ 

Receive this Kingly Sword, brought now from the Altar of God, and delivered to You 
by the hands of us the Bishops and Servants of God, though Unworthy. With this Sword 
do Justice, stop the Growth of Iniquity, protect the holy Church of God, help and defend 
Widows and Orphans, restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the things that 
are restored, punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good Order: that 
doing these things, You may be glorious in all virtue; and so faithfully serve our Lord 
Jesus Christ in this life, that you may reign for ever with him in the Life which is to 
come. Amen. 

Then the King rising up, and going to the Altar, offers the Sword there in the Scabbard, and then 
Offered and re- returns and sits down in his Chair: And the Chief Peer, or He to whom His 

deemed Majesty shall vouchsafe that Honour, offereth the Price of it. and having thus 

redeemed it, receiveth it from off the Altar by the Dean of Westminster , and 
draweth it out of the Scabbard, and carries it naked before His Majesty during the rest of the 
Solemnity. 

Sect. X.— The Investing with the Royal Robe, and the. Delivery of the Orb. 

Then the King arising, the Robe Royal or Purple Robe of State, of Cloth of Tissue, 
The Royal Robe. lined or furred with Ermins, is by the Master of the Great Wardrobe delivered 
to the Dean of Westminster, and by him put upon the King, standing; the Crimson 
Robe which He wore before being first taken off by the Lord Great Chamberlain: The King 
having received it, sits down, and then the Orb with the Cross is brought from 
The Orb. the Altar by the Dean of Westminster , and delivered into the King’s Hand by the 
Archbishop, pronouncing this Blessing and Exhortation : 

Receive this Imperial Robe, and Orb, and the Lord Your God endue You with Know¬ 
ledge and Wisdom, with Majesty and with Power from on High ; The Lord clothe You 
with the Robe of Righteousness, and with the Garments of Salvation. And when You 
see this Orb set under the Cross, remember that the whole World is subject to the Power 
and Empire of Christ our Redeemer. For he is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth; 
Xing of Kings, and Lord of Lords: So that no man can reign happily, who derives not his 
Authority from Him, and directs not all his Actions according to His Laws. 

The King delivers his Orb to the Dean of Westminster, to be by him laid on the Altar. 

Sect. XI.— The Investiture per Annulum <§• Baculum. 

Then the Master of the Jewel House delivers the King’s Ring to the Archbishop, in which a Table 
Jewel is enchased; the Archbishop puts it on the Fourth Finger of His Majesty’s 
The K.ng. Right Hand, and saith: 

Receive this Ring, the Ensign of Kingly Dignity, and of Defence of the Catholic Faith 
and as You are this day solemnly invested in the Government of this earthly Kingdom, 
so may You be sealed with that Spirit of Promise, which is the Earnest of an heavenly 
Inheritance, and reign with Him who is the blessed and only Potentate, to whom be Glory 
for ever and ever. Amen. 

Then the Dean of Westminster brings the Sceptre and Rod to the Archbishop; and the Lord of tho 
Manour of Worksop (who claims to hold an Estate by the Service of presenting to the King a Right 
Hand Glove on the Day of His Coronation, and supporting the King’s Right Vrm 
Sceptre and vvhilst He holds the Sceptre with the Cross) delivers to the King a Pair or Rich 
Gloves, and upon any Occasion happening afterwards, supports His Majesty’s 
Right Arm. or holds His Sceptre by Him. 

The Gloves being pm on, the Archbishop delivers t 
the King’s Right Hand, saying, 


The 

Rod. 


The Gloves. 


Receive the Royal Sceptre the Ensign of Kingly Power at 













































































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K. Edward?s Crown. 


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And then he delivers the Rod, with the Dove, into the King’s Left Hand, and saith, 

Receive the Rod of Equity and Mercy ; and God, from whom all holy desires, all good 
counsels, and all just works do proceed, direct and assist You in the Administration and 
Exercise of all those Powers which he hath given You. Be so merciful, that You be not 
too remiss; so execute Justice, that You forget not Mercy. Judge with Righteousness, 
and reprove with Equity, and accept no Man’s Person. Abase the Proud, and lift up the 
Lowly; punish the Wicked, protect and cherish the Just, and lead your People in the way 
wherein they should go: thus in all things following His great and holy Example, of whom 
the Prophet David said, “ Thou lovest Righteousness, and hatest Iniquity; the Sceptre 
of thy Kingdom is a right Sceptre ;” even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Sect. XII.— The Putting on of the Crown. 

The Archbishop, standing before the Altar, taketh the Crown into his Hancla an *l 
laying it again before him upon the Altar, saith, 

O God, who crownest thy faithful Servants with Mercy and loving-kindness. Look 

Here the King must down upon this thy servant-, our King, who now in low ly devo- 

be put in mind to bow tion boweth His Head to thy Divine Majesty ; and as thou dost this day 
His Head. set a Crown of pure Gold upon His Head, so enrich Ilis Royal Heart 

with thy heavenly Grace; and crown Him with all Princely Virtues, which may adorn 
the higli Station wherein thou hast placed Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to wdiom 
1 e Honour and Glory, for ever and ever. Amen. 

itting down in King Edward's Chair, the Archbishop, assisted with other Bishops. 
Altar ; the Dean of Westminster brings the Crown, and the Archbishop taking it of 
him, reverently putteth it upon the King’s Head. At the sight whereof the People, 
The King crowned. ] 0 ud and "repeated Shouts, cry God save the King; and the Trumpets sound, 

and, by a Signal given, the great guns at the Tower are shot off. 

The noise ceasing, the Archbishop goeth on. and saith, 

Be strong and of a good Courage : Observe the Commandments of God, and walk in 
His Holy ways: Fight the good Fight of Faith, and lay hold on Eternal life ; that in this 
World You may be crowned with Success and Honour, and when You have finished Your 
Course, receive a Crown of Righteousness, which God the Righteous Judge shall give 
You in that day. Amen. 

Then the Choir singeth this short Anthem : 

Anthem. Psal. xxi. 1, 3. 

The Kirg shall rejoice in Thy Strength, O Lord: exceeding glad shall He be of Thy 
Salvation. Thou hast prevented Him with the Blessings of Goodness, and hast set a 
Crown of pure Gold upon His Head. Hallelujah. Amen. 

As soon as the King is crowned, the Peers, &c., put on their Coronets and Caps. 

Sect. XIII.— The Presenting of the Holy Bible. 

Then shall the Dean of Westminster take the Holy Bible , which was carried in the procession, from 
off the Altar, and deliver it to the Archbishop, who, with the rest of the Bishops 
The Bi ie. going along with him, shall present it to the King, first saying these words to Him ; 

Our Gracious King ; we present You with this Book, the most valuable thing that this 
world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the Royal Law; These are the lively Oracles 
of God. Blessed is he that readeth. and ihey that hear the Words of this Book; that 
keep, and do, the things contained in it. For these are the words of Eternal Life, able to 
make you wise and happy in this world, nay wise unto salvation, and so happy for ever¬ 
more, through Faith which is in Christ Jesus ; to whom be Glory fo 1 ever. Amen. 

Then the King delivers back the Bible to the Archbishop, who gives it to the Dean of Westminster, to 

be reverently placed again upon the Holy Altar. 

Sect. XIV. —The Benediction and Te Deum. 

And now the King having been thus anointed and crowned, and having received all the Ensigns of 
Royalty, the Archbishop solemnly blesseth Him: and all the Bishops standing about Him, with the 
rest of the Peers, follow every part of the Benediction with a loud and hearty Amen. 

The Lord bless and keep you; The Lord make the light of his Countenance to shine 

The Benediction. f° r ever u P on Y ou > an( * he g rac i° us unt0 . you ’ the Lord protect you in all 
your ways, preserve you from every evil thing, and prosper you in every 
thing good. Amen. 

The Lord give you a faithful Senate, wise and upright Counsellors and Magistrates, a 
loyal Nobility, and a dutiful Gentry; a pious and learned and useful Clergy; an honest, in¬ 
dustrious, and obedient Commonalty. Amen. 

In your days may Mercy and Truth meet together, and Righteousness and Peace kiss 
each other; May Wisdom and Knowledge be the Stability of your Times, and the Feat 
of the Lord your Treasure. Amen. 

The Lord make your Days many, your Reign prosperous, your Fleets and Armies vic¬ 
torious ; and may you be reverenced and beloved by all your Subjects, and ever increas* 
in Favour with God and man. Amen. 




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CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 


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The glorious Majesty of the Lord our God be upon you; may he bless you with all 
temporal and spiritual Happiness in this world, and crown you with Glory and Immortahu 
m the world to come. Amen. 

Then the Archbishop turneth to the People, and saith: 

Am) the same Lord God Almighty grant, that the Clergy and Nobles assembled here 
lor this great and solemn Service, and together with them all the People of the Land, 
learing God, and honouring the King, may by the merciful Superintendency of the Diviut 
Providence, and the vigilant Care of our gracious Sovereign, continually enjoy Peace, 
Plenty, and Prosperity, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with the Eternal Father 
and God the Holy Ghost, be Glory in the Church world without end. Amen. 

Then the Choir begins to sing the Te Deum, and the King goes up to the Theatre on which the Throne 
Te Deum. * 8 pl acec h All the Bishops, Great officers, and other Peers, attending him. eveiy 
one in his place, the Swords being carried before Him; and then he sits down 
and repose* Hirnself in His Chair, below the Throne. 

Te Deum. 

We praise thee, O God, &c. 

Sect. XV .—The Inthronization. 

The Te Deum being ended, the King is lifted up into His Throne by the Archbishop and Bishops, and 
other Peers of the Kingdom, and being Inthronized, or placed therein, all the Great Officers, Those 
that bear the Swords and the Sceptres, and the rest of the Nobles , stand round about the steps of the 
Throne; and the Archbishop standing before the King, saith: 

Stand firm, and hold fast from henceforth the Seat and State of Royal and Imperial 
Dignity which is this day delivered unto you in the Name, and by the Authority of 
Almighty God, and by the Hands of Us the Bishops and Servants of God, though un¬ 
worthy: And as you see Us to approach nearer to God’s Altar, so vouchsafe the more 
graciously to continue to Us your Royal Favour and Protection. And the Lord God 
Almighty, whose Ministers we are, and the Stewards of his Mysteries, establish your 
Throne in Righteousness, that it may stand fast forevermore, like as the Sun before Hint, 
and as the faithful Witness in Heaven. Amen. 

Sect. XVI. — The Homage. 

The Exhortation being ended, all the Peers then present do their Homage publickly and solemn 1 v 


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unto the King upon the Theatre; and in the mean time the Treasurer of the 
Household throws among the People Medals of Gold and Silver, as the King's 
Princely Largess, or Donative. 

The Archbishop first kneels down before His Majesty’s Knees, and the rest of the Bishops kneel on 
either Hand, and about Him : and they do their Homage together for the shorten¬ 
ing of the Ceremony, the Archbishop saying : 


The Homage. 


Of the Bishops. 


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I -Archbishop of Canterbury [And so every one of the rest, I N. Bishop of A’. 

repeating the rest audibly after the Archbishop] will be faithful and true, and Faith and 
Truth will bear unto you our Sovereign Lord, and your Heirs, Kings of the United King¬ 
dom of Great Britain and Ireland. And I will do and truly acknowledge the Service of 
the Lands which I claim to hold of you, as in right of the Church. 

So help me God. 

Then the Archbishop kisseth the King’s left Cheek, and so the rest of the Bishops present after him 

After which the other Peers of the Realm do their Homage in like manner, the Dukes first by them¬ 
selves, and so the Marquisses, the Earls, the Viscounts, and the Barons, severally; the first of 
each Order kneeling before His Majesty, and the rest with and about Him all 
putting off their Coronets, and the first of each Class beginning, and the rest 
saying after him: 

I N. Duke, or Earl, <$•<?., of N. do become your Liege man of Life and Limb, and of 
earthiy worship, and Faith and Truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all 
manner of Folks. 

So help me God 

Note, That Copies of this Homage must be provided by the Heralds for every Class of the Nobility. 

The Peers having done their Homage, stand all together round about the King; and each Class or \ v \ ^ 

Degree going by themselves, or (as it was at the Coronation of King Charles the First and Second) IA " W jk 1 T\\ 

every Peer one by one, in Order, putting off their Coronets, singly ascend the Throne again, and ; . ; !/ \! V 

stretching forth their hands, to touch the Crown on His Majesty’s Head, as promising by that Co- W 1 , 1 / - 'jfk i 
rernony to be ever ready to support it with all their power, and then every one of them kisseth the 
King’s Cheek. 




While the Peers are thus doing their Homage, and the Medals thrown about, the King, if He thinks 
good, delivers His Sceptre with the Cross to the Lord of the Manour of Worksop, to hold ; and the 
other Sceptre, or Rod, with the Dove, to some one near to the Blood Royal , or to the Lord that can ied 
it in the Procession, or to any other that He pleaseth to assign, to hold it by Him, 

And the Bishops that support the King in the Procession may also ease Him, by supporting the 

Crown, as there shall be occasion. 

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PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES 


Anthem. —Psal. Ixi. 6, 7. cxxxii. 19. 

0 Lord, grant the King a long life : that his years may endure throughout all generations 
Tq shall dwell before God for ever : 0 prepare thy loving mercy and faithfulness, th 
ay preserve him. 

)T his enemies, clothe them with shame : but upon himself let his crown flor 


a the Homage of the Lords is ended, the Drums beat, and the Trumpets sound, at 

People shout, crying out, 

God save King- 

Long live King- 

May the King live for ever. 

The Solemnity of the King's Coronation being thus ended, the Archbishop leaves the King in His 

Throne, goes down to the Altar, and begins, 

Sect. XVII.— The Queen’s Coronation. 

The Queen having reposed Herself in Her Chair on the South side of the Altar, while the King was 
Crowned and Inthronized , as soon as the Anthem is ended, ariseth and goeth to the Steps of the 
Altar, supported by Two Bishops, and there kneeleth down, whilst the Archbishop saith the follow¬ 
ing Prayer. 

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness ; Give ear, we beseech thee, to our prayers, 
and multiply thy blessings upon this thy Servant, whom in thy Name, with all humble 
devotion, we consecrate our Queen: Defend her evermore from all Dangers, ghostly and 
bodily. Make her a great Example of Virtue and Piety, and a Blessing to this Kingdom, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, O Father, in the Unity 
of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen. 

This Prayer being ended, the Queen ariseth. and cometh to the Place of Her Anointing: Which is 
to be at a Faldstool set for that purpose before the Altar , between the Steps and King Edward's 
The Anointing Chair. And standing there, the Chief Lady that attends Her. takes off Her Circle 
of Gold, and She kneeleth down, and four Peeresses appointed for that Service, 
holding a rich Pall of Silk or Cloth of Gold over Her, the Archbishop poureth the Holy Oil upon 
the Crown of Her Head, saying these Words: 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Let the anointing 
with this Oil increase your honour, and the grace of God’s Holy Spirit establish you for 
ever and ever. Amen. 

After the Anointing the Archbishop saith this Prayer : 

O most merciful God, pour out abundantly thy grace and blessing upon this thy Servant 

Queen-, that as by our Office and Ministry she is this day anointed, and solemnly 

consecrated our Quern : so being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, she may continue thy 
faithful and devout Servant unto her life’s end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

. Then the Archbishop receiveth from the Master of the Jewel Office the Queen’s 

ie ing ‘ Ring, and putteth it upon the Fourth Finger of Her Right Hand, saying, 

Receive this Ring, the Seal of a sincere Faith ; and God, to whom belongeth all Power 
and Dignity, prosper you in this your honour, and grant you therein long to continue 
fearing him always, and always doing such things as shall please him, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

Then the Archbishop taketh the Crown from off the Altar into his hands, and 
reverently setteth it upon the Queen’s Head, saying, 

Receive the Crown of glory, honour, and joy; and God the Crown of the faithful, who 
by our Episcopal hands (though unworthy) doth this day set a Crown of pure Gold upon 
your head, enrich your Royal heart with his abundant grace, and crown you with all 
princely virtues in this life, and with an everlasting Crown of glory in the life which is to 
come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Queen being crowned, all the Peeresses put on their Coronets. 

nT vt Then ,he Archbishop putteth the Sceptre into the Queen’s Right Hand, 
Ivory Rod. and the I VOI T Bod with the Dove into her Left Hand: and sayeth this 


The Crown. 














































































The King offers 
Bread and Wine. 


The Queen offers. 


Sect. XVIII.— The Communion. 

Then the Offertory begins, the Archbishop reading these Sentences : 

The Offertory. Let y ou f so shine before men, that they may see your good works, 
and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. 

Charge them who are rich in this world, that they be ready to give and glad to distri¬ 
bute ; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that 
they may attain eternal life. 

The King and Queen descend from Their Thrones, supported and attended as before; and go to the 

Steps of the Altar, and kneel down there 

At first the King offers Bread and Wine for the Communion, which being bt ought out of King Edwaru's 
Chapel, and delivered into His Hands, the Bread upon the Paten by the Bishop 
that read the Epistle , and the Wine in the Chalice by the Bishop that read the 
Gospel, are by the Archbishop received from the King, and reverently placed 
upon the Altar, and decently covered with a fair linen Cloth, the Archbishop first saying this 
prayer: 

Bless, O Lord, we beseech thee, these thy Gifts, and sanctify them unto this holy use, 
that by them we may be made partakers of the Body and Blood of thine only begotten 
Son Jesus Christ, and fed unto everlasting life of Soul and Body: And that thy Servant 
King — — may be enabled to the discharge of his weighty Office, whereunto of thy 
great goodness thou hast called and appointed Him. Grant this, O Lord, for Jesus Christ’s 
sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. 

Then the King kneeling, as before, makes His second oblation, offering a Marie weight of Gold. which 
A M k of Gold l ' le Treasurer of the Household delivers to the Lord Great Chamberlain , and he to 
ar ‘ His Majesty. And the Archbishop coming to Him, receives it into the Bason, 

and placeth it upon the Altar. 

The Queen also at the same time maketh Her second Oblation, in like manner as 
the King: After which the Archbishop says, 

O God, who dwellest in the high and holy place, with them also who are of an humble 

spirit, look down mercifully upon these thy Servants,-our King, and-our Queen, 

here humbling Themselves before Thee at thy Footstool; and graciously receive these 
Oblations, which in humble acknowledgment of thy Sovereignty over all, and of thy 
great Bounty to them in particular, they have now offered up unto thee, through Jesus 
Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. 

Then the King and Queen return to Their Chairs , and kneeling down at Their Faldstools, the Arch¬ 
bishop sailh : 

Let us pray for the whole state of Christ’s Church militant here on earth. 

Almighty and everliving God, &c. 

The Exhortation .— The General Confession .— The Absolution. 

After which shall be said, . 

Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to him: 

Come unto me, &c. 

After which the Archbishop shall proceed, saying: 

Archb. Lift up your hearts. 

Answ. We lift them up unto the Lord. 

Archb. Let us give thanks unto our Lord God. 

Answ. It is meet and right so to do. 

Then shall the Archbishop turn to the Lord’s Table, and say. 

It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all 
places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God: 

Who hast at this time given us thy Servant our Sovereign, King-to be the Defender 

of thy Faith, and the Protector of thy People ; and together with Him hast raised up oui 

Gracious Queen-to be a great Example and Encourager of true religion and piety 

among us. 

Therefore with Angels and Archangels, &c. 

The Prayer of Address. 

We do not presume, &c. 

The Prayer of Consecration. 

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only 
Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption, &c. 

When the Archbishop, and Dean of Westminster, with the Bishops Assistants, namely the Preacher, and 
those who read the Litany , and the Epistle and Gospel, ha\ e communicated in 
The Kins< and kinds, the Archbishop shall administer the Bread, and the Dean o«' West- 

Queen con. uumcate. m ^ nLUr t j ie Cup, to the King and Queen. 









































































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PltOTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


At the Delivery of the Bread shall be said, 

The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c. 

At the Delivery of the Cup. 

The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c. 

Post-Communion. Then the Archbishop goeth on to the Post-Communion, saying, 

Our Father, &c. 

Then this prayer: 

O Lord and Heavenly Father, we thy humble servants, &c. 

Then shall be satj 
Glory be to God on high, &c. 

In the mean time the King and Queen return to their Thrones upon the Theatre, and afterwards 

the Archbishop reads the final Prayers. 

Sect. XIX. —The Final Prayers. 

Assist us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the 
way of thy servants towards the attainment of everlasting salvation ; that among all the 
changes and chances of this mortal life, they may ever be defended by thy most gracious 
and ready help, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

O Lord our God, who upholdest and governest all things in Heaven and Earth, receive 

our humble prayers, with our thanksgivings, for our Sovereign Lord-, set over us by 

thy good providence to be our King: And so together with him bless our gracious Queen 
—•—, and the rest of the Royal Family, that they ever trusting in thy goodness, protected 
by thy power, and crowned with thy favour, may continue before thee in health and peace, 
in joy and honour, a long and happy life upon earth, and after death may obtain everlasting 
life and glory, in the kingdom of Heaven, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ 
our Saviour ; who, with thee, O Father and the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth ever one 
God, world without end. Amen. 

Almighty God, who hast promised to hear the petitions of them that ask in thy Son’s 
Name; We beseech thee mercifully to incline thine ears to us that have made now our 
prayers and supplications unto thee, and grant that those things which we have faithfully 
asked according to thy will, may effectually be obtained, to the relief of our necessity, and 
to the setting forth of thy Glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the 
knowledge and love of God, and of his son Jesus Christ our Lord : And the blessing of 
God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain 
with you always. Amen. 

Sect. XX. —The Recess. 

The whole Coronation Office being thus performed, the King, attended and accompanied as before 
the four Swords being carried before Him, descends from His Throne Crowned, and carrying His 
Th Proceeding in- ^ ce P tre and Pad in His Hands, goes into the Area Eastward of the Theatre, and 
to King- Edvfardit passes on through the Door on the South side of the Altar into King Edward's 
Chapel: Of the King. Chapel; and as they pass by the Altar, the rest of the Regalia lying upon it, are 
to be delivered by the Dean of Westminster to the Lords that carried them in the 
Procession, and so they proceed in State into the Chapel, the Organs all the while playing. The 
of thp anppn Queen at the same time descending, goes in like manner into the same Chapel at 
the Door on the North side of the Altar , bearing Her Sceptre in Her Right Hand, 
and Her Ivory Rod in Her Left. 

The King and Queen being come into the Chapel, the King standing before the Altar, will deliver the 
Srejitre with the Dove to the Archbishop , who will lay it upon the Altar there. And the Gold Spurs 
and St. Edward's Staff, are given into the hands of the Dean of Westminster, and by him laid there 
a.so. 

The Archbishop being still vested in his Cope, will then place the Orb in His Majesty’s Left Hand. 
Which being done, the Archbishop and Bishops will divest themselves of their Copes, and leave there 
there, proceeding in their usual Habits. , 

Then Theii Majesties will proceed through the Choir to the West Door of the Abhey, m the same 
manner as They came, wearing Their Crotons. The King bearing in his Right Hand the Sceptre 
w T ith the Cross, and in His Left the Orb; the Queen bearing in Her Right Hand Her Sceptre witli 
the Cross, and in Her Left the Ivory Rod with the Dove; all Peers wearing their Coronets, and the 
Archbishops and Bishops their Caps. 


The last religious ceremony of the English Liturgy is the burial of the 
dead. In the order for that service, it is noted, first, “That it is not for 
any that die unbaptized, or excommunicated, or have laid 
violent hands upon themselves.” The priest and clerk 
meeting the corpse at the entrance of the church-yard, and going before it 


Burial of the 
Dead. 


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either into the church or towards the grave, say, “ I am the resurrection 
and the life,” &c. (John, chap. xi. ver. 25), with some other sentences of 
Scripture. In the church some suitable psalms are read or sung, with a 
lesson adapted to that ceremony. When they are come to the grave, and 
are preparing every thing to put the body into the earth, the priest and his 
clerk say or sing, “ Man that is born of a woman,’* &c. Earth is then 
cast upon the body, and some prayers are said, in one of which God is 
desired to grant “ that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith, 
may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in 
glory.” 

As soon as any one has breathed his last, the minister of the parish, and 
those who have in charge to visit dead bodies, must have notice given 

Civil rites of t * lem ; was ordered to be done immediately after the 
Funerals. great plague which raged in London in the year 1665, that 

it might be found out if any distemper proved contagious, and proper pre¬ 
cautions taken to prevent its spreading. This visit is commonly performed 
by two women ; the clerk of the parish receives their attestation, and an 
abstract of it is printed every week, by which the public are informed how 
many died in the week, of what distemper or by what accident. An act 
of parliament, made for the encouragement of the woollen manufactory, 
ordains that all corpses shall be buried in flannel, without any allowance for 
linen, but the flannel may be as fine as they think fit. Those shrouds are 
either bespoken or bought ready made, and most linen-drapers have some 
by them of all sizes and prices. The corpse being washed very clean, and 
shaved, if it be that of a man, they put on it a flannel shirt, the sleeves of 
which are ruffled and plaited, with another tufted piece of the same stuff 
which covers the opening of the shirt upon the breast. The shirt must be 
above half a foot longer than the corpse when extended at full length, that 
the feet of the deceased may be put into it as in a bag, which when per- 'P7\ ] !A 
formed it is tied with woollen, so as to look like a tuft. They add to this a 
cap, with a large chin-cloth tied to the cap, a cravat and gloves, all woollen. 

Some put a large quantity of bran at the bottom of the coffin. Instead of 
a cap, the women have head-clothes with a forehead-cloth. Some coffins 
are exceedingly fine. When the corpse is in it, they make a second visit, 
to see whether it be ail in flannel, and no linen or even thread, except 
woollen, employed about it. The body lies so three or four days, and all 
that time is allowed to provide mourning and prepare for the funeral. 

The palls are provided by the undertakers; some of black velvet, some 
of black cloth, bordered either with white satin, or linen, or taffety, about a 
foot long. It is so large, that it covers not only the coffin, but likewise the 
men who carry it upon theii shoulders, and still hangs low enough to be 
supported by the pall-bearers, either men or women, according to the sex 
of the person who is to be buried, and they have gloves, hat-bands, and 
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sometimes scarfs, black or white, given them. When every thing is ready, 
two men called mutes go first, and they are immediately followed by the 
corpse and pall-bearers; the chief mourners and other persons invited, two (MS 
'and two, close the procession. Generally they go into the church, in the 
middle of which, the body being placed upon two tressels, the service foi 
the dead appointed for that occasion is said. If the body be not buried in 
the church, they carry it to the church-yard belonging to it, and put it into 
the ground before the whole company, who seldom depart till the earth be 
again thrown in. 


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Within a few years past a dispute has arisen which has assumed the 
denomination of the “Tractarian Controversy.” This name was derived 
from the circumstance of its commencing with a series of well-written pub¬ 
lications entitled “Tracts for the Times.” The object of the writers seemed 
to be to revive in the church those usages that had gradually fallen into 
desuetude by the progressive development of the reformed religion. In 
contending for these they asserted, more and more fully, the principles of 
the Romish church. After several years of controversy, in which the 
Tractarian writers were successful to a remarkable degree, a reaction has 
evidently ensued. Several of the leading persons on the Tractarian side 
have gone over to the Church of Rome. Other circumstances have con¬ 
spired to create alarm; and the public mind in England is, evidently, at the 
oresent time, setting back again towards the principles of the Reformation. 
Still, the elements are in so much agitation, and different men of distinction 
maintain so many different shades of belief, that no estimate can be formed 
as to the ultimate result of this interesting movement. 






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SEC. III.—KIRK OF SCOTLAND.* 

The conversion of the Scots to the Christian faith began through the 
ministry of Paladius, about the year 430, and from the first establishment 
Historical inci- Christianity in that country till the Reformation in the 
dett<8, reign of Mary, mother of James I. and of Mary I. of Eng 

land, their church government was episcopacy; but the Presbyterian dis¬ 
cipline was not finally established in Scotland, until the reign of King 
William and Mary, a. d. 1689, when episcopacy was totally abolished. 
The Westminster Confession of Faith was then received as the standard 
of the national creed; which all ministers, and principals and professors 
in universities, are obliged to subscribe as the confession of their faith, 
before receiving induction into office. 

The Church of Scotland is remarkable for its uncommon simplicity of 
worship ; it possesses no liturgy, no altar, no instrumental music, no sur- 

Worship -Minis- P^ ce » no fixed canonical vestment of any kind. It con 
tenai parity, &c. demns the worship paid to saints, and observes no festival 
days. Its ministers enjoy a parity of rank and of authority; it enforces 
that all ministers, being ambassadors of Christ, are equal in commission ; 
that there is no order in the church, as established by the Saviour, superior 
to presbyters ; and that bishop and presbyter, though different words, are 
of the same import. It acknowledges no earthly head : its judicatories 
are quite distinct from, and independent of, any civil judicatory; insomuch, 
ndeed,that the decisions of the one are often contrary to those of the other, 
yet both remain unaffected and unaltered. When, for example, a clergv- 
man has been presented to a parish by a patron, and induction and ordina¬ 
tion have followed on that presentation, if afterwards it be found that the 
patron, who had given the presentation, has not that right, and that it 
belongs to another, the clergyman may be ejected as to all the temporalities 
of the office ; but quoad sacra , he may continue minister of the parish, and 
exercise all the sacred functions : and though a new presentee may obtain 
a right to the civil endowments of the benefice, he can perform none of the 
sacred duties, while the other chooses to avail himself of his privilege. 

There are four ecclesiastical judicatories,—namely, the Kirk Session, the 
Presbytery, the Synod, and the General Assembly, from each of which 
there is a power of appeal to the other; but the decision of 
the General Assembly is supreme. 

The lowest court is the Kirk Session, which is composed of the minister 
of the parish, who is the moderator or president of it, and a number of the 
most grave and respectable laymen, members of the congre 
gation. Their number varies in different parishes, five or 




Judicatories. 


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a eomracti >n of the Greek word, meaning the House of God. 

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six being about the average number; and their services are entirely gratu- 
itous. They are something like churchwardens in England, only they 
have a spiritual jurisdiction, as it is a part of their duty to visit the sick, 
&c. The Kirk Session takes cognisance of cases of scandal, such as for¬ 
nication, Sabbath breaking, profane swearing. It also manages the funds 
of the poor, a duty in which it formerly was assisted by deacons, a class 
of men inferior to elders, as they had no spiritual jurisdiction; but not 
being found necessary, they are consequently disused. 

The Presbytery, which is the court next in dignity, is composed of the 
ministers of a certain district, with an elder from each parish. The num¬ 
ber of presbyteries is seventy-eight. Their chief duty con- 

Presbytery. s j sts ^ mana g emen t 0 f suc h matters as concern the 

church within their respective bounds. But they may originate any mat¬ 
ter, and bring it under the view of the Synod or General Assembly. They 
have also the superintendence of education within their bounds, such as 
the induction of teachers, and the examination of schools. 

The Synod is the next intermediate court. There are fifteen synods, 
each consisting of the clergymen of a certain number of presbyteries, with 
elders, as in presbyteries. Presbyteries meet generally once 
a month; synods twice a year, though some remote synods, 
such as that of Argyle, only once. 

The General Assembly is the last and supreme court, and meets yearly 
in the month of May, in Edinburgh, and continues its sittings for twelve 
General Assem- days. The king presides by his representative, who is 
l] y • always a nobleman, and is denominated the Lord High 

Commissioner. The General Assembly is a representative court, consist¬ 
ing of 200 members representing presbyteries, and 156 elders representing 
burghs or presbyteries, and five ministers or elders representing universi¬ 
ties,—making altogether 361 members. They choose a moderator or pre¬ 
sident, out of their own number, distinct from the Royal Commissioner, the 
duty of the latter consisting merely in convening and dissolving the court, 
and in forming the medium of communication between it and the throne. 
The moderator is now always a clergyman, though, previously to 1688, 
laymen sometimes held that office. 

The duties of the Scotch clergy are numerous and laborious. They 
officiate regularly in the public worship of God; and in general, they must 

Duties of the £° trough tliis duty twice every Sunday, (exclusively of 
Scotch ciergy. other occasional appearances,) delivering every Sunday a 
lecture and a sermon , with prayers. It is also expected, throughout Scot¬ 
land, that the prayers and discourses shall be of the minister’s own compo¬ 
sition ; and the prayers, in all cases, and the discourses, in most instances, 
are delivered without the use of papers. They are expected to perform 
the alternate duties of examining their people from the Scriptures and 





























































KIRK OF SCOTLAND. 


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wi catechisms of the church, and of visiting them from house to house, with 
prayers and exhortations. This is done commonly once in the year, being 
omitted only in those cases in which the ministers deem it impracticable, 
or not acceptable, or at least not necessary.—The charge of the poor de¬ 
volves, in a very particular manner, on the clergy, and in them also is 
vested the superintendence of all schools within their bounds. 

Baptism in this church is practised by none but ministers, who do it by 
sprinkling; and whether performed in private or in public, 
it is almost always preceded by a sermon. 

The Lord’s Supper is not administered so frequently in Scotland as in 
some other places. Some time before this sacrament is dispensed, it is 
announced from the pulpit. The week before, the Kirk 
Lord Session meets, and draws up a list of all the communicants 

in the parish, according to the minister’s examination-book, and the testi¬ 
mony of the elders and deacons. According to this list, tickets are deli¬ 
vered to'each communicant, if desired, and the ministers and elders also 
give tickets to strangers who bring sufficient testimonials. None 










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allowed to communicate without such tickets, which are produced at the 
table. Those who never received are instructed by the minister, and by 
themselves in the nature of the sacraments, and taught what is the proper 
preparation thereunto. The Wednesday or Thursday before, there is a 
solemn fast, and on the Saturday there are two preparatory sermons. On 
Sunday morning, after singing and prayer as usual, the minister of the 
parish preaches a suitable sermon ; and when the ordinary worship is 
ended, he in the name of Jesus Christ forbids the unworthy to approach, 
and invites the penitent to come and receive the sacrament. Then he 
goes into the body of the church, where one or two tables, according to its 
width, are placed, reaching from one end to the other, covered with a white 
linen cloth, and seats on both sides for the communicants. The minister 
places himself at the end or middle of the table. After a short discourse, 
he reads the institution, and blesses the elements; then he breaks the 
tread, and distributes it and the wine to those that are next him, who 
transmit them to their neighbours; the elders and deacon attending to 
serve, and see that the whole is performed with decency and order. 
While these communicate, the minister discourses on the nature of the 
sacrament; and the whole is concluded with singing and prayer. The 
minister then returns to the pulpit, and preaches a sermon. The morn¬ 
ing-service ended, the congregation are dismissed for an hour ; after which 
the usual afternoon worship is performed. On the Monday morning, 



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there is public worship, with two sermons ; and these, properly speaking, 
close the communion-service. No private communions are allowed in 
Scotland. 

Marriage is solemnized nearly after the manner of the Church of Eng- 

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402 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 



Seceders. 


land, with the exception of the ring, which is deemed a great relic of 
“popery.” By the laws of Scotland, the marringe-knot 
Mamage. ma y p e t j e( j w jthout any ceremony of a religious nature : a 
simple promise in the presence of witnesses, or a known previous coha¬ 
bitation, being sufficient to bind the obligation. The most ridiculous, often 
immoral, and almost always injurious practice, of marrying at Gretna - 
Green , was, till lately, in use ; a person said to have been a blacksmith 
performed the ceremony at Gretna according to the rites of the church ! 

The Funeral ceremony is performed in total silence. The corpse is 
carried to the grave, and there interred without a word being spoken cn 
the occasion. 

Dr. Evans, in his usual liberal strain, gives the following account of the 
Seceders :— 

“Dissenters from the kirk, or church of Scotland, call themselves 
Seceders; for, as the term Dissenter comes from the Latin word dissentio , 
to differ, so the appellation Seceder is derived from another 
Latin word, secedo, to separate or to withdraw from any 
body of men with which we may have been united. The secession arose 
from various circumstances, which were conceived to be great defections 
from the established church of Scotland. The Seceders are rigid Cal¬ 
vinists, rather austere in their manners, and severe in their discipline. 
Through a difference as to civil matters, they are broken down into 
Burghers and Anti-burghers. Of these two classes the latter are the 
most confined in their sentiments, and associate therefore the least with any 
other body of Christians. The Seceders originated under two brothers, 
Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, of Stirling, about the year 1730. It is 
worthy of observation, that the Rev. George Whitfield, in one of his visits 
to Scotland, was solemnly reprobated by the Seceders, because he refused 
to confine his itinerant labours wholly to them. The reason assigned for 
this monopolization was, that they were exclusively God’s people! Mr. 
Whitfield smartly replied, that they had, therefore, the less need of his 
services; for his aim was to turn sinners from the error and wickedness 
of their ways, by preaching among them glad tidings of great joy ! 

“The Burgess’ oath, concerning which the Seceders differed, is admi¬ 
nistered in several of the royal boroughs of Scotland, and runs thus: ‘ I 
protest before God and your lordships, that I profess and allow w.th my 
heart the true religion presently professed within this realm, and autho¬ 
rized by the laws thereof; I shall abide thereat, and defend the same to 
my life’s end, renouncing the Roman religion called papistry.’ The 
Messrs. Erskine and others maintained there was no inconsistency in 
Seceders taking this oath, because the established religion was still the 
true religion, in spite of the faults attaching to it, and hence were called 
Burghers. Messrs. Moncrieff and others thought the swearing to the 


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KIRK OF SCOTLAND. 



103 


religion, as professed and authorized, was approving the corruptions, 
therefore the oath was inconsistent and not to be taken; hence Anti¬ 
burghers. The Kirk of Scotland, both parties say, still perseveres in a 
course of defection from her professed principles, and therefore the seces¬ 
sion continues, and is increasing to the present day. (See an Historical 
Account of the Rise and Progress of the Secession, by the late Rev. John 
Brown, of Haddington.) The Seceders are strict Presbyterians, having 
their respective associate synods, and are to be found not only in Scotland, 
but also in Ireland and in the United States of America. Both classes 
have had among them ministers of considerable learning and piety. 

“There is also a species of Dissenters from the Church of Scotland 
called Relief, whose only difference from the Kirk is, the choosing of their 
own pastors. They arose in 1752, and are respectable as to numbers and 
ability. (See a Compendious View of the Religious System maintained 
by the Synod of Relief, by P. Hutchinson ; and also Historical Sketches 
of the Relief Church, &c., by J. Smith.) The Relief are Calvinists as 
well as Presbyterians, but liberal in their views, admitting to their commu¬ 
nion pious Christians of every denomination. They revere the union of 
faith and charity.” 

In 1835, an attempt was made by the Church of Scotland to place itself 
on a more popular basis, by giving to the heads of families, communicants, 
a veto upon the nomination of the patron ; but, the ecclesiastical action by 
which this was sought to be effected, having been declared by the Supreme 
Court to be a civil act beyond the jurisdiction of the church, and no dis¬ 
position being manifested by the parliament to aid in removing the diffi¬ 
culty; a number of its most distinguished members, in 1843, withdrew in a 
body, and formed the “Free Church of Scotland.” It is probable they anti¬ 
cipated that a step so decided would move the legislature to action on their 
behalf. One of their most dearly cherished and prominent principles was 
the obligation of the state to provide for the religious instruction of the peo¬ 
ple, and the insufficiency of the voluntary principle for this purpose But 
the state’s declining to act, left them to make a beautiful exemplification of 
the mistake of their own theory. They seemed to have proved, by logic, 
that a church could not sustain itself on the voluntary principle ; they are 
demonstrating, by experiment, that it can do it, not only, but also that it can 
do it with signal advantage to its spiritual interests. The late eminent 
Doctor Chalmers, Doctors Candlish, Cunningham, and many others distin¬ 
guished for their learning and piety, took part in securing the division. 
Since the separation, the Free Church has erected 676 churches, 487 
of which are free from debt. They number now about 600 ministers, and 
have raised in less than five years 7,500,000 dollars for sustaining their 

interests. 























































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PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


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ENGLISH PRESBYTERIANS. 

The first adherents of this form of church government in England 
were those Protestants who returned from Frankfort whence they had 
fled for refuge, in the reign of Queen Mary. In Germany they had 
become acquainted with the Geneva platform, and on returning to their 
native country in the time of Elizabeth, they at first met in private 
houses, and afterwards more publicly, on which occasions worship was 
conducted according to the forms of the Geneva service-book. 

The first Presbyterian place of worship erected, was at Wandsworth, 
in Burry, where also a Presbytery was formed. Other Presbyteries 
were then rapidly constituted in most of the counties of England, and 
in a short time the number of Presbyterians is said to have amounted 
to a hundred thousand. In the time of Cromwell they held the famous 
Westminster Assembly, consisting of a hundred and fifty Ministers, 
of whom, however, seven were Independents. They now hoped that 
Presbyterianism would be made the established religion of England 
by act of Parliament; but a law was enacted granting free toleration 
to every one to think and worship as he pleased, which proved a great 
eyesore to the Presbyterians, who had expected to see their opponents, 
especially the Independents, completely crushed. 

About the beginning of the last century, though the Independents 
had greatly augmented, the Presbyterian congregations both in influ¬ 
ence and numbers were nearly double theirs ; but the gradual increase 
of Arminiasm and Arianism, and the consequent diminution of interest 
in their preaching, powerfully operated upon the state of their congre¬ 
gations, and many left them and joined the Independents. This 
deteriorating issued with many in downright Socinianism. Ministers 
of lax and dubious sentiments were gradually introduced to congrega¬ 
tions, and their seminaries became infected with heresy, and from 
these fountains poisoned streams were let in upon the churches. 
Trustees of Arian or Socinian opinions appointed Ministers of their own 
sort over orthodox congregations contrary to their will. Endowments 
which had been founded especially with the view of maintaining the 
doctrines of the Assembly's confessions and catechisms, were appro¬ 
priated to the support of a system which the founders would have held 
in utter abhorrence. In this way upwards of one hundred and seventy 
chapels came into the hands of the Socinians, who, in order to retain 
them, arrogated to themselves the name of Presbyterians, though they 


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have not a Presbyterian form of church government, and not so much 
as a shred of the doctrinal principles of the Presbyterian church. 

With the endowments and charities which have been thus alienated 
from their original purposes, the Socinians have in their hands a large 
amount of funds, and yet notwithstanding all this temporal provision 
pseudo-Presbyterianism is struggling for its existence, paralyzed as it 
is by the influence of infidelity, with which it is too frequently found 
in contact. 

To be carefully distinguished from the above described church are 
the Presbyterian congregations in England, which are in communion 
with the Church of Scotland or the Seceders. These are carrying for¬ 
ward the true Presbyterian interests with energy and gratifying success. 


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In the popular mind the chief distinctive feature associated with that 
body of Christians, comprising a number of subdivisions and known as 
Baptists, is their practice of Immersion as in their judgment the only 
scriptural form of Baptism. They are supposed to differ from all others 
mainly on the mode and subjects of Baptism. This is in part true: 
but to give our readers a more accurate conception of this large and 
most decidedly evangelical body of Christians, now the most numerous 
among the Dissenters of England (with, perhaps, a single exception), 
and rapidly increasing on the continent, especially in Sweden and Ger¬ 
many, we will first glance at their claim to a place in history, and then 
give a synopsis of their beliefs and practices. 

Baptists, or as formerly derisively designated Ana-baptists, i. e. re- 
History baptizers, claim to have a history antedating the Refor¬ 
mation. Indeed, they claim, substantially, that the 
advocates of their views and principles were the true precursors of 
Jerome of Prague, and of John Huss, of Martin Luther, and Zwingli, 
of Calvin, and Knox. It is sometimes charged that they spruug from 
those wild, lawless, enthusiastic, Iconoclastic peasants in Germany, 
who appeared in time of Luther, and who are known in the records of 
that era as “ The Madmen of Munster.” This they deny, and certainly 
they are justified in making this denial, for no impartial historian of 
that period now asserts that Baptists descended from those fanatics, or 
that then they, as a body, had any participation in the dangerous 
doings of those men. D’Aubigne, the well-known historian of the 
Reformation, says: “Some persons imagine that the Anabaptists of 
the times of the Reformation and the Baptists of our day are the same, 
but they are as different as possible.”* 

Baptists do not claim that there were those in the time of Luther and 
the Reformation, or prior to that time, who were called Baptists. The 
succession they claim, and the method by which they trace it is, that 
of the principles they hold, and which we will presently define. r J hat 
they were numerous in Germany, Switzerland and England, during 
the early part of the sixteenth century, is an unquestioned fact of eccle¬ 
siastical history. At that time they were known as Anabaptists, i. e. 
Rebaptizers, because they then, as now, regarded nothing, except the 
immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the Trinity, as scripture 
baptism. 

But, they claim a higher antiquity than the eventful era of the Re¬ 
formation. They affirm that their views of the Church, and the Ordi- 

1 i 1 i 1 1 j 1 TV 4 • 4 1 TTT 11 41 Alt* 

genses, the Vaudois, the Cathari, and the Poor Men of Lyons—the 
Paulicians, the Donatists, the Novatians: to the Messalians, the Monta- 
nists, and the Euchites of the second and closing part of the first cen¬ 
tury, to the Apostles and the churches they founded. 






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406 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


They do not pretend that these ancient and greatly persecuted sects 
were called Baptists, but, in general, that they held the more promi¬ 
nent and distinctive opinions, which have always characterized the 
Baptists. Their claim to this high antiquity it would seem is well 
founded, for historians not Baptists, and who could have no motive 
except fidelity to facts, concede it. 

Mosheim says: “The true origin of that sect which acquired the 
name Anabaptists is hid inthe remote depths of antiquity.' * Zwingli, 
the Swiss Reformer, says: “ The institution of Anabaptism is no nov¬ 

elty, but, for fifteen hundred years, has caused great disturbance in the 
Church.” f- 

Drs. Dermont and Ypeij, who prepared a history of the Reformed 
Dutch Church of Holland, give it as their opinion that “ The Baptists 
may be considered as the only Christian community which has stood 
since the Apostles."% Cardinal Hossiu3, Chairman of the Council of 
Trent, says: “If the truth of religion were to be judged of by the 
readiness and cheerfulness which a man of any sect shows in suffering, 
then the opinions and persuasions of no sect can be truer or surer than 
those of the Anabaptists, since there have been none, for these twelve 
hundred years past, that have been more grievously punished.” || 1 his 

latter is certainly a very strong concession to the claims of Baptists, as 
the cardinal was an eminent and learned prelate of the Catho'ic church, 
living in the earlier portion of the fifteenth century; thus, it will be 
seen, he concedes their existence from the third century. 

It is not pretended by Baptists that they alone have been the victims 

Persecutions re ^S^ ous persecution, and intoleran le, for many 
others have suffered; but they do claim that they have 
not only never persecuted, but have been the greatest sufferers from the 
severest and most studied persecutions of both the civil and the ecclesi¬ 
astical power. That the several sects mentioned, through which Bap¬ 
tists claim they trace themselves from the Reformation down to Apos¬ 
tolic times, were bitterly persecuted, is an undoubted fact of history, as 
our intelligent readers, of all denominations, know. But during the 
Reformation, and long subsequent to it, Baptists, or, as they were 
reproachfully termed, Anabaptists, were persecuted by both Romanist 
and Protestant. We will introduce here two quotations from the popu¬ 
lar English historian, Froude. Of the Anabaptists of the Netherlands 
he says: “ On them the laws of the country might take their natural 
course, and no voice was raised to speak for them. For them no Europe 
was agitated; no courts were ordered into mourning; no royal hearts 
trembled with indignation. At their deaths the world looked on com¬ 
placently, indifferently, or exultingly. For them history has no word 
of praise. 1 ' \ 

In describing the policy of the Duke of Somerset in England, in 
1549, he says: “ A commissioner was appointed to hunt out and try 


* Eccl. Hist. vol. 4, p. 427; Mac. Ed. 1811. flntrod. Orchard’s Hist.; p. 17. 
J Hist, of Reformed Dutch Ch.; ed. Breda (1819.) || Orchard’s lli>t. p. 364. 

gHist. of England, vol. 2, p. 258. 





































































BAPTISTS. 


407 


Anabaptists; to examine them and report on their opinions, and, if 
mild measures failed, to deliver over the obstinate, in the old fashion, 
to the secular arm.’’* Jeremy Taylor, as quoted by Palfrey, says: 
“Anabaptists are as much to be rooted out as any thing that is the 
grea*est pest, and nuisance.”f We might add many more, but must 
content ourselves with these three. They are sufficient to show that 
Baptists are well sustained by those not of them, when they assert their 
growth and present power in the religious world to have been attained 
despite the most bitter persecutions, both secular and religious. 

There is much Baptists hold in common with all Evangelical Chris- 
Doctrines tians * They believe in the Divine authenticity and cre¬ 
dibility of the Bible, accepting all its books as inspired. 
They believe in the Trinity, in man’s creation in holiness, in his fall 
through transgression, and the consequent sinfulness of the whole 
human race; in man’s guilt and condemnation, and the consequent 
impossibility of justification “ by the deeds of the law.” They believe 
in what is termed the “vicarious atonement.” That Christ paid the 
penalty due our sins, and that we can be justified only by faith in His 
word. That “we are saved from wrath through him.” They believe 
in the necessity of regeneration, and that this is effected by the Holy 
Spirit. 

In a word, in those respects in which they agree with the great body 
of Evangelical Christians, they are Calvinists, especially holding in 
common with the great Presbyterian family the doctrine of election to 
eternal life in Jesus Christ. 

They differ from others in holding that no person is, on any pretence, 
or for any reason, to be admitted into membership in the visible church 
until they have professed regeneration. Until this is claimed and satis¬ 
factory evidence given, they will not administer the ordinance of bap¬ 
tism. Hence they oppose infant baptism, regarding baptism in the 
name of the Trinity, as the “ outward sign of an inward and invisible 
work.” Consequently, they stoutly oppose everything savoring of 
“Baptismal Regeneration,” believing a man must be regenerated and 
give evidence of saving faith before being baptized, and say baptism 
must be the voluntary act of a qualified agent. They do not ask an 
applicant for membership to subscribe to a creed or to commit a cate¬ 
chism. They rely on the Holy Spirit, by means of the written word, 
guiding him into all truth, while causing him to grow in grace. They 
hold the Church of Christ to be a spiritual Temple, “built up of lively 
stones.” Hence, they have always protested against all unholy alli¬ 
ances of church and State, believing that Christ’s Kingdom is not of 
this world. This has led them to entertain most decided views respect¬ 
ing the headship of Jesus over His church. Their churches are all 
independent of each other, each member, whether man or woman, 
b’ack or white, having the same privileges as any other member. The 
pastor has no ruling authority. Neither deacons nor ministers have any 
governmental functions; Christ’s authority is supreme. They deny the 


* Hist, of England, vol. 5, p. 162. 


f Hist, of New England, vol. 3, p. 92. 
























































403 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


right of conference, or synod, or bishops, or any other ecclesiastical 
body to legislate for His churches ; nor have they any creed binding all 
to subscribe to it. The Bible is pre-eminently their only creed. 

Such being their views, it is evident they must ever have contended 
against all union of the Church and the State. They contend for tbe 
fullest freedom to all, to worship God according to the dictates of their 
own conscience, but deny the right of any man or body of men to exer¬ 
cise lordship over God’s heritage. 

Baptism, they strenuously insist, is only immersion, and that infants 
are not scriptural subjects, while none are to be admitted until profess¬ 
ing the “ new birth.” 

They contend for but one order in the ministry, that of ordained pas¬ 
tors. They have deacons, but their functions are not spiritual, they 
are temporal and secular, or at most assistants of the pastor in attend¬ 
ing to details, as the care of the poor of the church, the pastor’s salary, 
and the communion service, providing the bread and wine, and distri¬ 
buting at the table. 

The pastor presides in the examination of candidates for membership, 
but such examination takes place in the presence of the entire mem¬ 
bership, and any member is at liberty to ask any appropriate question 
of the candidate respecting what is termed his “ Christian experience,” 
and views of Bible doctrine. The admission is by the vote of the entire 
membership, the majority deciding. 

They regard the ordinances as but two, Baptism and the Lord’s Sup¬ 
per, holding the former to symbolize regeneration and the new life of 
faith in Christ, and the latter our dependence on Christ for spiritual 
life 

Having given this brief account of the historic claims of Baptists 
generally, and of their views of Scripture doctrine, we pass to give some 
account of the 


ENGLISH BAPTISTS. 

They undoubtedly, in part at least, had their origin in the introduc¬ 
tion of Baptists’ principles from the continent. We say “ in part,” for 
there is a strong probability that the Welch contributed toward the 
establishment of Baptist churches in England, as the Welch claim to 
have had Baptist churches among them before the Reformation. King 
Persecutions of Henry VIII, in 1534, issued an edict against certain 
English Baptists. p ersons called foreigners, “who had been baptized in 
infancy, but had renounced that baptism, and having been re-baptized, 
had entered England, and were spreading their opinions over the king¬ 
dom. They were commanded to withdraw in twelve days on pain of 
suffering death.”* This fact makes it evident that these persons were 
Baptists, and that they were foreigners, probably Germans. This 
threat did not, it is certain, cause them all to leave England, for, in 
1535, ten were burned in pairs, and fourteen more in 1536. In 1538 six 
Dutch Baptists were detected and imprisoned, two of whom were 













* Cramp’s Hist. p. 230. 



































































BAPTISTS. 


409 


burned. Bishop Latimer, in a sermon preached before King Edward, 
in 1549, said : “ The Anabaptists that were burnt here in divers towns 
in England—as I heard of credible men—I saw them not myself—went 
to their death even intrepide , as ye will say, without any fear in the 
world, cheerfully. Well, let them go.” That good man was blind on 
the subject of religious liberty, as the Reformers generally were, adds 
Dr. Cramp,* from whom we quote this statement of Latimer. 

That Baptists became sufficiently numerous in England to create 
much fear lest their principles should prevail, is evident from the edicts 
issued against them, and the bitter and protracted persecution they suf¬ 
fered. In the sixteenth century they suffered very severely. Henry 
the VEH appointed a commission, of which Cranmer was chairman, 
which he charged to adopt severe measures against the alleged heretics, 
if they should be detected, to burn all Baptist books, and, if they did 
not recant, to burn the Baptists themselves. In carrying out this cruel 
edict, on the 24th of November, 1538, five persons escaped the fire, by 
bearing fagots at St. Paul’s Cross, to signify that they deserved to be 
burned. Three days after, a man and a woman were committed to the 
flames in Smithfield. They were natives of Holland. This spirit of 
persecution increased, and in 1538, 1540, and 1550, edicts were issued, 
decreeing that those who held that “infants ought not to be baptized,” 
were excluded from the general acts of pardon issued to all offenders 
against civil law during those years. Thieves and vagabonds shared 
the king’s favor, but Baptists were not tolerated. This, of course, 
fanned to a hotter flame the fires of persecution. Many suffered. Joan 
Boucher, a lady of rank and well known at court, was the first victim, 
showing that Baptist principles included among those ready to die for 
them persons of distinction. Annie Askew, a lady of quality, whose 
name stands high on the rolls of the Christian martyrology, of the six¬ 
teenth century, was the next to seal her testimony by her death. She 
was first cruelly tortured, and afterward burned alive in 1546. Bishop 
Story preached on the occasion of her burning, and Strype, in his 
memorials, says, he “ tried to convert her. But she was unmoved, and 
told him he lied like a dog,” and bade him “go and read the Scrip¬ 
tures.” Doubtless, needful advice. John Rogers suffered in Queen 
Mary’s reign, and when urged to recant, by the cruelty of his death, 
like a true hero, replied: “ Binning alive was no cruel death, but easy 
enough, if it was God’s will.” 

George Van Pare, a Dutch Baptist, was burned at Smithfield, January 
13, 1551. His persecutors testified that he was a man of fervid piety 
and enlarged benevolence. His condemnatory sentence was signed by 
Cranmer, Ridley, and Coverdale. There were many Baptists, some of 
them eminent in social life, who were sentenced to death and burned 
at the stake in Queen Mary’s time. But we will not detain our readers 
with further details of that barbarous cruelty rehgious intolerance 
inflicts. Such things cause a recoil in our feelings, and make us blush 
for the honor of our humanity, and startle us by the depravity and 


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savageness they betray. What reason for thanksgiving have we, that 
those days have passed, and now we may worship God according to the 
dictates of our own conscience. 

But, whatever others may have contributed, it is evident English 
Baptists bore a conspicuous and effectual testimony to the principle of 
religious liberty. England, and the cause of civil and religious free¬ 
dom, owes much to those unyielding and martyred Baptists, who testi¬ 
fied amid the lurid flames of the blazing fagots about them, and whose 
souls washed in the blood of Jesus ascended up through much tribu¬ 
lation to God. Baptist churches sprung up all over England, when 
the light of the Reformation dawned on her hills and 
valleys. But there is good reason for the claim Baptists 
make, that they had churches in England before that day. The Bap¬ 
tist church at Hillcliffe, England, claims to have been in existence, and 
to have an unbroken record for about 500 years. A tombstone, lately 
exhumed from a burial ground attached to the place of worship, bears 
date 1357. All the traditions of the place confirm the claim made by 
the church. That it existed, and was somewhat noted, in 1523, is 
undoubted. Martin Luther was born in 1483, consequently this Bap¬ 
tist church unquestionably existed when he was but 40 years of age, 
which was about the time the Reformation began to dawn in England. 
As this church at that time had become so prominent as to attract the 
attention of the civil and ecclesiastical magnates of the land, it must 
have been in existence for some years. If we concede their claim, con¬ 
firmed as it is by all the local traditions of the place, then this Baptist 
church was in existence 113 years before Luther was born. 

But, be the question concerning this ancient church, and others mak¬ 
ing similar claims, as it may, it is certain that during the sixteenth 
century and first half of the seventeenth, Baptist churches multiplied, 
and members increased very rapidly in England. Persecution was in 
vain. In undoubted records we find evidences of their rise and growth. 
Many churches in England have the records of their business proceed¬ 
ings almost complete, running back as far as 1600, and some, we be¬ 
lieve, to 1550. They appeared everywhere. Many of their ministers 
were eminent for learning, piety, and eloquence, several educated men 
having left for conscience’ sake the church of England, and embraced 
their views. During Cromwell’s wars, and during his protectorate, 
they increased rapidly. There were many in his army, for they believed 
his triumph would be the vindication of the principle of liberty and 
equality in matters of religion, the complete divorcement of the State 
from the Church, in which hope they were sadly deceived. General 
Harrison, one of his most eminent commanders, was a Baptist. 

In the seventeenth century, and in early part of the eighteenth, they 
suffered much by fine and imprisonment, but, nevertheless, unflinch¬ 
ingly held their ground, maintained their principles, and establishing 
new churches, increased in numbers. They had a number of churches 
in London, and in all the chief cities of England. Their influence was 
felt increasingly, and as their principles became better known, they 
were more respected, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities not regard- 






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ing them as the dangerous people to society, to the church, and the 
State they were once thought to be because they denied infan: baptism 
and the authority of the civil government in religion. 

Baptists in England can claim as belonging to their number many 
Eminent Bap- men of great eminence as scholars, preachers, and plii- 
tists. lanthropists. Dr. John Gale, who was educated at the 
University of Leyden, and died in 1721, aged forty-one years, was con¬ 
ceded one of the best scholars and able polemics of his day. Dr. John 
Gill, the celebrated commentator, born in 1697, was one of the best He¬ 
braists of his time. His commentary on the Old and New Testaments 
and his Body of Divinity are still standard authorities, having a repu¬ 
tation for learning, and orthodoxy, far beyond the limits of his own 
denomination. The eminent Dr. Toplady, an Episcopalian, wrote, 
that “ If any man can be supposed to have trod the whole circle of 
human learning, it was Dr. Gill.” He was a man of noble integrity of 
character. When his income was likely to be reduced if he pursued a 
certain course he regarded as right, he replied to a friend who expostu¬ 
lated with him: “ Sir, I am not afraid to be poor.” John Macgowen, 
author of “Dialogues of Devils,' 1 was a Baptist; so was Robinson, 
author of the well-known History of Baptism and of Ecclesiastical 
Researches bearing his name. Our limits forbid our mentioning, with 
any attempt at detail, however, the men of God whose names have 
become eminent in the English Baptist Pulpit. We can only men¬ 
tion, by name, Dr. Ryland, Dr. Andrew Fuller, John Foster, the 
preacher, and concededly the ablest of English essayists, Robert Hall, 
the most eloquent of divines, and Dr. Stennett. The names of many 
others of not less note we must omit. John Howard, the philanthro¬ 
pist, attended Dr. Stennett’s church in Little Wilde street, London, and 
is thought to have been a member of it. John Milton, author of Para¬ 
dise Lost, was a Baptist, so was De Foe, the author of Robinson Cru¬ 
soe, and John Bunyan, the immortal dreamer, whose Pilgrim’s Pro¬ 
gress has cheered and instructed thousands on thousands. Thomas 
Hollis, one of the earliest and most liberal supporters of Yale College 
in America, was a prominent Baptist layman. The constituency of a 
Christian body represented by such names must, certainly, have had 
no insignificant influence in English politics, and in moulding the reli¬ 
gious thought of the people. 

English Baptists inaugurated the work of Foreign Missions in 1792, 
organizing in the parlor of Dea. Bebee Wallis, of Ketter¬ 
ing. Dr. Andrew Fuller, pastor of the church here, was 
the ardent friend and life-long supporter of this enterprise. William 
Cary, a poor shoemaker, was its moving spirit. The first collection 
amounted to but thirteen pounds, two shillings, and sixpence, and fur¬ 
nished occasion for the eccentric Sydney Smith to say, sneeringly, 
“ The Baptists propose to convert the world with a consecrated cobbler 
and thirteen pounds, two shillings, and sixpence.” How greatly was 
he mistaken in the men and the character of that obscure movement 
lie made the object of his keen wit! That was the origin of modern 
Protestant missions. It not only roused Baptists but all others. Mr. 

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412 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


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Education. 


m^st remarkable aptitude for the acquisition of language. The names 
of Marshman, and Ward, his co-laborers, are household words among 
all who love and pray for missions. Dr. Marshman’s daughter became 
the wife of the celebrated General Havelock, the deliver of Lucknow, 
India, from the horrors of the Sepoy control. The General was himself 
a Baptist and a man of eminent piety, as well as great bravery. English 
missions have been greatly prospered since their origin. They have 
missions in Hindostan, Northern India, Madras, and Ceylon. In the 
West Indies, in the Bahamas, in Africa, in France,in China and in Aus¬ 
tralia. We give the statistics of those Missions. Of course, many of 
the churches have become large and self-supporting. India, 327 sta¬ 
tions, 35 churches, 2,899 members. China, 3 churches, 29 members. 
Ceylon, 74 churches, 538 members. Australia, 133 churches, 4,331 mem¬ 
bers. The income of the Foreign Mission Treasury in 1870 was $200,000. 
Beside this, there is the General Baptist Missionary Society, represent¬ 
ing the Particular Baptists, having an income of $50,000. There is also 
the British and Irish Baptist Union, having an income of $30,000, and 
sustaining 60 Evangelists in Ireland. The English Baptists have an 
honorable record in the History of Missions. Allied to Missions is the 
work of ministerial and general higher education. 

The Baptists of England early turned their thoughts to this subject, 
and did what, under the adverse condition of their earlier 
state, they could. They have now seven colleges combin¬ 
ing classical and theological instruction in England. They are located 
at Bristol, Itawdon, Regent’s Park, Haverford West, Chilwell, near 
Nottingham, and Chambers’ Hall, where Sir Robert Peel was born. 
The seventh is the Pastor’s College, located in London, and under the 
jurisdiction of Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. It is in connection with Spur¬ 
geon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle, and is sustained entirely by voluntary 
contributions, amounting in 1870 to $20,000. Its students, in 1870, 
numbered 198. Its success is one of the most wonderful features of 
Spurgeon’s most remarkable ministry. Beside these, they have other 
less prominent institutions. 

The Baptists at the present time occupy the foremost position among 
Present the Dissenters of England. Rev. Mr. Douglass, a clergy - 
Condition. ma n of the Established Church, has recently thus written 
of them: “It is a fact that the Baptists have been growing, in recent 
years, in a more rapid ratio than any of their neighbors. In London 
and neighborhood the increase of Baptist chapels within, say fifteen 
years, has been out of all proportion to previous growth. Their rate 
of increase is twice that of the Independents, and three times that of 
the Wesleyans. We do not believe, in a word, that we would be far 
from the truth, were we to say that the most promising and extending 
denomination in England at this moment is the body of Christians of 
which wo speak.” * Doubtless the wonderful prosperity of Baptists, of 
which Mr. Douglass speaks, is due largely to the instrumentality of that 


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remarkable man, Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, pastor of the Metropolitan 
Tabernacle, London. The circumference of which this man is now the 
centre is immense. His place of worship has sittings for seven thousand 
persons, and is filled whenever he preaches. His membership is now 
over three thousand; while during the past few years the impetus he 
has given to the denomination has been the means, mainly, of estab¬ 
lishing over thirty new churches, and erecting as many chapels in the 
City of London alone. Besides preaching for this immense congrega¬ 
tion, Mr. Spurgeon superintends the college for young men preparing 
for the ministry. The design of this institution is not to give young 
men a thorough classical culture, or make them polished rhetoricians, 
but to assist them in the study of the Word of God, so that they may 
be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, being able ministers of 
the New Testament. Naturally enough they catch the spirit of their 
eminent leader, teacher, and pastor. Connected with Mr. Spurgeon’s 
Tabernacle is the Stockwell Orphanage, sustained by voluntary contri¬ 
butions, amounting, in 1870, to $30,000. The influence of such a man 
and of such a mammoth organization, in the throbbing heart of the 
metropolis, is, of course, felt throughout the entire Baptist fraternity, 
and quickens it to “ newness of life.” 

Mr. Spurgeon is, however, not the only eminent minister among 
English Baptists, though he is like Saul among his brethren, “head 
and shoulders above them.” Beside him they have many learned, 
able, popular, and eminently useful men. We mention Dr. Baptist W. 
Noel, formerly Queen’s Chaplain, Dr. Landells, Dr. Brock, Dr. Chowan, 
Rev. Hugh Stowell Brown, of Liverpool, and Rev. Drs. Gotch and 
Angus, eminent as scholars, and having a place on the Royal Commis¬ 
sion now engaged in the work of revising the present English Bible. 

Dr. Chalmers said, but a few years previous to his death, that “ the 
Baptist ministry of England, as a body, were the most thoroughly 
educated in the realm.” If this was true then, in the judgment of that 
eminent man, much more must it be true now. With such a ministry 
their present prosperity is no matter of surprise. At present they have 
1,910 churches, 2,397 chapels, 170,380 members, and 251,085 children in 
their Sunday schools. Their adherents in England cannot, therefore, 
be much less than 1,000,000, thus giving them very great influence. 
They can speak with an influential voice in behalf of Dissenters. 

While the Baptists of England are all united in one organization, 
known as the British Baptist Union, there are two chief 
Sub divisions. gu | 3 . ( jj v j s j ons< The General Baptists, a smaller body, are 

regarded as Arminian. The Particular, as Calvinists, while some of 
both are open communion, and others are strict or close in their com¬ 
munion. It is thought the close communion party are gaining the 
ascendancy, that the “drift” of conviction on the logic of the commu¬ 
nion question among Baptists in England is toward close or strict com¬ 
munion, as practised by American Baptists. The open communion 
schism found in the eloquent Robert Hall its most influential champion. 
Hpurgeon practises it to a limited extent, but is not known to be a very 
decided advocate of its continuance. With these exceptions. Baptist 


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Welsh Baptists, 


FROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


churches are a unit in their views of the ministry, of church govern¬ 
ment, and of the mode and subjects of baptism. They are growing 
more compact, closing their ranks, and doing each year more effective 
service in the cause of Jesus. They subscribe generally to those views 
we have presented under the head of doctrine, and all contribute toward 
a building loan fund, designed to aid feeble congregations in erecting 
houses of worship. This fund now amounts to $100,000, and is con¬ 
stantly increasing. It is loaned without interest, to be repaid in annual 
instalments, and is then re-loaned, thus kept in constant service. 

Twenty-five new churches were organized by the Baptists in Eng¬ 
land during 1870 and many aided in building out of this fund. 

From England we pass to Wales. Baptists here lay claim to great 
antiquity, affirming that they date back to the first cen¬ 
tury, and holding a tradition that the Apostle Paul 
visited their mountains, preached among them two years, founding 
churches which continue unto this day. This, however, seems quite 
certain. Claudia, a Welsh princess, being at Rome, was converted 
under the ministry of Paul, and returning in the year 68 brought 
many of her people to the knowledge of Jesus, inducing them to 
abandon idolatry. 

Mosheim, the learned German Church Historian, says of the early 
Welsh churches, that “no persons were admitted to baptism but such 
as had been previously instructed in the principal points of Christianity 
and had also given satisfactory proofs of pious dispositions and upright 
intentions.” It is conceded that during the dark ages the Welsh 
churches remained pure and never bowed the knee in submission to 
the Papal power. The writer has been informed by an eminent Welsh 
clergyman that there is one Baptist church in Glamorganshire claim¬ 
ing to have evidence of its existence for 800 years. But be the fact as 
it may, respecting the antiquity of Welsh Baptists, this is certain, they 
were numerous, having many churches in the time of Henry the VIII, 
and previously, and the entrance of Welsh Baptists into England 
about that time contributed largely in disseminating their principles. 

At present they are numerous and influential, having in this little 
mountainous principality 511 churches, 550 chapels, 54,853 members, 
and 50,626 children in their Sunday schools. They have two colleges 
in flourishing condition. One at Pontypool, another at Llangollen. 
They have a widely circulated weekly, called the Syren Cymm, and 
other less popular periodicals. 

They have had among them some noted ministers, but none more so 
than Christmas Evans, who was one of the most eloquent men of his 
day. He was a most laborious man, traveling on horseback and preach¬ 
ing in both the English and Welsh tongues, winning many thousands 
to Jesus. His use of the English tongue was but limited. An old lady 
reported to the writer hearing him once in London when he wished to 
quote the words “behold the Lamb of God,” he could not recall the 
word lamb, and in his effort to do so, exclaimed, “Behold the dear lit¬ 
tle mutton of God.” The mistake, though amusing, was certainly par¬ 
donable. Dr. Price, of Aberdare, is the ablest and most influential in 
Wales at this time. What Spurgeon is to England, he is to Wales, 




IK Y 























































BAPTISTS. 


415 



Ireland. 


Scotland claims a word at this point. Here are but few Baptists. 

Scotl d Presbyterianism in this land has won its grandest tro- 
* ph ies, and has maintained since the days of Knox almost 
undisputed possession. Baptists, however, are found here, and have 
been for nearly two centuries. Some influential families have been 
associated with them; most prominent the Haldane brothers, known 
to the world as eminent preachers and philanthropists. One of them 
wrote an able commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, and was 
instrumental in the conversion of D’ Aubigne, the historian of the Refor¬ 
mation, and Adolph Monod, the accomplished Genevan pastor and 
writer. Dr. McLean, who wrote on the Epistle to the Hebrews, was 
also a Scotch Baptist. At present they are a vigorous body, and becom¬ 
ing aggressive. They have 110 churches, 109 chapels, 7,035 members, 
and 4,396 scholars in their Sunday schools. They have a prosperous 
Theological School at Glasgow, under the Presidency of Rev. Dr. Cal- 
ross. They have among them some clergymen of learning, ability, 
and eloquence. Their prospects are more favorable than ever before. 
They are banded in a union meeting annually, and sustain a prosper¬ 
ous Home Mission Society. 

In Ireland there are but few Baptists. Of Protestants, Presbyterians 
and Methodists are the most numerous. Baptists are the 
least so of all, but at the present time are in a healthful 
condition, and since the disestablishment of the Irish church, are reap¬ 
ing no inconsiderable advantage from the reconstruction of all ecclesi¬ 
astical matters, and the agitation of public thought since that event. 
For two hundred and fifty years there have been Baptist churches in 
Ireland. Perhaps at a former period they were more numerous than 
now, as in the drain of population by emigration, Baptists have lost 
their proportion. They have been favored with the ministry of some 
eminent men. John Foster, the celebrated essayist, was for some years 
pastor of one of the Baptist churches in Dublin. And it was while here 
lie made the quaint and oft quoted entry in his journal after his Sab¬ 
bath service: “ Preached to-day a very uninteresting sermon to a very 
uninteresting audience.” Dr. Alexander Carson, of Tubbermore, whose 
work on Baptism is by Baptists and Pedobaptists conceded the most 
e xhaustive and scholarly discussion of the question, as it relates to the 
meaning of the Greek verb “baptidzo” in the Bible and in the Greek 
classics a work never conclusively answered, was the most eminent man 
and minister of the Irish Baptist churches. Their ministry, as a whole, 
is now stronger than ever before. Many efficient missionaries are at 
work, and the whole aspect is most encouraging. Rev. R. M. Henry, 
of Belfast, formerly Moderator of the Presbyterian Synod of Belfast, 
but who adopted Baptist sentiments a few years since, visited America 
last year in behalf of Ireland, and obtained the pledge of support for 
eight missionaries additional to those sustained by the British and 
Irish Baptist Union. At present Baptists in Ireland number 37 
churches, 37 chapels, and nearly 5,000 members. r I hey are increasing 
considerably. As yet they have no Theological school, but talk of one 
at Belfast. 




















































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The Baptists on Continental Europe are deserving of a far more ex- 
Continentai Eu- tended notice than our space allows. In our introduc- 
rope. tion to this article, we glanced at the History of Baptists 
on the Continent at the time of, and in the centuries before, the Re¬ 
formation. We add, now, just a few words and figures respecting their 
re appearance in the last quarter of a century. We begin with Ger¬ 
many. On the night of the 22d of April, 1834, Rev. Barnes Seares, 
temporarily residing in Germany, baptized Mr. Oucken and six others 
in the river Elbe. This was the beginning of one of the most remark¬ 
able works of modern times, and Mr. Oucken became one of the most 
successful missionaries of this missionary age. We doubt whether, in 
the same time, the Apostles witnessed results more marvelous than we 
have seen in these last days in the German States. But 37 years have 
passed since Oucken’s baptism, much persecution has been endured, 
but “ what hath God wrought?” Literally, the little one has been 
many thousands. Germany now has 72 Baptist churches, and 13,509 
members. The work, through the zeal of German converts, has spread 
beyond Germany. Denmark has 18 churches, and 1,872 members; 
Holland, 1 church and 90 members; Poland, 1 church, and 771 mem¬ 
bers ; Russia, 4 churches, and 1,186 members; and Turkey 1 church and 
120 members—all, under God, from the zeal of one man who consecrated 
himself to God but thirty-seven years since; a man who yet lives, full 
of honors and growing full of years, in Hamburg, pastor of a large and 
grateful church, contemplating, in declining life, with joy what God 
has wrought. Sweden is not less remarkable than Germany. Here one 
man, a little more than a quarter of a century since—Rev. Andreas 
Weiburg, a young man who had been educated for the ministry in the 
Lutheran Church,—was led to a change of views and was “ buried with 
Christ in baptism.” Since then, God has wrought marvelously by 
means of this man. Sweden now contains 201 Baptist churches, having 
a membership of 8,120, with a theological school in Copenhagen, while 
they are pushing into regions beyond. Little thought Andreas Wei¬ 
burg, when he changed his views, that he was, under God, to be the 
instrument of such a mighty work. But God is marvelous in working. 
He does great things by feeble instrumentalities. 







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Methodist, as the distinctive appellation of a religious community, is now 
universally understood as designating the followers of the famous Mr. John 
Wesley. In November, 1729, Mr. Wesley, being then a 
Origin. Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, Mr. Charles Wesley, his 
brother, Mr. Morgan, Commoner of Christ Church, and Mr. Kirkman, of 
Merton College, set apart some evenings for reading the original Scriptures, 
and prayer. Sometime after they were joined by Mr. Ingham, of Queen’s 
College, Mr. Broughton, of Exeter, and Mr. James Hervey ; and in 1735, 
by the celebrated Mr. George Whitefield. They soon began to leave occa¬ 


sionally the more private fellowship meeting, to visit the prisoners in the 


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castle, and the sick poor in the town. They also instituted a fund for the 
relief of the poor, to support which they abridged all superfluities, and even 
many of the comforts of life. Their private meetings became more and ^ 
more of a religious character. They observed the fasts of the ancient 
church every Wednesday and Friday, and communicated once a week. 
“We were now,” says Mr. Wesley, “ fifteen in number, all of one heart 
and of one mind.” Their strict deportment soon attracted the attention 
of the college censors and students, who branded them with many oppro¬ 
brious epithets, such as Sacramentarians, the Godly Club, and afterwards 
Methodists. 

Whatever effect obloquy might have upon some of the members of this 
select class, Mr. John Wesley, as well as his brother, and several others, 
remained unshaken. He puzzled his opponents with questions concerning 
the reasonableness of his conduct. He did more ; he confounded them by 
a uniform regularity of life, and an astonishing proficiency in his studies. 
Mr. Morgan, one of the most active members, was soon after this removed 
by death; occasioned, according to the representation of enemies, by fasting 
and excessive austerities. His character was drawn by Mr. Samuel Wes¬ 
ley, junior, in a poetic tribute to his memory, under this text, from the book 
of Wisdom, “We fools accounted his life madness.” In the spring of 
1735, Mr. John Wesley was called to attend his dying father, who desired 
him to present to Queen Caroline a book he had just finished. Soon after 
his return to Oxford, he went to London on this account, where he was 
strongly solicited by Dr. Burton, one of the trustees for the new colony at 
Georgia, to go there to preach to the Indians. At first he peremptorily 


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refused. He particularly mentioned the grief it would occasion to his 
widowed mother. The case being referred to her, she is said to have made 
this reply: Had 1 twenty sons, I should rejoice that they were all so em- 



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PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


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418 



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ployed, though I should never see them more. His way appeared now 
plain; and he made arrangements for this enterprise. On Tuesday, Octo¬ 
ber 14th, 1735, he set off from London for Gravesend, accompanied by Mr. 
Ingham, Mr. Delamotte, and his brother Charles, to embark for Georgia. 
There were six-and-twenty Germans on board, members of the Moravian 
church, with whose Christian deportment Mr. Wesley was much struck, 
and immediately set himself to learn the German language, in order to con¬ 
verse with them. The Moravian bishop and two others of his society began 
to learn English. He now began to preach extempore, which he after¬ 
wards made his constant practice during his life, and yet he wrote much. 

The piety and devotion which Mr. Wesley and his companions mani¬ 
fested during the voyage was highly commendable, and indicated a becom- 


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ing impression of the importance of their undertaking; but, owing to some 
disagreeable circumstances, Mr. John Wesley returned to England, without 
having made much progress in the proposed object, and was succeeded by 
his valued friend Mr. George Whitefield, who arrived at Savannah on the 
7th May, 1738, and was received by Mr. Delamotte and many of Mr. Wes¬ 
ley’s hearers. It may be proper to notice the success which attended Mr. 
Whitefieid’s labours in this quarter of the globe. He laboured with great 
zeal, and was so far honoured as to be made useful. He returned to Eng¬ 
land in the close of the same year to receive priest’s orders. On his return 
to America in 1739, he landed at Philadelphia, and immediately began his 
spiritual labours, which he continued as he passed through the colonies of 
Virginia, Maryland, and North and South Carolina, being attended by con¬ 
siderable audiences. Upon his arrival at Savannah, he found the colony 
almost deserted, which moved him to carry into effect his scheme of build¬ 
ing an orphan-house, which he had the happiness to see completed through 
his exertions, and the liberal donations of his friends. Upon his third visit 
to the western continent, he took a voyage to the Bermuda Islands, where 
his ministry was successfully attended, and some contributions made for his 
orphan-house at Savannah. Upon his sixth voyage to Georgia, he received 
the thanks of the governor and principal people for the advantage which 
the colony had derived from his benevolent exertions, a circumstance which 
tends greatly to vindicate the character of this singular man, from the very 
unjust reproach of avarice which was frequently thrown upon him. In 
1769, he made his seventh and last voyage to America; but, although his 
labours were so extensive, he formed no separate congregation. In the 
intervals of his visits to America, he frequently made tours to Scotland and 


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Ireland, where he attracted numerous assemblies, and always made a power¬ 
ful impression by his eloquence ; but having differed in doctrinal sentiment 
from Mr. Wesley, and never having formed the idea of a separate associa¬ 
tion of itinerants and of members, he can scarcely be considered as the head 
of any party. 


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METHODISTS. 


419 


Doctrines. 


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On the other hand, Mr. Wesley is considered the father of the Method¬ 
ists. On his return to England, he was invited to preach in several 
churches; but the concourse of people who followed him was so great that 
the churches in general were shut against him. His converts at length 
began to form themselves into a little society, which has proved the germ 
of a religious community more extended perhaps than almost any other, 
and surprisingly adapted by means of its regulations to increase and 
endure.* 

In respect to the principal doctrines of the Methodists, it may be observed, 
that they maintain the total fall of man in Adam, and his utter inability to 
recover himself, or to take one step towards his recovery, 
“without the grace of God preventing him, that he may have 
a good will, and working with him, when he has that good will.” 

2. They are sometimes called Arminians, and hold general redemption 
They assert “ that Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man.” 
This grace they call free, as extending itself freely to all. 

3. They hold Justification by Faith. “Justification,” says Mr. Wesley, 
“ sometimes means our acquittal at the last day. But this is altogether out 
of the present question; for that justification whereof our articles and homi¬ 
lies speak, signifies present forgiveness, pardon of sins, and consequently 
acceptance with God, who therein declares his righteousness, or justice and 
mercy, by or for the remission of the sins that are past, saying, I will be 
merciful to thy unrighteousness, and thine iniquities I will remember no 
more. I believe the condition of this is faith, (Rom. iv. 5, &c.,) I mean, 
not only, that without faith we cannot be justified; but, also, that as soon as 
any one has true faith, in that moment he is justified. Faith, in general, is 
a divine supernatural evidence, or conviction, of things not seen, not dis¬ 
coverable by our bodily senses, as being either past, future, or spiritual. 
Justifying faith implies, not only a divine evidence, or conviction, that God 
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, but a sure trust and con¬ 
fidence that Christ died for my sins; that he loved me, and gave himself 
for me. And the moment a penitent sinner believes this, God pardons and 
absolves him.” 

Mr. Wesley, speaking of the witness of the Spirit, says, “The testimony 
of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God 
directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that Jeyus Christ 
hath loved me, and given himself for me ; that all my sins are blotted out, 
and I, even I, am reconciled to God. The manner how the divine testi¬ 
mony is manifested to the heart, I do not take upon me to explain. But the 
fact we know, namely, that the Spirit of God does give a believer such a 
testimony of his adoption, that while it is present to the soul, he can no more 


* New Edinburgh Enc., art. Methodists. 





















































420 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 





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doubt the reality of his sonship, than he can doubt the shining of the sun. 
while he stands in the full blaze of his beams. 

4. The Methodists maintain, that, by virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ, 
and the operations of the Holy Spirit, it is their privilege to arrive at that 
maturity in grace, and participation of the divine nature, which excludes 
sin from the heart, and fills it with perfect love to God and man. This they 
denominate Christian perfection .* 

A number of societies, united together, form what is called a circuit. A 
circuit generally includes a large market-town, and the circumjacent villages, 
to the extent of ten or fifteen miles. To one circuit, two or 
three, and sometimes four, preachers are appointed, one of 
whom is styled the superintendent; and this is the sphere of their labour 
for at least one year, but generally not more than two years. Once a 
quarter, the preachers meet all the classes, and speak personally to each 
member. Those who have walked orderly the preceding quarter then 
receive a ticket. These tickets are in some respects analogous to the tes¬ 
serae of the ancients, and answer all the purposes of the commendatory 
letters spoken of by the apostle. Their chief use is to prevent imposture. 
After the visitation of the classes, a meeting is held, consisting of all the 
preachers, leaders, and stewards in the circuit. At this meeting, the 
stewards deliver their collections to a circuit steward, and every thing re¬ 
lating to temporal matters is publicly settled. At this meeting the candi¬ 
dates for the ministry are proposed, and the stewards, after officiating a 
definite period, are changed. It is superior to a leader’s meeting, and is 
called a quarterly meeting. 

A number of these circuits, from five to ten, more or fewer, according to 
their extent, form a district, the preachers of which meet annually. Every 
district has a chairman, who fixes the time of meeting. These assemblies 
have authority, 1. To try and suspend preachers who are found immoral, 
erroneous in doctrine, or deficient in abilities ; 2. To decide concerning the 
building of chapels ; 3. To examine the demands from the circuits respect¬ 
ing the support of the preachers, and of their families: and, 4. To elect a 
representative to attend and form a committee, four days before the meeting 
of the conference, in order to prepare a draught of the stations for the en¬ 
suing year. The judgment of this meeting is conclusive until conference, 
to which an appeal is allowed in all cases. 

The conference, strictly speaking, consists only of a hundred of the senior 
travelling preachers, in consequence of a deed of declaration executed by 
Mr. Wesley, and enrolled in chancery. - But, generally 
speaking, the conference is composed of the preachers elected 
at the preceding district-meetings as representatives; of the other superin- 


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Conference. 
























































METHODISTS. 


421 


tendents of the districts ; and of every preacher who chooses to attend ; all 
of them (except the probationers) having an equal right to vote, &c., whether 
they belong to the hundred or not. At the conference, every preacher’s 
character undergoes the strictest scrutiny ; and if any charge be proved 
against him, he is punished accordingly. The preachers are also stationed, 
the proceedings of the subordinate meetings reviewed, and the state of tne 
connection at large is considered. It is the supreme court of the Methodists, 
over which there is no control, and from whose decisions there is no appeal. 
The conference is held in London, at Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Birming¬ 
ham, Liverpool, and other places in rotation. 

Class Meetings are each composed of from twelve to twenty persons, one 
of whom is styled the leader. When they assemble, which is once a week, 
the leader gives out a few verses of a hymn, which they 

Class Meetings * ** 

join in singing. He then makes a short prayer ; after which 
he converses with each member respecting Christian experience, gives 
suitable advice to all, and concludes by singing and praying. 

Band Meetings consist of about four or five members, who are nearly of 
the same age, in nearly similar circumstances, and of the same sex, who 
meet together once a week, in order to speak their minds 

Band Meetings. mQre f ree ]y th a n it would be agreeable to do in a promis¬ 
cuous assembly of members, such as a class meeting. The meeting 
is conducted in nearly the same manner as a class meeting. At stated 
periods, those who meet in these private bands, meet all together, form¬ 
ing a public or select band, when, after singing and prayer, any of the 
members are at liberty to rise and speak their experience. After a few 
of them have spoken, the meeting, as usual, is concluded by singing and 
prayer. 

The design of meeting in the Band society is to obey that command of 
God, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that 
you may be healed.” To this end, we intend, 

1. To meet once a week, at the least. 

2. To come punctually at the hour appointed, without some particular 
reason. 

3. To begin, those of us who are present, exactly at the hour, with 
singing or prayer. 

4. To speak each of us in order, freely and plainly, the true state of our 
souls, with the faults we have committed in thought, word, and deed, and 
the temptations we have felt since our last meeting. 

5. To end every meeting with prayer, suited to the state of each person 
present. 

6. To desire some person among us to speak his own state first, and then 
to ask the rest in order, as many and as searching questions as may be, 
concerning their state, sins, and temptations. 




























































PROTESTANT COMM UN IT 1ES 


Some of the questions proposed to every one before he is admitted among 
us, may be to this effect: 

1. Have you the forgiveness of your sins? 

2. Have you peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ ? 

3. Have you the witness of God’s Spirit with your spirit, that you are a 
child of God ? 

4. Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart ? 

5. Has no sin, inward or outward, dominion over you ? 

6. Do you desire to be told of your faults ? 

7. Do you desire to be told of all your faults, and that plain and 
home ? 

8. Do you desire that every one of us should tell you, from time to time, 
whatsoever is in his heart concerning you ? 

9. Consider ! Do you desire we should tell you whatsoever we think, 
whatsoever we fear, whatsoever we hear, concerning you ? 

10. Do you desire that in doing this, we should come as close as pos¬ 
sible ; that we should cut to the quick, and search your heart to the bottom ? 

11 . Is it your desire and design to be, on this and all other occasions, 
entirely open, so as to speak every thing that is in your heart without 
deception, without disguise, and without reserve ? 

Any of the preceding questions may be asked as occasion may offer : the 
following at every meeting :— 

1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? 

2. What temptations have you met with ? 

3. How was you delivered ? 

4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether 
it be sin or not ? 

5. Have you nothing you desire to keep secret ? 

You are supposed to have the faith that overcometh the world. To 
you, therefore, it is not grievous, carefully to abstain from doing evil. In 
particular, 

1. Neither to buy or sell any thing at all on the Lord’s day. 

2. To taste no spirituous liquor, or dram of any kind, unless prescribed 
by a physician. 

3. To be at a word both in buying and selling. 

4. To pawn nothing, no, not to save life. 

5. Not to mention the fault of any behind his back, and to stop those 
short that do. 

6. To wear no needless ornaments, such as rings, earrings, necklaces, 
lace, ruffles. 

7. To use no needless self-indulgence, such as taking snuff or tobacco, 
unless prescribed by a physician. 

8. Zealously to maintain good works ; in particular— 





































































































<Sp 










M ETU ODISTS. 


1. To give alms of such things as you possess, and that to the uttermost 
of your power. 

2. To reprove all that sin in your sight, and that in love and meekness 
of wisdom. 

3. To be patterns of diligence and frugality, of self-denial and taking up 
the cross daily. 

Constantly to attend on all the ordinances of God : in particular— 

1. To be at church and at the Lord’s table every week, and at every 
public meeting of the bands. 

2. To attend the ministry of the word every morning, unless distance, 
business, or sickness, prevent. 

3. To use private prayer every dajr, and family prayer, if you are the 
head of a family. 

4. To read the Scripture, and meditate thereon every vacant hour. And, 

5. To observe, as days of fasting and abstinence, all Fridays in the year. 

Watch-nights are rather similar to the vigils of the ancients, which they 

kept on the evenings preceding the grand festivals. They are held once a 
quarter, but in London, usually, only once a year. On these 

Watch nights. occas j ons ^ three or four of the preachers officiate, and a great 

concourse of people attend. The service commences between eight and 
nine at night. After one of the ministers has preached, the rest pray and 
exhort, giving out at intervals suitable hymns, which the congregation 
join in singing till a few minutes after twelve o’clock, when they conclude. 

The following account was penned after an attendance on a watch-night 
meeting:— 

“ I had often heard that the Methodists had a custom of meeting together 
in their chapels, the last night of the year, to watch and pray. The last 
night of the year is called on this account ‘ The Watch-night.’ 

“ Having never been at the watch-night meeting, and believing it to be a 
very solemn assembly, I went to attend it; ten thousand stars were glit¬ 
tering over my head, and the night-wind was almost enough to pierce 
through me, though I buttoned my great-coat up to the chin. There was 
a full congregation of people in the chapel before I arrived ; several minis¬ 
ters prayed very devoutly, and one of them preached a very solemn sermon. 

“A little before twelve, the minister who had preached, ascended the 
pulpit again, to address a few words to the great multitude before him. 
He spoke of the sins which we had all committed, and the mercies which 
we had all enjoyed, in the year that had rolled away. He reminded us 
that, most likely, we should never all of us assemble again to worship 
Almighty God on the same occasion ; and that in a few minutes the year 
would depart for ever, to be added to the years of eternity. 

“The people were as mute as mice, and every face was turned towards 
the preacher who then reminded us that we should meet again, if we did 


























































































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not before, in the great day of judgment, to hear the words, ‘Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world;’ or, ‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.’ 

“ He then besought us all, as it was near twelve o’clock, to go down on 
our bended knees before the Lord our Maker, and to devote the remaining 
moments of the departing year in entering into a fresh covenant with God, 
and in seeking an increase of faith, and hope, and joy, in his Son Jesus 
Christ. It wanted three minutes of twelve by the chapel clock, as ministers 
and people kneeled down. You might have heard a pin drop; I could 
hear myself breathe, all was so silent. It seemed as if God had come down 
from heaven, and was among us. Once I raised my head to gaze on the 
great multitude. Ministers and people had all hid their faces with their 
hands ; no eye met mine ; every soul seemed occupied in solemn reflection. 

“Solemn thoughts rushed through my mind. At one time I felt as if a 
uuge balloon was about to bear us up to heaven, and that every moment cut 
asunder one of the cords that bound it. At another, it seemed as though 
we all stood in a large scale, hanging from a single chain, over the mouth 
of the bottomless pit, and the enemy of souls was trying to cut through the 
chain. 


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. 

“The three minutes seemed as long as half an hour to me. I thought 

nf oil mi r oinc? • Kilt nno ooomorl rrrootnr thon oil tKn mot nr»/l t hot urn r. 


of all my sins; but one seemed greater than all the rest, and that was the 
- ^ _ . . . . . . _ _ _ . _ _ 


sin of Sabbath-breaking. If I could always see Sabbath-breaking in the 


light in which I then saw it, I should tremble at the thought of neglecting 
to keep the Sabbath-day holy. 


\ /to 


“There we were all kneeling, and the whole place as silent as death ; 


but the moment the clock struck twelve, the multitude rose together, and 
burst out into a hymn of thanksgiving. It was one of the most solemn 
meetings I ever attended; and I came away determined, looking to God for 
strength, to value and improve my Sabbaths more than ever.” 

Love-feasts are also held quarterly. No persons are admitted who can¬ 
not produce a ticket to show that they are members, or a note of admittance 
from the superintendent. However, any serious person, who 
hfis neveT been present at one of these meetings, may be 
supplied with a note for once, but not oftener, unless he becomes a mem¬ 
ber. The meeting begins with singing and prayer. Afterwards small 



Love-feasts. 


pieces of bread, or plain cake, and some water, are distributed; and all pre¬ 


sent eat and drink together, in token of their Christian love to each other. 
Then, if any persons have any thing particular to say concerning their pre- 
sent Christian experience, or the manner in which they were first brought 
to the knowledge of the truth, they are permitted to speak ; when a few of 
them have spoken, a collection is made for the poor, and the meeting is 
concluded with singing and prayer. This institution has no relation to the 






































































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Lord’s Supper. The elements of the Lord’s Supper are bread and wine; 
but at the love-feasts, bread and water only are used. The Methodists con¬ 
sider the former as a positive institution, which they are bound to observe 
as Christians; the latter as merely prudential. They have also numerous 
prayer-meetings, at which it frequently happens that some one gives an 
exhortation to the people. 


RULES OF THE SOCIETY OF THE PEOPLE CALLED METHODISTS. 

The Reverend John Wesley himself gives the following account:— 

1. In the latter end of the year 1739, eight or ten persons came to me in 
London, who appeared to be deeply convinced of sin, and earnestly groan¬ 
ing for redemption. They desired, as did two or three more the next day, 
that I would spend some time with them in prayer, and advise them how 
to flee from the wrath to come, which they saw continually hanging over 
their heads. That we might have more time for this great work, I ap¬ 
pointed a day when they might all come together; which, from thencefor¬ 
ward, they did every week, namely, on Thursday, in the evening. 


To these, and as many more as desired to join with them, for their num¬ 
ber increased daily, I gave those advices from time to time which I judged 
most needful for them; and we always concluded our meetings with prayer 
suited to their several necessities. 

2. This was the rise of the United Society, first in London, and then in 
other places. Such a society is no other than “a company of men having 
the form and seeking the power of godliness; united, in order to pray 
together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another 
in love, that they may help each other to work out their salvation.” 

3. That it may the more easily be discerned whether they are indeed 
working out their own salvation, each society is divided into smaller com¬ 
panies, called classes, according to their respective places of abode. There 
are about twelve persons in every class; one of whom is styled the leader. 
It is his business, 

1. To see each person in his class, once a week at least, in order to 
inquire how their souls prosper; to advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort, as 
occasion may require; to receive what they are willing to give towards the 
support of the Gospel. 

2. To meet the ministers and stewards of the society once a week, in 
order to inform the minister of any that are sick, or of any that walk dis¬ 
orderly, and will not be reproved ; to pay to the stewards what they have 





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received of their several classes in the week preceding, and to show their 
account of what each person has contributed. 

4. There is only one condition previously required of those who desire 
admission into these societies, namely, u a desire to flee from the wrath to 




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426 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


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come, to be saved from their sins.” But wherever this is really fixed in 
the soul, it will be shown by its fruits. It is, therefore, expected of all 
who continue therein, that they should continue to evidence their desire of 
salvation— 

First, By doing no harm, by avoiding evil in every kind, especially that 
which is most generally practised, such as the taking the name of God in 
vain ; the profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work 
thereon, or by buying or selling; drunkenness; buying or selling spirituous 
liquors, or drinking them, unless in cases of extreme necessity; fighting, 
quarrelling, brawling; brother going to law with brother; returning evil for 
evil, or railing for railing; the using many words in buying or selling; the ,1^ 

• ■ +' ' s ', - ' 

buying or selling uncustomed goods ; the giving or taking things on usury, 
that is, unlawful interest; uncharitable or unprofitable conversation; parti¬ 
cularly speaking evil of magistrates or ministers; doing to others as we 
would not they should do unto us; doing what we know is not for the glory 
of God ; as the putting on of gold or costly apparel; the taking such diver¬ 
sions as cannot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus; the singing those songs 
or reading those books which do not tend to the knowledge or love of God; 
softness, and needless self-indulgence; laying up treasure upon earth ; bor- tore 
rowing without a probability of paying; or taking up goods without a pro¬ 
bability of paying for them. 

5. It is expected of all who continue in these societies, that they should 
continue to evidence their desire of salvation— 

Secondly, By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their 
power, as they have opportunity; doing good of every possible sort, and as 
far as is possible, to all men. 

To their bodies, of the ability that God giveth, by giving food to the 
hungry, by clothing the naked, by helping or visiting them that are sick, or 
in prison. 

To their souls, by instructing, reproving, exhorting all we have any 
intercourse with, trampling under foot that enthusiastic doctrine of devils, 
that “ we are not to do good, unless our hearts be free to it.” 

By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith, or 
groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others, buying one of 
another, helping each other in business; and so much the more, because 
the world will love its own, and them only. 

By all possible diligence and frugality, that the gospel be not blamed. 

By running with patience the race that is set before them, denying them¬ 
selves, and taking up their cross daily ; submitting to bear the reproach of 
Christ ; to be as the filth and ofTscouring of the world ; and looking that 
men should say all manner of evil of them falsely, for the Lord’s sake. 

0. It ;s expected of all who desire to continue in these societies, that the) 
should continue to evidence their desire of salvation—- 

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METHODISTS. 


427 

Thirdly, By attending upon all the ordinances of God : such are the 
public worship of God ; the ministry of the word, either read or expounded ; 
the supper of the Lord; family and private prayer; searching the Scrip¬ 
tures ; and fasting or abstinence. 

7. These are the General Rules of our societies,—all which we are 
taught of God to observe, even in his written word, the only rule, and the 
sufficient rule, both of our faith and practice. And all these we know his 
Spirit writes on every truly awakened heart. If there be any among us 
who observe them not, who habitually break any of them, let it be made 
known unto them who watch over that soul, as they that must give an account. 
We will admonish him of the error of his ways; we will bear with him for 
a season. But then, if he repent not, he hath no more place among us. 
We have delivered our own souls. 


May 1, 1743. 


John Wesley, 
Charles Wesley. 


The following account of the latter end of John Wesley is taken from 
“The Centenary of Wesleyan Methodism,” by Thomas Jackson, then 
President of the Conference. 

“ When h is strength failed, after lying still awhile, he called for pen and 
ink. They were brought to him ; but his hand, which had been a means 
of conveying comfort and instruction to thousands, could no longer perform 
its office. ‘Tell me,’ said one, ‘what you would say.’ ‘Nothing,’ an¬ 
swered he, ‘but that God is with us.’ 

“ During the same day, when he appeared to change for death, he said, 
with a weak voice, ‘Lord, thou givest strength to those that can speak, and 
to those that cannot. Speak, Lord, to all our hearts, and let them know 
that thou loosest the tongue.’ 

“Several friends being in the house, they were called into his room, and 
all kneeled down to prayer; when his fervour of spirit was manifest to all 
present. In particular parts of the prayer his whole soul was engaged in 
such a manner as evidently showed how ardently he longed for the accom¬ 
plishment of their united desires. When Mr. Broadbent prayed that if 
God were about to take away their father to his eternal rest, he would 
continue and increase his blessing upon the doctrine and discipline which 
he had long made his aged servant a means of propagating and establishing 
in the world ; an unusual degree of earnestness accompanied the loud Amen 
of the dying patriarch and saint. When they rose from their knees he 
took hold of their hands, kindly saluted them, and said, ‘ Farewell, fa re - 
well !’ 

“Some time after, he strove to speak ; but finding that the friends who 
were present could not understand him, he paused a little, and then with 
all bis remaining strength cried out, ‘The best of all is, God is with us.’ 

O O 
































































f ^ jV! 



PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


“ When his parched lips were wetted he devoutly repeated his usual 
thanksgiving after meat, ‘ We thank thee, O Lord, for these and all thy 
mercies. Bless the Church and King; and grant us truth and peace, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord, for ever and ever.’ 

“ In the course of the same day, at different times, he said, ‘ He causeth 
his servants to lie down in peace.’ ‘The clouds drop fatness.’ ‘The Lord 
is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.’ 

“ The next morning the closing scene drew near. Joseph Bradford, his 
faithful and well-tried friend, prayed with him, and the last word he was 
heard to utter was, ‘Farewell.’ While several of his friends were kneeling 
round his bed, without a groan, this man of God, this beloved pastor of 
thousands entered into the joy of his Lord. 

“ His will contains the following characteristic item :—‘ I give six pounds 
to be divided among the six poor men who shall carry my body to the 
grave ; for I particularly desire there may be no hearse, no coach, no es¬ 
cutcheon, no pomp, except the tears of them that loved me, and are follow- 
ing me to Abraham’s bosom. I solemnly adjure my executors, in the name 
of God, punctually to observe this.’ 

“Few men have been more honoured in their death than this venerable 






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according to his own direction, placed in the chapel near his dwelling- 
house in London ; and the crowds that went to see them were so great 
that business was generally suspended in the City-road, and it was with 
great difficulty that any carriage could pass. His funeral took place early 
in the morning, lest any accident should occur, in consequence of the vast 
concourse of people which was otherwise expected to attend. When the 
officiating clergyman at the grave-side pronounced the words, ‘Forasmuch 
as it hath pleased Almighty God to take unto himself the soul of our dear 
father here departed,’ the people who nearly filled the burying-ground 
burst into loud weeping ; and it is believed that scarcely a dry eye was to 
be seen in the entire assembly. When the funeral sermon was preached, 
the men occupied one side of the City-road chapel, and the women the 
other; and with one solitary exception, it is said that not a coloured riband 
was to be seen in the vast congregation. One lady with a blue riband on 

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her beaver hat found her way into the gallery, and on observing her singu* 


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larity she instantly tore it from her head, and thus assumed the garb of 
mourning with the rest of the people.” 

The following is the inscription upon Mr. Wesley’s tomb:— 




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METHODISTS. 


TO THE MEMORY OF 

THE VENERABLE JOHN WESLEY, A. M. 

LATE FELLOW OF LINCOLN COLLEGE, 

OXFORD. 

THIS GREAT LIGHT AROSE, 

BY THE SINGULAR PROVIDENCE OF GOD, 

TO ENLIGHTEN THESE NATIONS, 

AND TO REVIVE, ENFORCE, A1VD DEFEND 
THE PURE APOSTOLICAL DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES OF THE 

PRIMITIVE CHURCH: 

WHICH HE CONTINUED TO DO, BOTH BY HIS WRITINGS AND HIS LAPOI/E&, 

FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY: 

AND TO HIS INEXPRESSIBLE JOY, 

NOT ONLY BEHELD THEIR INFLUENCE EXTENDING, 

AND THEIR EFFICACY WITNESSED, 

IN THE HEARTS AND LIVES OF MANY THOUSANDS, 

AS WELL IN THE WESTERN WORLD AS IN THESE KINGDOMS, 

BUT ALSO, FAR ABOVE ALL HUMAN POWER OR EXPECTATION, LIVED TO SEB 

PROVISION MADE, 

BY THE SINGULAR GRAC1 OF GOD, 

FOR THEIR CONTINUANCE AND ESTABLISHMENT, 

TO THE JOY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS! 

READER, IF THOU ART CONSTRAINED TO BLESS THE INSTRUMENT, 

GIVE GOD THE GLORY! 

AFTER HAVING LANGUISHED A FEW DAYS, HE AT LENGTH FINISHED HIS COURSE 
AND HIS LIFE TOGETHER, GLORIOUSLY TRIUMPHING OVER DEATH, 

MARCH 2n, AN. DOM. 1791, 

IN THE EIGHTY-EIGHTH YEAR OF HIS AGE. 

The following is inscribed upon a marble tablet in the City-road chapel: 

“ The best of all is, God is with us.” 

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF 

THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, M. A. 

SOMETIME FELLOW OF LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD. 

A MAN, IN LEARNING AND SINCERE PIETY, 

SCARCELY INFERIOR TO ANY*. 

IN ZEAL, MINISTERIAL LABOURS, AND EXTENSIVE USEFULNESS, 

SUPERIOR, PERHAPS, TO ALL MEN, SINCE THE DAYS OF ST. PAUL 
REGARDLESS OF FATIGUE, PERSONAL DANGER, AND DISGRACE, 

HE WENT OUT INTO THE HIGHWAYS AND HEDGES, 

CALLING SINNERS TO REPENTANCE, 

AND PUBLISHING THE GOSPEL OF PEACE. 

HE WAS THE FOUNDER OF THE METHODIST SOCIETIES, AND THE CHIEF 

PROMOTER AND PATRON 
OF THE PLAN OF ITINERANT PREACHING, 

WHICH HE EXTENDED THROUGH GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, 



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SUCCESS. 






WEST INDIES AND AMERICA, WITH UNEXAMPLED 
HE WAS BORN THE 17tH OF JUNE, 1703, 

AND DIED THE llTH OF MARCH, 1791, 

IN SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE, 

THROUGH THE ATONEMENT AND MEDIATION OF A CRUCIFIED SAVIOUR 
HE WAS SIXTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE MINISTRY, 

AND FIFTY-TWO AN ITINERANT PREACHER; 

HE LIVED TO SEE IN THESE KINGDOMS ONLY, ABOUT THREE HUNDRED ITINERARY 

AND ONE THOUSAND LOCAL PREACHERS, 

RAISED UP FROM THE MIDST OF HIS OWN PEOPLE, 

AND EIGHTY THOUSAND PERSONS IN THE SOCIETIES UNDER HIS CARE. 

HIS NAME WILL BE EVER HELD IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE 
BY ALL WHO REJOICE IN THE UNIVERSAL SPREAD 
OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST : 

SOLI DEO GLORIA. 

23 

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ftinife \ ■ ; w- 


































































430 


PROTESTAN’l COMMUNITIES. 


. 


The Methodists may truly say, with regard to themselves, “A little one 
has become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation for in the year 
1838, the number of their members throughout the world amounted to more 
than a million. They had also, including ministers at home, and mission¬ 
aries abroad, between four and five thousand persons employed preaching 
the gospel. 

The New Methodist Connection , among the followers of Mr. Wesley, 
separatee from the original Methodists in 1797. The grounds of this sepa¬ 
ration they declare to be church-government, and not doc- 
New Methodists. tr j neg ^ ag a fH rme( j by SO me of their opponents. They object 

to the old Methodists for having formed a hierarchy, or priestly corporation, 
and say that, in so doing, they have robbed the people of those privileges 
which, as members of a Christian church, they are entitled to by reason and 
Scripture. The New Methodists have attempted to establish every part of 
their church-government on popular principles, and profess to have united, 
as much as possible, the ministers and the people in every department of it. 
This is quite contrary to the original government of the Methodists, which 
in the most important cases is confined only to the ministers. This, indeed, 
appears most plainly, when their conference, or yearly meeting, is consi¬ 
dered ; for in this meeting no person, who is not a travelling preacher, has 
ever been suffered to enter as a member of it; and, indeed, this is the point 
to which the preachers have always steadfastly adhered with the utmost 
firmness and resolution, and on which the division at present entirely rests. 
They are also upbraided by the New Methodists, for having abused the 
power they have assumed; a great many of these abuses the New Method¬ 
ists have formally protested against, which are enumerated in various pub¬ 
lications, and particularly in the Preface to the Life of one of their deceased 
friends, Mr. Alexander Kilham. Hence these New Methodists have been 
sometimes denominated Kilhamites. 

These are a disowned branch of the Wesleyan Methodists, originating in 
Staffordshire, England, under Hugh Bourne. Their first camp-meetino- 

Primitive was held May 31, 1807. It commenced at six o’clock in the 

Methodists, or . , . , ... . , . , . 

Ranters. morning, and continued till eight in the evening. These 

camp-meetings being disapproved of by the old connection, a separation took 
place, when H. and J. Bourne enlarged their views, and the cause spread 
in every direction. Societies were established at Boylstone, T'odely, and 
Hallington in Derbyshire. A general meeting was held at Tunstall, Feb. 
13, 1812, and a preparatory meeting at Nottingham, Aug. 18, 1819, when 
arrangements were made for annual meetings: quarterly meetings have 
been held in March, June, September, and December, under which “the 
work mightily enlarged.” Missionary exertions, which had been declining, 
were revived at Belper “very powerfully,” while “the praying people, in 
returning home, were accustomed to sing through the streets of Belper!” 






















































METHODISTS. 




It is added, that “this circumstance procured them the name of Ranters , 
and the name of Ranter, which first arose on this occasion, afterwards spread 
very extensively.” The work, we are told, then spread to Derby and Not¬ 
tingham, whence circuits were established, one circuit having been hitherto 
sufficient for the connection. The camp-meetings also had declined, out 
were thus revived. 

“ The declining state of the camp-meetings was severely felt in the 
circuit, and caused considerable anxiety ; but as much prayer and suppli¬ 
cation was made to Almighty God, he, in the year 1816, pointed out both 
the evil and the remedy by the following means :—H. Bourne had put into 
his hand ‘The Narrative of a Mission to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,’ 
&c., by J. Marsden, Methodist Missionary.” The author, during his 
mission, visited New York, and attended several of the American camp 
meetings. These meetings continue day and night, for several days to 
gether. He shows that they have sometimes four, and sometimes five 
preachings in the course of twenty-four hours; and the intermediate time 
is filled up with services carried on by praying companies. He says:— 
“ During my continuance in this city, I had an opportunity of attending 
several camp-meetings, and as the nature of these stupendous means of 
grace is not distinctly known, I will spend a few moments in making my 
readers acquainted with them. 

“ The tents are generally pitched in the form of a crescent, in the centre 
of which is an elevated stand for the preachers, round which, in all 
directions, are placed rows of planks for the people to sit upon, while they 
hear the word. Among the trees, which spread their tops over this forest- 
church, are hung the lamps, which burn all night, and give light to the 
various exercises of religion which occupy the solemn midnight hours. 
As it was nearly eleven o’clock at night when I first arrived on the borders 
of a camp, I left the boat at the edge of a wood, one mile from the scene, 
though the sound of praise from such a multitude, and at such an hour, in 
the midst of a solitary wilderness, is difficult to describe ; but when I 
opened upon the camp-ground, my curiosity was converted into astonish¬ 
ment, to behold the pendent lamps among the trees—the tents half en¬ 
circling a large space—four thousand people in the centre of this, listening 
with profound attention to a preacher, whose stentorian voice and animated 
manner carried the vibration of each word to a great distance through the 
now deeply-umbrageous wood ; where, save the twinkling lamps of the 
camp, brooding darkness spread a tenfold gloom ;—all excited my astonish¬ 
ment, and forcibly brought before my view the Hebrews in the wilderness. 

“The meetings generally begin on a Monday morning,and on the Friday 
morning following break up. The daily exercises are carried forward in 
the following manner : In the morning at five o’clock the horn sounds 
through the camp, either for public preaching or prayer; this with smallei 


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432 


PRUTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


exercises, ora little intermission, brings on the breakfast hour, eight o’clock 
At ten the horn sounds for public preaching: after which, until noon, the 
interval is filled up with little groups of praying persons, who scatter them¬ 
selves up and down the camp, both in the tents and under the trees. As 


these smaller exercises are productive of much good, a powerful spirit of 


prayer and exhortation is often poured forth. I have not unfrequently seen 
three or four persons lying on the ground, crying for mercy, or motionless, 
without any apparent signs of life, except pulsation. After dinner the horn 


sounds at two o’clock ; this is for preaching. I should have observed, that 


a female or two is generally left in each tent, to prepare the proper mate 
rials for dinner, which is always cold meats, pies, tarts, tea, &c. (the use of 


ardent spirits being forbidden,) and a fire is kept burning in different parts 
of the camp, where the water is boiled. After the afternoon preaching, 




groups are upon a larger scale, and more scope is given to animated ex¬ 
hortations and loud prayers. Some who exercise on these occasions soon 
lose their voices; and, at the end of a camp-meeting, many, both preachers 


and people, can only speak in a whisper. At six o’clock in the evening 


the horn summons to preaching, after which, though in no regulated form, 
all the above means continue until morning; so that, go to whatever part 
j of the camp you please, some are engaged in them : yea, and during 


whatever part of the night you awake, the wilderness is vocal with praise. 


“At this camp-meeting, perhaps, not less than one hundred persons were 
awakened and converted to God. I have heard many say, that they never 
heard such praying, exhorting, and preaching, anywhere else ; and those 


who engage feel such a divine afflatus, that they are carried along as by 


the force of a delightful torrent; indeed, this has been so much the case 
with myself, the several times I preached and exhorted at these meetings, 
that I was sensible of nothing but a constraining influence, transporting me 
beyond myself, carrying me along with a freedom and fulness, both of 
emotion and language, quite unusual, and yet I had no very friendly views 
of camp-meetings until I attended them ; however, I am now satisfied that 
they are the right-hand of Methodism in the United States, and one main 
cause why the societies have doubled and trebled there within these few 
years.” 


SEC. VII.—QUAKERS. 


The Quakers owe their origin to George Fox, who was born in Leices¬ 


tershire about the year 1624. It is reported of him, that in his youth he 



was of a particularly thoughtful temper, and loved to be by 
himself. At an early age he became apprentice to a shoe- 





















































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exhort his fellow-shoemakers, from whom, however, he received no great 
encouragement. As he was one day walking alone in the fields, reflecting 
according to custom on the disorderly lives of men, and considering of the 
most proper means to reform them, for the glory of God, and their own 
temporal and eternal happiness ; he thought he heard a voice from heaven, 
or rather he felt one of those sudden impulses, which the Quakers receive 
as special motions from the Holy Ghost. This impulse set before his ej r es 
a lively representation of the corrupt and abandoned lives of men, from their 
cradle to extreme old age, at which time nothing is left to return to God, 
but weak and decayed senses, and a second childhood ; exhorting him at 
the same time to retirement and an absolute separation from the general 
corruption of the world. This is the true epoch of Fox’s vocation: con¬ 
sidering that he had received a call from heaven, he lived in a closer 
retreat than before ; he searched narrowly into the state of his conscience ; 
retrenched whatever he found superfluous, and followed his trade no 
further than was necessary for his subsistence. He went about preaching 
from place to place, and boldly entered into disputes with divines and 
ministers, trusting solely to and being guided only by what he considered 
to be that divine voice, which interiorly speaks to the heart , and draws 
men as it pleases. This caused Fox to be looked upon as a seditious 
person ; on which account he was seized at Nottingham, in 1649, and im¬ 
prisoned. This first imprisonment occurred when he was twenty-five 
years of age. On being released from Nottingham jail, he preached in 
other places, where he was roughly handled by the mob for his eccentric 
behaviour, and the boldness with which he interrupted the ministers in 
their sermons. At Derby, he was shut up for six months in a house of 
correction ; and when he came out of it, in order to be examined by Jeremy 
Bennet, a justice of the peace, the name of Quakers was given to him and 
his disciples, because, in his answers and public exhortations, he often said 
quaking and trembling were necessary dispositions to hear the word of God 
with profit. 

Nottingham and Derby were not the only places in which Fox was 
punished on account of the very eccentric course he pursued ; he had been 
cast into prison, and whipped in those towns; at other places he was put 
in the pillory, and underwent some punishments equally ignomir\ious ? he 
was often stoned or beaten almost to death ; but he endured all tnose 
affronts according to the literal sense of the gospel precept; he desired the 
judges to order a second execution of the sentence pronounced against him; 
he presented his cheek and his back to those who had struck or whipped 
him ; and in the midst of these temporal afflictions he rejoiced, and was 
comforted by the daily increase of the number of his adherents. 

The Quakers flattered themselves with the hope of enjoying some quiet 
at the restoration of Charles II.; but refusing to take the oath of allegiance 




















































PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES 


to that monarch because in their opinion all oaths are forbidden, a grievous 
persecution was raised against them. While suffering these persecutions, 
they were considerably strengthened by the accession to their fraternity of 
the well-known William Penn, who, on account of his talents and ample 
fortune, soon acquired no small influence and reputation among them. 
About the same time, also, the persecution against them abating, they em¬ 
ployed themselves in reducing their views to a more regular system, and in 
adopting rules according to which they were to govern themselves. These 
we shall briefly notice. 

Both sexes have general meetings, which may be called classes, collo 
quies, and synods. In those assemblies, which are either provincial, and 
General Meet held ever y three months, or general, and called together 
in s s * every year, censures are pronounced, ecclesiastical affairs 

reviewed, books examined, and the most material occurrences registered in 
their records. In England the Quakers’ general meeting is fixed to the 
third day after Pentecost; not out of superstition, they say, as if they ex¬ 
pected their deputies should be more particularly inspired at a time when 
the commemoration of the Holy Ghost’s coming down upon the Apostles is 
celebrated, but solely out of a principle of regularity in meeting on a fixed 
day, and at a convenient season; and it is notorious that the Quakers keep 
no holydays, and solemnize no festival. The Holy Ghost, the spirit within , 
neither knows nor admits any such distinctions. Deputies from all the 
Quakers dispersed through the whole world meet at these assemblies; in 
which there is a secretary to register, or propose the matters to be debated, 
or copy out the decisions: but the Holy Ghost is the invisible president; 
and they do not admit of a visible one. 

Their outward exercises of devotions consist in a profound contemplation, 
whilst some one of them, man or woman, rises up either with a sedate and 
composed motion, or in a kind of transport, as if actuated by 
an irresistible power, and often with sighs, groans, and tears. 
This variety of behaviour is caused, as they say, by the impression of the 
spirit, which often dictates to the man or woman preacher, sermons two or 
three hours long, after a deep silence of an equal duration. This quietude, 
the Quakers say, disposes them to enter into a serious consideration of the 
state of their own souls, into a deep meditation, oy means ot which the 
Spirit prepares to itself hidden ways to penetrate into their hearts: then it 
breaks forth in sermons and exhortations, or in prayer or psalmody: during 
which those who are not inspired to speak, remain in a state of recollection, 
examine themselves, and make a suitable application of what they hear to 
the circumstances in which they find their own souls. From that inward 
conflict of the spirit against the flesh; from the devil’s furious assaults to 
keep the mastery, proceed sometimes those bodily motions, those shakings 
and tremblings with which many of them are seized. It not unfrequently 


Public Devo 
tions. 










































































QUAKERS. 


435 




fe 






happens that a meeting is concluded without any sermon, exhortation, or 
public prayer. 

Meditation, prayer, recollection, contemplation, and reading the Bible, 
are the chief devotions which the Gluakers use at home; they are longer or 

Private Devo- s ^ orter > more or less frequent, and alternately diversified, as 
tions, See. t h e impulses prevail. Their children are brought up to 

those exercises from their infancy, have a very plain and modest education, 
without any ornaments, fine clothes, what is called a genteel behaviour, or 
endeavouring to please other men. The Quaker’s dress is brown, or of 
some plain dark colour, somewhat like a waistcoat, without plaits on the 
sides, without buttons on the pockets or sleeves, their hats broad-brimmed 
and horizontal; all the politeness they aim at is an open, frank access, and 
natural, easy conversation. 

They keep no festivals, but may meet on any day; in England and Hol¬ 
land they meet regularly every Sunday: they neither pray nor speak, either 
in public or private, with a loud voice, but when, as they 
Time of worship. a ^ rmj ^ 8 pi r n within bids them. If this spirit do not 

move them, they are only to think at church, at table, at going to bed. 

The Quakers place no great value on the knowledge of languages and 
learning; which, although they do not think entirely useless, yet they say, 
Estimation of are not necessary for the ministry: they express a great 
honours,^c.* 11168 ’ contempt of philosophy and divinity, chiefly as taught in 
the schools, and esteem them no otherwise than as the inventions of Satan. 

They likewise reject all titles of honour, either in the state or in the 
church, and have no regard to academical degrees. All these marks of 
distinction are only apt to set up so many masters, which the gospel ex¬ 
pressly forbids, we being all equally brethren : they give the name of hire¬ 
lings to Protestant clergymen, on account of the income they receive from 
he lands they possess, from tithes, salaries, or pensions. And according to 
heir system, it is evident they cannot approve of a limitation in the number 
f ministers, nor of that function being appropriated to a particular order of 
en, since the spirit within is not and cannot be confined. Moreover, they 
hink the number of pastors is too small to comply with all the duties 
required of them; and that there ought to be missionaries, who might, as 
mongst Catholics, labour without intermission for the propagation of the 
faith ; and are of opinion, that the present behaviour of other Protestants in 
that particular paves the way for antichrist. 

Duties, taxes, great salaries, and profits, all other means employed in 
civil societies, to engage men to do their duty, and become useful members 
of the commonwealth, by the hope of considerable gains, seem odious and 
dangerous to the Quakers, as becoming only hirelings and slaves to avarice, 
not good citizens, or Christians, who ought to have their duty at heart. 
Amongst the Quakers the spirit is free, and does not submit to synods, 


<® 


f> 




























































































436 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 



0 


nor to worldly learning, wisdom, or customs: this is one of the chief and 
most essential articles of their religion. All the members of the church 
Motion of the ma y an( ^ ou ght to concur to the general good of the body; 
* * uril - all may have the same helps from the Holy Ghost, and feel 

V ...me impressions of his power; all are animated and fed, like our bodily 
members by the same efficacy and in the same manner; all by consequence 
ought to give a helping hand to the edification of the mystical body, as 
natural members contribute to the welfare of human bodies. This they 
apply to the evangelical ministry: the Spirit, say the Quakers, notifies by 
its impulse what is wanting to the church, and obliges those members upon 
whom he makes that impulse, to give a speedy help to the mystical body. 
If it should happen that out of laziness, neglect, or distraction, the person 
so moved should not be sensible of the impulse, or not give a due attention 
to the defects of which the members of the mystical body are guilty; then 
they ought to rouse themselves with new fervour, and by a perfect recol¬ 
lection make a trial of the gifts and power of the spirit of life. The call to 
pastoral functions essentially consists in this: it requires no pomp, no cere¬ 
mony, no improvement of the mind, no preparation, no examination, nor 
any of the means used in other Christian societies, to provide churches with 
pastors and teachers. Yet if after this inward trial any one be moved and 
forcibly drawn by the Spirit to engage in the ministry, the ecclesiastical 
council must not omit the formality of examining whether the person so 
inspired be in reality fit for it, and ought to be admitted to that dignity; the 
importance of which, in regard to himself, and to the whole church, is 
strongly represented to him, in a speech or exhortation made to that end. 
This ceremony is sometimes accompanied by the letters of other churches 
and societies of Quakers, recommending such or such to that office. When 
installed, they are maintained by voluntary contributions only, without any 
settlement, contract, or previous agreement. Each Quaker contributes 
freely according to his power, and the minister is not to accept of their 
benevolence, further than is necessary for a sober and frugal maintenance; 
but if he be reduced to poverty for want of such contributions, it is lawful 
for him to leave the congregation which he served; he may even, accord¬ 
ing to their historian, shake the dust off his feet against that church, as 
Christ ordered his apostles to do against those who would not receive them. 

The Quakers reject baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The truth is, they 
look upon baptism as a Jewish ceremony, yet they are willing that other 
Estimation of Christian societies should receive it as a token of regenera- 

Bapusm, &c. tion, 0 f initiation, or an introduction to Christianity. But 

they say, that in our holy and all-spiritual religion, outward signs ought 
not to prevail upon duty, nor a wicked man be esteemed a Christian on 
account of his being baptized; whilst, for want of that ceremony, another 
man, who complies with all the Christian duties, is looked upon as a 






kr 



























































Marriage. 


heathen. The true baptism of Christ, say they, is the purifying of the soul, 
and that only can save men. Their belief concerning the communion is 
also another stumbling-block; We have no communion , say they, hut the 
union of hearts . 

Marriage is contracted amongst them with as little ceremony as all their 
other duties are performed. Their youth are christianly instructed in what¬ 
ever concerns that honourable state; they are admonished 
that it is of the highest importance, that it requires a serious 
and strict examination, and is not to be entered into without a nice choice, 
much reflection, and the approbation and consent of their parents. When 
after all this they persist in the resolution of marrying, they must give no¬ 
tice of their design to the ecclesiastical council, who make the usual inqui¬ 
ries, Whether they be qualified to marry? and have the consent of their 
parents? &c. Informations are likewise taken from those who are present, 
.c? to know if no opposition be made to the marriage intended, and on the next 
Sunday following they publish a kind of ban. These preliminaries being 
over, the contract becomes valid amongst the Quakers in this form ; the 
bride and bridegroom come to the assembly accompanied by their friends 
and relations whom they think fit to invite. There, in presence of the 
said friends and relations, they are desired to declare whether they love one 
another, whether they be mutually willing to have each other, and are 
resolved to help and assist each other. To these, and such other questions 
suitable to the occasion, the Quakers give, with all sincerity, the usual 
answers; which, with their mutual consent, are registered in a book kept 
for that purpose. The contracting parties set their names to it, as also the 
friends and relations, as witnesses; which being done, the new-married 
couple are dismissed. The disorders usually committed at weddings are, 
or ought to be, wholly unknown amongst Quakers. The body being, in 
their system, the vessel and garment of the soul, it must be maintained and 
kept with simplicity and modesty, without superfluity, or endeavouring to 
please the senses at the expense of the purity of the soul. Those mar¬ 
riages of the Quakers were heretofore deemed illegal in England; but they 
are now tolerated, and looked upon as valid and indissoluble contracts. 

Their obsequies are without pomp, without funeral orations, all which, 
according to their notions, are as opposite to Christian simplicity as the 
foolish diversions allowed by other Christians, at the celebra¬ 
tion of their marriages. Can any thing be more extravagant, 
they say, than that the friends and relations of the deceased should, with a 
sorrowful countenance, follow his corpse, and accompany it to the grave in 
a mourning dress, and then come back to the house to drink, and some¬ 
times get drunk in his honour? What contrary proceedings are these ! i$ 
it not a mere comical farce to see their formal, affected grief, seeming, in 
their long black cloaks, to shed tears for the loss of a parent or friend, of 




Funerals. 


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PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 


Creed. 


whose death they are heartily glad, for the sake of the riches he has be¬ 
queathed to them ? All those abuses are avoided by the Quakers. They 
carry the dead to their burying-place, without attendance or mourning; and 
content themselves with a serious meditation on the frailty of human life, 
and mutually exhorting each other to the practice of virtue, and to a faithful 
imitation of the deceased, if his example were truly worthy of being 
followed. 

Our limits admit of but a partial exposition of the faith of the 
Quakers. The following are their principal articles of belief 

Every one who leads a moral life, and from the sincerity of his heart 
complies with the duties of natural religion, must be deemed an essentially 
good Christian. An historical faith and belief of some extraordinary facts, 
which the Christians own for truths, are the only real difference between a 
virtuous pagan and a good Christian, and this faith is not necessary to 
salvation. 

Christ is the true inward light, which enlightens all men. This is per¬ 
formed by an immediate inspiration, and not by the outward doctrine of the 
gospel, which Christ has preached to men as a rule of their belief and 
practice ; which outward preaching of evangelical truths, is not the usual 
and ordinary method used by God to enlighten mankind; but he sends to 
each person interior inspirations. This interior light is the true gospel; it 
is to be adored, as being Christ himself and God himself. 

Scripture is not the true rule, the real guide of Christian faith and moral 
doctrine ; this is a prerogative belonging only to the inward light, which 
each has within himself, or which breaks forth in the assemblies of the 
brethren or friends. The dead letter of the sacred writings is not of so 
great authority as the preaching of the authors of them ; the particular 
books which make up the Scripture were directed to private churches or 
persons, and we are not interested in them. 

The chief rule of our faith is the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, who in¬ 
teriorly teaches us ; and the Scripture is only a rule subordinate to that 
Spirit. An immediate inspiration is as necessary to us as to the apostles ; 
it teaches us whatever is necessary to salvation. The promise which Christ 
made to his apostles, to teach them all truth by his Spirit , and that the 
Holy Ghost should always remain with them , was not confined to the 
apostles only, it belongs to all the faithful ; and it is said of them all, that 
the unction shall teach them all things. 

All true ministers of Christ are as infallible in what they teach as the 
prophets and apostles were ; otherwise the Spirit of Christ would not be 
infallible. All those who are filled with the gifts of the Spirit are equally 
infallible, without which the infallibility of the Holy Ghost must be divided; 
there is no eiterior way of teaching, which may help one to judge of the 
truth of the doctrine which he preaches. The immediate inspiration is 


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QUAKERS. 


sufficient to enable a minister to preach without Scripture, or any other 
exterior helps. Without this particular inspiration all those who pretend 
to argue upon or explain the words of Christ, are false prophets and de¬ 
ceivers. The church ought to have no other ministers, but those who are 
called by an immediate inspiration, which is best proved by interior miracles, 
of which the outward signs were only a representation or figure. The 
Quakers do not preach a new gospel, and therefore need not work miracles 
to prove their doctrine ; a visible succession of ministers, ordained or other¬ 
wise established, is likewise of no use. Whoever is inwardly called to the 
ministerial functions, is sufficiently qualified for that post; inward sanctity 
is as essentially requisite in a true minister, as in a true member of the 


i 

church. 

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Women may preach with as much authority as men, and be ministers of 
the church ; for in Christ there is no distinction of male and female, and 
the prophet Joel has foretold that, women should have the gift of prophecy 
as well as men. 

The Scripture nowhere says, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, are three persons; there are three several manifestations ; but three 
persons would in reality be three gods. The Scripture being silent as to 
i the manner of the unity, and of the distinction in the Trinity, it is a great 
jf rashness in the Christian churches to meddle with deciding such intricate 
points. The distinction of persons in the godhead is a speculative subtlety, 
not calculated to mend our lives, and very prejudicial to Christian peace 
and charity. To draw up an exact profession of faith, it is necessary to 
adhere closely to the expressions used in Scripture. 

The true Christ is he, who existed before he was manifested in the flesh, 
and who has never been seen with the eyes of the flesh. Jesus Christ, as 
God, has a heavenly humanity, of which the earthly one is but the outward 
garment, the type or figure. Jesus Christ, the Word and Son of God, did 
not personally unite himself to our human nature, he only took it as a suit 
cf clothes, which he was to put on for a while. This human nature was 
inspired, as other men, but in a superior and more particular degree. 
Christ could not be united to a corrupt nature ; his interior birth within 
men is a greater mystery than his outward nativity. The faith in and the 
1A knowledge of Christ, according to the flesh, and of his mysteries, were but 
the first elements fit for the infancy of Christianity, which being over, 
those rudiments become useless ; we now have learned to be in Christ, to 
become new creatures, to let old things pass away in order to make room 
for the new. 

The expiation of our sins has not been merited by the outward spilling 
of Christ’s blood, which was not more precious than that of any other 
saint: neither has the church been redeemed by it, but an inward and 
spiritual blood, which purifies our hearts and consciences, of which the 






• ii 


inks 







































































410 


frotestant communities. 


Scripture says, it was spilt for our justification; lastly, of which Christ 
himself says, that he who does not drink his blood shall not have life in him. 

The Scripture does not say that Christ satisfied the justice of God for our 
sins. As God may without any injustice forgive our sins without such a 
satisfaction, it was not necessary, neither can it be reconciled with tht^gra- 
tuitous remission of our sins: and moreover, God’s punishing his own Son 
who was innocent, is contrary to divine justice. 

Christ did not go up to heaven with the body which he had on eartl\ 
which is not now in heaven at the right hand of God. It is an erroneous 
opinion to think or believe that the body of Christ, which is in heaven, occu¬ 
pies and fills any particular limited place: the body of Christ is wherever 
his spirit is ; and it cannot save us, if distance of place separates it from us ; 
whoever preaches a doctrine opposite to these propositions, is a false minis¬ 
ter, and deceitful teacher: the same gift of discernment in the examination 
of spirits, which was bestowed on the apostles, remains still in the church. 

Our sins being once forgiven, it is wholly unnecessary to repent of them 
any further, or to go on in asking forgiveness for them. We cannot become 
God’s servants unless we be first purified. 

Outward baptism is not an ordinance of Christ, or at least not to be 
observed as a perpetual law. Whoever pretends that Christ’s order is to 
be understood of water-baptism adds to the text, which does not mention 
water. The baptism enjoined by Christ is a baptism of spirit, not of water. 
The water-baptism was St. John’s, and has been abolished. St. Paul says 
he was not sent to baptize, but to preach. Water-baptism was used by the 
apostles only as a toleration for the weakness of the Jews, but it can do no 
good to the soul. Baptism by inspersion is nowhere mentioned in Scrip¬ 
ture. Water-baptism, and the spiritual baptism, are two entirely different 
baptisms. The inward baptism alone is the true baptism of Christ. 

Children ought not to be baptized, since they are not capable of taking 
any engagement upon themselves, or of making a profession of faith, or of 
answering to God according to the testimony of a good conscience. 

Taking or receiving the Eucharist is not a perpetual obligation ; it was 
instituted heretofore only for those who were newly converted to the 
Christian religion, or for weak Christians in the beginning of their Chris¬ 
tianity. 

ADVICES. 

The following Advices are set forth to be read, at least once in the year, 
in the Quarterly, Monthly, and Preparative Meetings of men and women 
Friends : they are to be .read in the men’s and women’s meetings sepa¬ 
rately. 

Dependence on the Holy Spirit. —“ Take heed, dear friends, we entreat 
you, to the convictions of the Holy Spirit, who leads, through unfeigned 



































































QUAKERS. 





heavenly Father, and to the blessed hope of eternal life, purchased for us by 
the one offering of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Religious Meetings. —“ Be earnestly concerned in religious meetings 
reverently to present yourselves before the Lord, and seek, by the help of 
the Holy Spirit, to worship God through Jesus Christ. 

l ' jK V Siii 


Closet Exercises. —“ Be in the frequent practice of waiting upon God in 
private retirement, with prayer and supplication, honestly examining your¬ 
selves as to your growth in grace, and your preparation for the life to come. 

The right observance of the First day of the Week. —“Be careful to i ; \ v% \ @) 
make a profitable and religious use of those portions of time on the first day 
of the week, which are not occupied by our meetings for worship. \/l v f.rv 


amicuons oi me. 

Following after Peace. — “ Follow peace with all men, desiring the true 
happiness of all; and be liberal to the poor, endeavouring to promote their 
temporal, moral, and religious well-being. 

Moderation in the pursuit of the things of this life. — “ With a tender 
conscience, and in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel, take heed 
to the limitations of the Spirit of Truth, in the pursuit of the things of this 
life. 

Maintenance of Integrity. — “ Maintain strict integrity in all your trans¬ 
actions in trade, and in your other outward concerns, remembering that you 
will have to account for the mode of acquiring, and the manner of using, 
your possessions. 

Watchfulness over Children. — “ Watch, with Christian tenderness, over 
the opening minds of your offspring ; inure them to the habits of self- 
restraint and filial obedience ; carefully instruct them in the knowledge of 
the Holy Scriptures, and seek for the ability to imbue their minds with the 
love of their heavenly Father, their Redeemer, and their Sanctifier. 

Of household Furniture and manner of living. — “ Observe simplicity 
and moderation in the furniture of your houses, and in the supply of jour 
tables, as well as in your personal attire, and that of your families. 

Attention to the Holy Scriptures. — “ Be diligent in the private and daily 
family reading of the Holy Scriptures : and guard carefully against the 
introduction of improper books into your families. 

Of placing out Children. — “Be careful to place out children of all 
degrees with those friends whose care and example will be most likely to 
conduce to their preservation from evil; prefer such assistants, servants, 
and apprentices, as are members of our religious society ; not demanding 
exorbitant apprentice fees, lest you frustrate the care of friends in these 
respects. 

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442 


PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES. 



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Watchfulness over Servants. —“ Encourage your apprentices and ser¬ 
vants of all descriptions to attend public worship, making way for them 
herein : and exercise a watchful care for their moral and religious improve¬ 
ment. 

On Wills and Trusteeships. —“ Be careful to make yotr wills and settle 
your outward affairs in time of health; and when you accept the office of 
guardian, executor, or trustee, be faithful and diligent in the fulfilment of ^ 
your trust. 

Conversation and Conduct. —“Finally, dear friends, let your conver¬ 
sation be such as becometh the gospel. Exercise yourselves to have always 
a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man. Watch overly 
one another for good ; and when occasions of uneasiness first appear in any, 
let them be treated with in privacy and tenderness, before the matter be 
communicated to another: and friends, everywhere, are advised to maintain 
the ‘ unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.’ ” 

Excellent observations of Quakers respecting Benevolence and Charity . 

—The best recreation of a Christian is the relief of distress ; and his chief 
delight to promote the knowledge and to exalt the glory of his heavenly 
master: and this is most effectually done, under His holy influence, by a 
life of faith, purity, and general benevolence. 

Warn those that are rich in this world, that they apply not the blessings 
of God to the indulging of their appetites in pleasure and vanity ; but that 
they be ready to do good, and to communicate to the relief of those who 
are in necessity. The principal, if not only satisfaction a man of a truly 
Christian disposition can have in affluence, and the increase of the things 
of this world, must arise from the greater opportunities put into his hands 
of doing good therewith. 

Observations of Elisha Bates, an accredited authority among Quakers, 
are as follows:—However humble or obscure your station may be, you are 
to contribute either to the suffering or the rejoicing of the living members 
of that body to which you belong. Your lukewarmness and indifference 
to the great objects of religious regard, cannot fail to increase the weakness 
of the Society, and those painful exercises which arise in consequence of 




that weakness. And, on the contrary, your close attention to what passes 
in your own minds, and the secret exercises into which you would be led. 




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like the prayers and alms-deeds of Cornelius, would rise as a memorial 
before Him who sees in secret. And thus you might not only know an in¬ 
crease of religious experience and religious enjoyment, but also contribute 
to the prevalence of that power, which is the crown of our most solemn 
assemblies. But by settling down into a belief that there is nothing for 
you to do, you will deprive yourselves of that improvement, usefulness in 
society, and peace of mind, which would otherwise be your portion. It is 
not always from among the most wise, according to the wisdom of this 

























































QUAKERS. m 

world, nor from those who possess the brightest natural talents, that religion 
has found its ablest advocates, or Christianity its brightest ornaments. 
Suffer, therefore, your minds to be aroused from that state of ease into 
which you have fallen—not to an unqualified activity in the church, but to 
an entire submission to the renovating power of truth. You will find that a 
remembrance of God, and a submission to the regulating, sanctifying opera¬ 
tions of his Spirit, will not interrupt the right order of your domestic con¬ 
cerns. But through the seasoning virtue and illuminating nature of that 
influence which would regulate your feelings and direct your conduct, you 
would take your portion of that character which our Lord gave of his dis¬ 
ciples, when he called them “ the salt of the earth,” and “ the light of the 
world.” 

What if youf opportunities of improvement have been limited—or your 
capacities, in your own estimation, be small—or your natural energies 
already begun to decline ? you have souls to be saved or lost—you have 
no continuing city here; and are bound, by the most solemn obligations, 
to prepare for the final change; “and so much the more,as ye see the day 
approaching.” In that very preparation for the world to come, from 
which no age or condition in life can exempt you, you will experience a 
preparation for the various duties that devolve upon you in civil or reli 
gious society. 

Whatever may be our name as to religious profession—whatever our 
stations in the militant church, the closing address of the apostle on a very 
interesting occasion may be suitably applied: “I commend you to God, and 
to the Word of his Grace, which is able to build you up ; and to give you 
an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” 























































PART V. 


A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS 

IN THE UNITED STATES. 








4 


Under this head it is proposed to advert to such customs and ceremonies 
as have not been previously described, and to furnish information with 
respect to the history and statistics of all the religious denominations in this 
country; thus rendering the book a more valuable work of reference to the 
American reader. 

In the first article an expanded statement of the principles and usages 
of Presbyterians is made, because the account of the Kirk of Scotland is 
exceedingly meager and unsatisfactory; and it seemed fit that a full account 
of Presbyterianism, as well as of Roman Catholics, and Lutherans, and the 
Church of England, should be found somewhere in the volume. In the 
minor divisions of the family of Presbyterian churches, we have referred to 
this for an account of general principles. So, in the account of Roman 
Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and others in this country, the reader 
is referred to the larger general statement in the preceding part for more 
complete information. 


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SEC. I.—AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS. 

The word Presbyterian is often used in a wide sense as characterizing ;\J 
// a large portion of the Protestant church. It embraces all those denomina* 

v j v /, . 4 ° 

tions which are opposed to prelacy. In prelatical church government and 
^ usages a large number of sects are included. Thus the Greek Church 




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alone is made up of “The Greek Church proper” “The Russian Greek 

Church,” “The Georgian and Mingrelian Churches,” “The Nestorian 
444 




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AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS. 


445 




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Churches,” “The Christians of St. Thomas,” “The Jacobites,” “The 
Copts,” “The Abyssinians,” “The Arminians,” and many other minor 
denominations. “The Roman Church,” “The English Episcopal Church,” 
and “ The American Episcopal Church,” are also each of them a por¬ 
tion of that great family of churches included under the term Prelacy. 
These all agjee in one great fundamental principle. They believe that 
ecclesiastical government is a gift from Christ to priests, and that they 
possess the power of transmitting this authority to their successors- 
They differ in respect to their acknowledged head ; some of the Greek 
Christians acknowledging one Patriarch, and some another, and some the 
Roman Pontiff. Some Romanists also acknowledge the Pope, and some 
deny his supremacy. The English Episcopal Church acknowledge the 
king, or, during the present reign, the queen, as their head ; while Ameri¬ 
can Episcopalians account diocesan bishops as the highest ecclesiastical 
officers. 

Presbyterians differ from Prelatists in respect to the source of ecclesias¬ 
tical authority ; and are divided, perhaps, into an equal number of minor 
denominations. They hold that all ecclesiastical authority is derived from 
the church itself; that the teaching office is transmitted by a plurality of 
presbyters or bishops; and that the whole body of believers, either as asso¬ 
ciated, or by their representatives, participate in the government. A bishop, 
according to the views of Presbyterians, is the pastor of a single congrega¬ 
tion. Sometimes, as in the church of Ephesus, mentioned Acts xx. 28, 
several bishops or pastors unitedly presided over the spiritual instruction 
of a single worshipping assembly. This general system is sometimes 
termed “ parity,” because a leading feature of it is the equal official dignity 
of Christian ministers. Prelacy and Parity divide the Christian world. 

The Presbyterian Church, in this general denomination, includes Lu¬ 
therans, Reformed Dutch, Congregationalists, Baptists, Scotch, English, 
and American Presbyterians. Among these, the English Presbyterians, 
Congregationalists, and Baptists, allow the popular will in ecclesiastical 
matters to be expressed by the members of the church as occasion may de¬ 
mand ; while the Reformed Dutch, Scotch, and American Presbyterians 
call for the exercise of popular liberty in the election of lay elders, as 
making a part of the ecclesiastical courts, and in the election and dismis¬ 
sion of pastors, and in the entire control of the church edifices and congre¬ 
gational funds. 

As the articles of the Jewish faith have been given, and the creed of the 
Mohammedans, and those of the Greek, Roman, and Episcopal Churches, 
have been amply unfolded, the articles of faith as held by the Presbyterian 
Church cannot, with propriety, be omitted. 

Though Presbyterianism in the Kirk of Scotland is of earlier origin, 
yet as all the fundamental principles are essentially the same in Scotland 
29 



























































ft X, 

(L 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


and America, and as the development of these principles in the account of 
the Scottish kirk was not made in this work, it is not deemed improper 
to insert them in this place. 

Presbyterianism acknowledges no authority in respect to the doctrines 
and duties of the Christian church, but the will of God as found in the 
sacred Scriptures. It maintains that God alone is Lord of the conscience, 
and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men ; and 
that the rights of private judgment, in all matters that respect religion, are 
universal and inalienable. It holds, that all ecclesiastical power is only 
ministerial and declarative ; that is to say, that the Holy Scriptures are the 
only rule of faith and manners; that no church judicatory ought to pre¬ 
tend to make laws to bind the conscience in virtue of their own authority, 
and that all their decisions ought to be founded upon the word of God. 
Ecclesiastical discipline is purely moral and spiritual in its object, and 
ought not to be attended with any civil effects; hence it can derive no force 
whatever, but from its own justice, the approbation of an impartial public, 
and the favour and blessing of the great Head of the church. 

The Officers of the Presbyterian church are bishops or pastors, ruling 
elders, and deacons. The pastor is the spiritual teacher of the congrega¬ 
tion. He is expected to preach the gospel in the church on the Lord’s 
day, to instruct the people by occasional lectures, to superintend the cate- 
chismal teaching of the young, and to visit the sick and bereaved, an 
console them by spiritual counsel adapted to their necessities. Ruling 
elders are elected by the people as their representatives in the ecclesiasti 
cal courts, and to co-operate with the pastor in watching over the spiritual 
interests of the congregation. They are designated by the apostle Paul, 
under the title of “Governments,” and as “those who rule well,” in dis 
tinction from such as labour in word and doctrine. Deacons are secular 
officers whose duty is the care of the poor, and the reception and disburse¬ 
ment of the charities of the congregation. 

The Session is the primary court of the church, and consists of the 
bishop or pastor, and the ruling eiders. The bishop is the president, and 
has the title of “Moderator of the session.” In this primary court origi¬ 
nates all the legislative action of the church. If the superior courts would 
take any step involving new constitutional principles, they are obliged to 
send the question down to the church sessions, that they may thus know 
the will of the church itself, before any revolutionary measures can bo 
adopted. The session is also charged with the duty of watching over the 
spiritual interests of the congregation. It can summon offenders to an ac¬ 
count for their irregularities, or their neglect of Christian duty. It can 
investigate charges presented by others, and admonish, rebuke, or suspend 
or exclude from the Lord’s table, those who are found to deserve censure, 
according to the degree of their criminality. It is the business of the ses 











































































































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AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS. 


447 


sion also to appoint a delegate of its own body, to attend, with the pastor, 
the higher judicatories of the church. It is required of the session to keep 
a fair record of all its proceedings, as also a register of marriages, bap¬ 
tisms, persons admitted to the Lord’s Supper, deaths, and other removals 
of church members, and to transmit these records, at stated periods, to the 
presbytery for their inspection. 

A Presbytery consists of all the ministers, and one ruling elder from 
each church within a certain district. Three ministers, and as many elders 
as may be present, are necessary to constitute a quorum. The presbytery 
has power to receive and issue appeals from church sessions, and refer¬ 
ences brought before them in an orderly manner; to examine and license 
and ordain candidates for the holy ministry; to install, remove, and judge 
ministers ; to examine and approve or censure the records of church ses¬ 
sions; to resolve questions of doctrine or discipline, seriously and reasona¬ 
bly proposed ; to condemn erroneous opinions which injure the purity or 
peace of the church; to visit particular churches for the purpose of in¬ 
quiring into their state, and redressing the evils that may have arisen in 
them ; to unite or divide congregations, at the request of the people, or ta 
form or receive new congregations; and, in general, to perform whatever 
may be deemed necessary to the spiritual welfare of the churches under 
their care. 

A Synod consists of several presbyteries united. Not less than tbreib 
presbyteries are necessary to compose a synod. It is not made up of 
representatives from the presbyteries, as presbyteries are of representatives 
from the sessions. On the contrary, each member of all the presbyteries 
included in its bounds is a member of the synod, so that a synod is nothing 
different from a larger presbytery, constituted by a combination of severa 
presbyteries into one. The synod reviews the records of presbyteries, 
approving or censuring their proceedings, erecting new presbyteries, unit-< 
ing or dividing those which were before erected, taking a general care of 
the churches within its bounds, and proposing such measures to the 
General Assembly as may be for advantage to the whole church. The 
synod is a court of appeal for the presbyteries within its bounds, having 
the same relation to the presbyterial courts which the presbyteries have to 
the sessions. 

The General Assembly is the highest judicatory in the Presbyterian 
Church. It is constituted of an equal delegation of bishops and elders! 
from the presbyteries. In one branch of the Presbyterian Church in 
America, the General Assembly is an appellate court; in the other it is 
only an advisory council, except that it possesses power to review the pro¬ 
ceedings of the inferior bodies, and to decide, as a supreme court, thej 
meaning of the constitution. 

The General Assembly is not necessary to the most perfect development 



























































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


of Presbyterian Church government, nor, indeed, is any court higher than 
the presbytery ; but, it has this obvious advantage of representing all the 
congregations of this denomination under the same civil government in a 
single body. Thus, the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, and 
the General Assembly of the United States, before either were divided, 
presented an imposing influence in the visible unity of each. 

The church sessions meet at stated periods as often as may be deemed 
necessary. In some churches, they convene once in each week ; in others 
less freauentlv. Presbvteries hold two stated meetings in a year, while 


nine 


by term ns 
England, 


man 


ought to be considered Arrninian or Calvinistic; the Presbyterian Chi 
is unitedly Calvinistic, so that any man who should avow himself A 
nian could not obtain ordination in the Presbyterian Church of either £ 
land or America. 

The system of doctrine is clearly set forth in the Westminster Confes 
of Faith, and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. Without attempting 
extended exposition of those great principles, more amply unfolded in 
standards of the church, it is proper to submit a brief and comprehen 










































































AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS 


and intercession, are the means of bringii 
means would be without efficacy if there 
tuitous 

Holy Spirit did not by his own 


Yet these 
man a gra- 

justification, through the merit of our Saviour’s sacrifice, and if the 

invisible agency cause sinners to accept a 

free pardon and salvation. 

Hence the provisions of mercy are gratuitous not only, but, the disposi¬ 
tion to accept these provisions is also produced by a sovereign interposition 
Spirit. It is evident from observation as well as from Scrip- 
r sins, and consequently it could not have been 
im, who never chancres his plans of operation, to 


ot tne divine 

ture, that many die in thei 
the original purpose of H 
bring all to repentance and faith in a Redeemer. Known unto God are all 
his works from the beginning of the world. All the dispensations of his 
grace, as well as of his providence, and, among the rest, the effectual call¬ 
ing and salvation of every believer, entered into his plan from all eternity. 
Still, these statements are to be taken in connection with the most full and 
perfect maintenance of human freedom and responsibleness. In the 
language of the standards, “So as, that, thereby neither is God the 
author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is 
the liberty, or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather esta¬ 
blished.” 

Presbyterians do not regard a prescribed liturgy in worship as autho¬ 
rized by the word of God, and they deem it contrary to the spirit and in¬ 
tention of divine worship that all public services, amid the most various and 
changing circumstances, should be prescribed. They do not, however, deny 
the lawfulness of pre-corn posing prayers, an*d the Reformed Dutch Church, 
which is Presbyterian, uses a limited liturgical service. 

“The Directory for the Public Worship of God in the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States of America,” points out the duties of the 
church in public services and ordinances in fifteen chapters. They are 
arranged under the following heads and subdivisions: 


CHAP. I.-OF THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE LORD S DAY 


1. Preparation is to be made for observing it. 

2. The whole day is to be kept holy to the Lord. 

3. Families are to make such arrangements as to allow servants and all 
the household to enjoy its privileges. 

4. Every person and family is to prepare for the public worship of God, 
by prayer and holy meditation. 

5. The people are to attend upon public worship at the stated hour. 

6. The remainder of the day, after the public services are over, is to be 
spent in prayer and praise, and devotional reading and teaching the young, 
and works of charity. 































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


jCIIAP. II.-OF THE ASSEMBLING OF THE CONGREGATION AND THEIR BEHAVIOUR 


DURING DIVINE SERVICE 


1. The people are charged to assemble in a grave and reverent manner- 

2. To join in the services without allowing their attention to be distracted 
from the solemn duties appropriate to the time and place. 


CHAP. III.-OF THE PUBLIC READING OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 


1. The reading of the holy Scriptures is a part 

2. The holy Scriptures are to be publicly read 
that the people may understand. 

3. The portion to be read is to be selected bj 
j.icher in the exercise of Christian discretion. 


CHAP. IV.-OF THE SINGING OF PSALMS 


1. It is enjoined on Christians as a c 
psalms and hymns. 

2. Sacred music is to be cultivated 


that the spirit of true devotion 
may be united with a proper exercise of the understanding. 

3. The whole congregation should be furnished with books, that all may 
take part in singing. 

4. The proportion of time to be spent in singing is to be left to the dis¬ 
cretion of the minister. 


CHAP. V.-OF PUBLIC PRAYER 


CHAP. VI.-OF PREACHING THE WORD 


1. Preaching the word is an institution of God, and demands great at 
tention. 

2. The subject of a sermon should be some verse or verses of Scripture 
find its object to explain, defend, and apply some part of the system of di 






























































































AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS. 

vine truth ; or, to point out the nature, and state the bounds and obligation 
of some duty. 

3. The method of preaching requires much study and prayer, and mi¬ 
nisters ought not to indulge themselves in loose extemporary harangues 
They are to avoid ostentation, and to adorn their doctrines by their lives. 

4. Sermons are not to be too long and tedious. 

5. The sermon being ended, the minister shall pray and return thanks 
to Almighty God, a psalm or hymn shall be sung, and the assembly dis¬ 
missed with the apostolic benediction. 

G. No person must be permitted to preach in any pulpit except by the 
consent of the pastor or church session. 

CHAP. VII.-OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF BAPTISM. 

1. Baptism is to be administered by none but a minister of Christ. 

2. It is- usually to be administered in the church in the presence of the 
congregation. 

3. Children are to be presented by one or both of their parents, or in 
case of adopted children or servants, they are to be presented by those who 
are really responsible for their religious training. God-fathers and God¬ 
mothers are rejected by the Presbyterian church, as unauthorized, and 
inconsistent with the design of the ordinance, as binding those who are 
charged with the spiritual training of the young. 

4. Before baptism let the minister use some words of instruction respect¬ 
ing the institution, nature, use, and ends of this ordinance ; showing “That 
it is instituted by Christ; that it is a seal of the righteousness of faith ; that 
the seed of the faithful have no less right to this ordinance under the gospel 
than the seed of Abraham to circumcision under the Old Testament ; that 
Christ commanded all nations to be baptized j that he blessed little children, 
declaring that of such is the kingdom of her yen ; that children are federally 
holy, and therefore ought to be baptized ; that we are, by nature, sinful, 
guilty and polluted, and have need of cleansing by the blood o f Christ, and 
by the sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God.” 

The minister is also to exhort the parents to the careful performance of 
their duty ; requiring “ That they teach the child to read the word of God ; 
that they instruct it in the principles of our holy religion, as contained in 
the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments ; an excellent summary of 
which we have in the Confession of Faith of this church, and in the Larger 
and Shorter Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly, which are to be 
recommended to them as adopted by this church as their direction and 
assistance in the discharge of this important duty ; that they pray with it, 
and for it; that they set an example of piety and godliness before it; and 
endeavour, by all the means of God’s appointment, to bring up their child 
in the nurture and admonition of the T*«rd.” 



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IDlSf 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


5. Then the minister is to pray for a blessing to attend this ordinance, 
after which, calling the child by its name, he shall say, “ I baptize thee in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost/’ As he 
pronounces these words, he is to baptize the child with water, by pouring 
or sprinkling it on the face of the child, without adding any other ceremony ; 
and the whole shall be concluded with prayer. 

CHAP VIII.-OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER. 

1. The times for celebrating the Lord’s Supper are to be determined by 
the minister and eldership. In some portions of the church it is observed 
only semi-annually ; mare generally, however, as often as once in three 
months; in others, once in two months, and in a few monthly. 

2. The ignorant and scandalous are not admitted. In the Presbyterian 
church in the United States it is not deemed necessary to protect the table 
of the Lord from unworthy communicants by requiring tickets of admission. 
It is found that very seldom does any one offer to approach without being a 
regularly acknowledged communicant. 

3. Public notice is given of the intention to celebrate the Lord’s Supper 
one Lord’s day previous to the administration of the ordinance, and a lecture 
is delivered on some convenient season in the course of the week, that by 
preparatory instruction and devotion the church may come in a suitable 
manner to this holy feast. 

4. When the service has been introduced with appropriate devotional 
exercises or a sermon, the bishop or pastor shows that this is an ordinance 
of Christ; by reading the words of the institution, either from one of the 
Evangelists, or from 1 Cor. xi. chapter ; which, as to him may appear 
expedient, he may explain and apply. 

5. The table on which the elements are placed, being decently covered, 
the bread in coivenient dishes, and the wine in cups, and the communi¬ 
cants orderly and gravely sitting around the table, or in their seats before 
it, the minister sets the elements apart by prayer and thanksgiving. He 
then takes the bread and breaks it, in the presence of the people, saying, 
in expressions of this sort: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the same night in 
which he was betrayed, having taken bread and blessed and broken 
it, gave it to his disciples; as I, ministering in his name, give this 
bread to you, saying, (while the elders commence the distribution,) Take, 
eat, this is my body which is broken for you : this do in remembrance of 


me. 


After having given the bread with due care that none nave been neg¬ 
lected, he takes the cup and says: “After the same manner our Saviour 
took the cup: and having given thanks, as hath been done in his name, he 
gave it to his disciples; saying, (while the minister repeats these words. 











































































AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS 


he gives the cup to the elders,) This cup is the New Testament in my 
blood, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins: drink ye all of 
it.” Ihe pastor and elders may communicate at such times as are conve¬ 
nient The service is commonly concluded with exhortation and prayer, 
and singing a hymn, and pronouncing the apostolical benediction. 

6. It has been customary in some parts of the Presbyterian church, to 
observe a fast before the Lord’s Supper; and to have a sermon on the 
Saturday preceding, and the Monday following ; and to invite two or three 
ministers to assist, on such occasions; and as these seasons have been 
blessed to many persons, and may tend to keep up a stricter union of mi¬ 
nisters and congregations, it is thought not improper that those who 
choose it may continue in this practice. 

It may be well to observe, that Presbyterians regard the ordinances of 
baptism and the Lord’s Supper as having no efficacious influence in their 
own nature. They do not allow that the water of baptism has an influ¬ 
ence upon the soul; it is the mere symbol of the Holy Spirit’s power in 
renewing and sanctifying our nature. So, the bread and wine in the 
Lord’s Supper are memorials and symbols only. They possess no differ¬ 
ence of nature, after the prayer by which the blessing of God is implored 
on the ordinance. 

The doctrine of the Presbyterian church is clearly presented in the 
first volume of “ Bruce’s Sermons on the Sacrament of the Lord’s Sup¬ 
per,” published by the Wodrow Society. We give it in the quaint style 
and spelling of the author. 

The word leads us to Christ be the ear; the sacraments leads us to 
Christ be the eye; twa senses, of all the rest, quhilk God hes chosen as 
maist meete for this purpose, to instruct us, and bring us to Christ. For 
that doctrine man be maist effectuall and moving that walkens and steirs 
up moniest of the outward senses; that doctrine that walkens not onely 
the eare, bot the eye, the taist, the feeling, and all the rest of the outward 
senses; therefore it man be (gif we cum weil prepared to it) maist effec¬ 
tual to steir up the inward senses of the dull hart. But there is a thing 
that ye man ever remember; there is na doctrine, nather of the simple 
word, nor yit of the sacraments, gif Christ abstract his Haly Spirit, that is 
able to move.” 


CHAP. IX.-OF THE ADMISSION OF PERSONS TO SEALING ORDINANCES 


1. Children born within the pale of the visible church and baptized in 
infancy, are to be admitted to the Lord’s Supper, when they arrive at the 
proper age, if they give evidence of true piety. The rite of confirmation 
is rejected as without warrant in the word of God. 

2. The years of discretion are to be judged of, by the eldership in indi- 


































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


vidual cases, as they arise, and the session is to judge of the qualifications 
of those who make application to be admitted to sealing ordinances. 

3. Those thus admitted must be previously examined by the session as 
to their knowledge and piety. 

4. Unbaptized persons applying for admission to sealing ordinances, 
shall make a public profession of their faith in the presence of the con¬ 
gregation. 


CHAP. X.-OF THE MODE OF INFLICTING CHURCH CENSURES 


1. Christ has given the church power by its proper officers to exercise 
discipline over offenders for their good, and the general purity of the church. 

2. When any member of a church shall have been guilty of a fault de¬ 
serving censure, the judicatory shall proceed with tenderness to restore 
their offending brother. 

3. When gentler means fail, they must proceed to rebuke the delinquent, 
or to suspend him from the privilege of the Lord’s table. 

4. After such suspension it is the duty of the bishop and the elders to 
converse with him kindly, as well as to pray in private that God would 
grant him repentance. 

5. When the judicatory shall be satisfied of the reality of the repentance 
of any offender, he shall be admitted to profess his repentance, and be 
restored to the privileges of the church. 

6. When an offender has been adjudged to be cut off from the communion 
of the church, it is proper that the sentence be publicly pronounced against 
him. 

7. The design of excommunication is to operate on the offender as a 
means of reclaiming him; to deliver the church from the scandal of his 
offence ; and to inspire all with fear by the example of his punishment. 

8. When an excommunicated person shall give to the session satisfactory 
evidence of true repentance, they may, with the advice and concurrence of 
the presbytery, restore him. 


CHAP. XI.-OF THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGE 


1. Marriage is not a sacrament. 

2. Christians ought to marry in the Lord ; therefore it is hi that their 
marriage be solemnized by a minister of the gospel. 

3. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman only; and they 
are not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity prohibited by 
the word of God. 

4. The parties ought to be of such years of discretion as to be capable of 
making their own choice. 

































































































5. Parents ought not to compel their children to marry contrary to their 
inclinations, nor deny their consent without just and important reasons. 

6. Marriage is of a public nature, involving the interests of the commu¬ 
nity and of families. It is therefore enjoined on all ministers of the gospel, 
not to solemnize a marriage without being well assured that no just ob¬ 
jections lie against it. 

7. When marriage is solemnized a competent number of witnesses must 
be present. 

8. When the parties present themselves, the minister is to ask if there 
be any person present who can show any reason why these persons may 
not be joined together in the marriage relation. No objections being made, 
he is then to address himself, severally, to the parties to be married, in the 
following or like words :—“ You, the man, declare, in the presence of God, 
that you do not know any reason, by pre-contract or otherwise, why you 
may not lawfully marry this woman.” Upon his having answered affirma¬ 
tively, he addresses himself to the bride in similar terms, “ You, the woman, 
declare, in the presence of God, that you do not know any reason, by pre¬ 
contract or otherwise, why you may not lawfully marry this man.” Upon 
her declaring that she does not, he is to begin with prayer for the blessing 
of God. Then, after such suitable prefatory address as he may judge fit, 
he causes the bridegroom and bride to join their right hands, and pro¬ 
nounces the marriage covenant first to the man, in these words: 

“ You take this woman, whom you hold by the hand, to be your lawful 
and married wife: and you promise and covenant in the presence of God, 
and these witnesses, that you will be unto her a loving and faithful hus¬ 
band, until you shall be separated by death.” 

When the man has given his assent, the minister addresses himself to 
the bride, in these words: 

“ You take this man, whom you hold by the hand, to be your lawful and 
married husband : and you promise and covenant in the presence of God 
and these witnesses, that you will be unto him a loving, obedient, and 
faithful wife, until you shall be separated by death.” 

Her assent being given, the minister says, “ I pronounce you husband 
and wife, according to the ordinance of God: whom, therefore, God hath 
joined together, let not man put asunder.” He then concludes the whole 
with prayer, sometimes adding the benediction. The Presbyterian church, 
however, does not bind her ministry to this precise form of marriage. They 
may vary it to gratify the parties, if the principles brought to view in this 
formula are only expressed. Presbyterian ministers, while they prefer 
their own simple form, in which nothing is said without meaning, some¬ 
times make use of the forms of the Episcopal denomination. 


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13 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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CHAP. XII.-OF THE VISITATION OF THE SICK. 

1. It is enjoined on the sick to send for their minister. 

2. The minister shall teach the sick to make a spiritual improvement of 
“ the chastening of the Lord.” 

3. He shall instruct the ignorant in the nature of repentance and faith. 

4. He shall exhort to self-examination. 

5. If the sick signify any scruple, doubt, or temptation, the minister shal 
endeavour to remove them. 

6. If the sick be stupid and regardless of spiritual things, he shall endea 
vour to awaken his mind. 

7. If the spirit of the sick appear to be broken with a sense of sin, and 
under an apprehension of the want of the divine favour, he shall administer 
consolation and encouragement from the all-sufficiency of the righteousness; 
of Christ, and the supporting promises of the gospel. 

8. The minister shall guard the sick against ill-grounded persuasions of 
the mercy of God. 

9. In one word, the minister is charged to administer to the sick person 
instruction, conviction, support, consolation, or encouragement, as his case 
may seem to require. At a proper time, when he is most composed, the 
minister shall pray with and for him. 

10. Lastly, the minister may improve the occasion to exhort others. 

In all this it will be perceived that the object is to deal with the intelli 
gence and the conscience of the sick. No rites are proposed for the benefit 
of the sick. 


CHAP. XIII.-OF THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 

1. When any person departs this life, let the corpse be taken care of in 
a decent manner; and be kept a sufficient and proper time before inter 
ment. 

2. The body is to be decently and solemnly attended to the grave. 
Sometimes the corpse is first taken to the church, and a funeral sermon h 
delivered. More commonly, however, there is a brief service of reading 
the Scriptures, prayer, and exhortation, at the house of the deceased per¬ 
son. These services are by some, and in pleasant weather, performed a 
the grave. 

CHAP. XIV.-OF FASTING, AND OF THE OBSERVATION OF THE DAYS OF THANKS¬ 

GIVING. 

1. There is no holy day to be observed except the Lord’s day. 

2. Nevertheless, days of special fasting and thanksgiving are indicate 
by peculiar providences. 


e 



























































































AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS 


CHAP. XV.-THE DIRECTORY FOR SECRET AND FAMILY WORSHIP 


1. It is a duty enjoined on each person alone to pray in secret, and of 
sach family to hold daily family worship. 

2. Secret worship is enjoined by our Lord. It should consist of prayer, 
wading the Holy Scriptures, meditation, and serious self-examination. 

3. Family worship ought to be performed, ordinarily, by every family, 
morning and evening. 

4. The head of the family who is to perform this service ought to be 
careful that all the members of his household duly attend. 

5. The heads of families are to be careful to instruct their children and 
servants in the principles of religion. 

It will be perceived from this outline of “The Directory of Worship,” 
hat the Presbyterian Church lays great stress upon instruction as adapted 
;o the circumstances and wants of the church, and rejects all ceremonies 

proper here to 


hat are not enjoined in the New Testament 
lotice the manner of appointing the officers of the church, and the 
of their induction into office. 


OF THE ELECTING AND ORDAINING OF RULING ELDERS AND DEACONS. 

Elders and deacons are appointed by a majority of the people. When 
n elder or deacon elect shall have signified his willingness to accept the 
ffice, a day shall be appointed for his ordination. The day being arrived, 
fter sermon the bishop or minister shall propose to the candidate, in the 
nresence of the congregation, the following questions : 

















































































458 


DEN0311NATI0NS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be 
the word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice ? 

2. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of this 
church as containing the system of doctrine taught in the holy Scriptures ? 

3. Do you approve of the government and discipline of the Presbyterian 
church, in these United States ? 

4. Do you accept the office of ruling elder, (or deacon, as the case may 
be,) in this congregation, and promise faithfully to perform all the duties 
thereof ? 

5. Do you promise to study the peace, unity, and purity of the church ? 

These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the minister 

shall address to the members of the church the following question, namely : 

Do you, the members of this church, acknowledge and receive this bro¬ 
ther as a ruling elder, (or deacon,) and do you promise to yield him all that 
honour, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord, to which his office-; 
according to the word of God and the constitution of this church, entitles 
him ? 

These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the ministei 
proceeds to set the candidate apart to his office by prayer, after which the 
members of the session take the newly ordained elder by the hand, saying 
“We give you the right hand of fellowship, to take part of this office i 
with us.” 


OF LICENSE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. 

The Presbytery licenses candidates for the sacred office, that the people 
may be able to judge whether they are suitable persons to become bishopn 
in the church. Before proceeding to licensure, the Presbytery requir 
satisfaction with respect to the piety and learning of the candidate. Fo 
this purpose he must sustain an examination in respect to personal pietj 
before the Presbytery. In addition to this, and an examination on the art 
and sciences, he must exhibit instances of his learning and ability in sevei*/ 
ral written compositions, as, 

1. An exegesis in Latin, on some important head in divinity. 

2. A critical exercise on some difficult portion of Scripture. 

3. An expository lecture adapted to popular instruction, and 

4. A popular sermon. 

If the Presbytery be satisfied with his “ trials,” they proceed to licens^ 
hrim in the following manner. The moderator proposes to him these fou 
questions: 

1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to b 
the word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice ? 

2. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of thi 
church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the holy Scriptures 


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m 


AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS. 

3. Do you promise to study the peace, unity, and purity of the church ? 

4. Do you promise to submit yourself, in the Lord, to the government i\ 
of this presbytery, or of any other presbytery, in the bounds of which you 
may be called ? 

These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the modeiator 
proceeds to license him in the following words : 

“ In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by that authority which he 
has given to the church for its edification, we do license you to preach the 
gospel, wherever God in his providence may call you : and for this pur¬ 
pose may the blessing of God rest upon you, and the Spirit of Christ fill 
vour heart. Amen” 

ORDINATION OF A BISHOP OR PASTOR. 

The preliminary examinations having been passed through with in 
much the same method as in case of licensure, and a sermon having been 
preached to the congregation, the moderator of the presbytery propounds 
several questions to the candidate. The first three are the same as those 
proposed to an elder. The remainder are as follows:— 

4. Do you promise subjection to your brethren in the Lord ? 

5. Have you been induced, as far as you know your own heart, to seek 
the office of the holy ministry from love to God and a sincere desire to 
promote his glory in the gospel of his Son ? 

6. Do you promise to be zealous and faithful in maintaining the truth 
of the gospel, and the purity and peace of the church ; whatever perse¬ 
cution or opposition may arise unto you on that account? 

7. Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all pri¬ 
vate and personal duties, which become you as a Christian and a minister 
of the gospel; as well as in all relative duties, and the public duty of 
your office; endeavouring to adorn the profession of the gospel by your (gs 
conversation, and walking with exemplary piety before the flock over 
which God shall make you overseer? 

8. Are you now willing to take charge of this congregation, agreeably 
to your declaration in accepting their call ? And do you promise to dis¬ 
charge the duties of a pastor to them as God shall give you strength ? 

These questions having been answered in the affirmative, the presiding 
minister proposes to the people the following: — 

1. Do you, the people of this congregation, continue to profess your 
readiness to receive A. B., whom you have called to be your minister ? 

2. Do you promise to receive the word of truth from his mouth, with 
meekness and love, and to submit to him, in the due exercise of discipline * 

3. Do you promise to encourage him in his arduous labour, and to? 
assist his endeavours for your instruction and spiritual edification ? 

4. And do vou engage to continue to him, while he is your pastor, that 


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DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES. 


competent worldly maintenance which you have promised, and what¬ 
ever else you may see needful for the honor of religion, and his com¬ 
fort among you? 

The people having answered these questions by holding up their right 
hands, the candidate kneels down, and the presiding minister, by 
prayer and with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery upon his 
head, according to the apostolic example, solemnly ordains him to the 
holy office of the gospel ministry. Prayer being ended, he rises from 
his knees; and the minister who presides first, and afterwards all the 
other members of the presbytery, in their order, take him by the right 
hand, saying, “We give you the right hand of fellowship, to take part 
of this ministry with us.” 

All the spiritual officers of the Presbyterian Church hold their offices 
for life. 

The presiding officers over the church judicatories, (except in the ses¬ 
sion, where the pastor is always the moderator,) are elected anew at each 
stated meeting. 

HISTORY OF 

i THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Continued to 1871 . 


The Presbyterian Church in the United States is to be considered as 
the offspring of the Church of Scotland. So far as is now known the 
first Presbyterian Church that was organized and furnished with a 
place of worship in the American Colonies, was in the City of Phila¬ 
delphia, about the year 1703. The next year a Presbytery was formed 
©kinder the title of “The Presbytery of Philadelphia.” As early as 1716 
\ j the Presbyterian body had so far increased that a Synod was constituted, 
comprising four Presbyteries. After the formation of this Synod the 
body was increased not only by emigrants from Scotland and Ireland, 
but also by the accession of persons from England, Wales, France, 
Holland and Switzerland. A number from New England were induced 
by local considerations or other circumstances to connect themselves 
' with it. 

While these acquisitions from so many different parts of the world 
tended to enlarge the Presbyterian body, they, at the same time, greatly 
diminished its harmony. It soon became apparent that entire unity 
of sentiment did not prevail among them respecting the examination 
of candidates for the ministry on experimental religion, and also re* 
specting strict adherence to presby terial order, and the requisite amount 
of learning in those who sought the ministerial office. Frequent con¬ 
flicts on these subjects occurred in different Presbyteries. Parties were 
formed. Those who were most zealous for strict orthodoxy, for ad¬ 
herence to presbyterial order, and fora learned ministry were called 
the “Old Side,” while those who laid a greater stress on vital piety 
than on any other qualification, and who undervalued ecclesiastical 
order and learning, were called the “New Side,” or “New Lights.” 
The whole body, in 17-9, adopted the Westminster confession of faith 














































































PRESBYTERIANS. 


4C1 


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and catechisms as the standards of the Church. Still it was found that 
a faithful and uniform adherence to these standards could not, in all 
cases, be secured. At length, in 1711, the Synod was rent asunder, and 
the Synod of New York, composed of “ New Side ” men was set up in 
opposition to that of Philadelphia, which retained the original name 
and comprehended all the “Old Side” men who belonged to the 
general body. 

These Synods remained in a state of separation for seventeen years. 
At length, however, a plan of re-union was agreed upon. Several 
years were spent in negotiation. Mutual concessions were made, the 
articles of union in detail were happily adjusted, and the Synods were 
united under the title of the “ Synod of New York and Philadelphia,” 
in the year 1758. 

After this time the Presbyterian body went on increasing in num¬ 
bers, harmony and general edificatio i until the close of the Revolu¬ 
tionary war, when it could reckon about one hundred and seventy 
ministers and a few more churches. At the meeting of the Synod of 
New York and Philadelphia in May, 1785, finding the independence 
of the United States established, that judicatory began to take those 
steps for revising the public standards of the Church which issued in 
their adoption and establishment in their present form. The complete 
adjustment of this business occupied several years. In 1788 the work 
of revising and arranging the standards was completed, and they were 
then ordered to be printed and distributed for the government of all 
the judicatories of the Church. 

Under the new arrangement the body was divided into four Synods, 
viz.: the Synod of New York and New Jersey; the Synod of Phila¬ 
delphia ; the Synod of Virginia; and the Synod of the Carolinas ; and 
over these, as a bond of union, was constituted a “ General Assembly,” 
modeled in all its essential particulars after the General Assembly of 
the Church of Scotland. 

The next year (1789), the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States met in Philadelphia, and was opened with 
a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, who presided until the first 
moderator of that body (the Rev. Dr. Rogers) was chosen. At this 
meeting there were about one hundred and eighty or one hundred and 
ninety ministers belonging to the whole Presbyterian body. These 
were distributed into four Synods and seventeen Presbyteries, embrac¬ 
ing a large number of vacant congregations. 

The increase of this denomination thereafter was constant and rapid. 
In 1834 it embraced twenty-two Synods, one hundred and eleven Pres¬ 
byteries, about nineteen hundred ordained ministers, about two hun¬ 
dred and fifty licentiates, about the same number of candidates for 
license under the care of Presbyteries; and, according to the best au¬ 
thority, above two hundred and twenty thousand communicants. But 
tliis gratifying tide of prosperity was unhappily interrupted by internal 
d ssensions. Afilnities and a fraternal confidence between Presby¬ 
terians and Congregationalists had led to an admixture of Congrega¬ 
tionalism in rresbyterian judicatories. The Old School insisted that 
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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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this admixture, as unconstitutional, should cease. The New School 
contended for its toleration and extension. The Old School preferred 
strictly ecclesiastical agencies for conducting the missionary and other 
general evangelical work of the Church, urging, particularly, the es¬ 
tablishment of a Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. The New 
School desired, in union with Congregationalists, to confide this work 
to voluntary associations, the foreign part of it to the American Board 
of Commissioners. Both professed to be Calvinistic, and to “receive 
and adopt the confession of faith, as containing the system of doctrine 
as taught in the Scriptures,” but they differed widely as to what was 
essential to that system. The Old School contended that certain errors, 
utterly inconsistent with it, were prevalent in the Church, and endeavored 
to visit with discipline several prominent ministers charged therewith. 
The New School resisted the discipline proposed, arguing that some of 
the views alleged to be erroneous were irreconcilable with the Calvin¬ 
istic system, and denying that the others were really entertained by 
the parties accused, or were seriously prevalent. This difference as to 
doctrine was by far the most,serious difference between the parties. 
An open rupture occurred in 1837, when the Old School majority in the 
General Assembly disowned four Synods, as so far Congregationalized 
that they could no longer be acknowledged as Presbyterian bodies, 
whereupon the New School commissioners to the Assembly of 1838 
refused to recognize an organization of this judicatory which excluded 
representatives from the disowned constituency, and formed another 
assembly. This was but the commencement of the division. The pro¬ 
cess of separation was not completed for several years. It is but just 
to add that the New School acquiesced in the separation with great re¬ 
luctance. While each party adhered firmly to its own view of the 
questions at issue, the New School body urged that there was no occa¬ 
sion for a disruption. The relative strength of the two, when they 
separated, cannot be definitely ascertained. The undivided Church 
made the following report in 1837: Synods, 23; Presbyteries, 135; min¬ 
isters, 2,140; licentiates, 280, candidates, 244; Churches, 2,865; mem¬ 
bers, 220,557. The first tabular statement of the denomination 
called the “New School ” appeared in 1839, showed eighty-five Pres¬ 
byteries; twelve hundred and eiglity-six Churches, and one hundred 
thousand eight hundred and fifty communicants. An examination 
of the roll reveals the fact that ten Presbyteries are improperly included 
in this exhibit and must be deducted, which leaves the actual number 
of Presbyteries seventy-five and of communicants ninety-seven thou¬ 
sand and thirty-three. 

The statistical report of the Old School in 1840 showed seventeen 
synods, ninety-six presbyteries, seventeen hundred and sixty-three 
churches, and one hundred and twenty-six thousand, five hundred and 
eighty-three communicants. 

To test their claim to the true succession and their title to the funds 
and institutions of the Presbyterian church, the New School com¬ 
menced a suit in March, 1839, in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 
before Judge Rogers and a jury at nisiprius. The verdict was in favor 


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PRESBYTERIANS. 


403 





of the New School. A new trial was obtained, in which this decision 
was entirely reversed, and the whole case settled in favor of the Old 
School. By being thus judicially declared to be the true Presbyterian 
church, the Old School were greatly the gainers, in character and in¬ 
fluence, while the New School were correspondingly weakened. In 
the same year the latter proposed a “plan of peaceable division,” de¬ 
signed only to secure their constitutional privileges as Presbyterian*, 
while it relinquished to the other body all the chartered rights, institu¬ 
tions and funds of the Presbyterian church. This proposition was not 
agreed to, and all hope of an amicable arrangement was given up. The 
two bodies can hardly be said to have fairly started upon their career 
as distinct denominations until 1843. 

Their relative strength at that time was, New School, twelve hun¬ 
dred and sixty-three ministers, and fourteen hundred and ninety- 
six congregations. Old School—fourteen hundred and thirty-four 
ministers and two thousand ninety-two congregations. Starting wi ll 
many points of advantage, it is not to be wondered at that the pro¬ 
gress of the Old School was much more rapid than that of the New, 
yet both exhibited a high degree of prosperity for the next ten years. 
As a faithful historian we cannot omit to notice a display of Christian 
feeling on the part of the New School body, which must ever redound 
to its credit. In 1846 the two assemblies met in Philadelphia at the 
same time, and the New School made a proposition to the oilier body 
for a recognition of each other, as bodies of Christian brethren, by 
communing together at the Lord’s table. This proposition the Old 
School found it inexpedient to accept, to the general regret of both 
schools. They rejected it kindly, yet decisively. 

From 1840 to 1849 we find the increase of the Old School to have been 
seven hundred and forty-nine churches and seventy-four thousand two 
hundred and forty-seven communicants, or an average gain of more 
than eight thousand per year. The gain of the New School from 1839 
to 1849 was two hundred and ninety-five churches and forty-two tl ou- 
sand and fourteen communicants, or an average gain of over four thou¬ 
sand communicants a year. In the next decade we find a still greater 
increase in the Old School. The report for 1859 shows the total number 
of churches to have been three thousand, four hundred and eighty- 
seven, and of communicants two hundred and seventy-nine thousand 
six hundred and thirty, a gain of nine hundred and seventy-five 
churches and seventy-eight thousand eight hundred members. 

At the same date the New School reported fifteen hundred and forty- 
two churches and one hundred and thirty-seven thousand nine hun¬ 
dred and ninety communicants, showing a falling off in churches and 
communicants since 1849, but it must be borne in mind that in the year 
1858 the Southern synods, in the heat of the slavery controversy, sepa¬ 
rated from their brethren of the North, carrying with them about two 
hundred churches and ten thousand members. Another period of t< n 
years covers the remainder of the separate history of the two branches, 
and in this decade the Old School were the sufferers. Simultancou ly 
with the attempted secession of the Southern States from the Union, 



































































464 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



the Southern synods of this branch of the Presbyterian church with¬ 
drew and organized into a separate church. Thus were lost ten synods, 
forty-five presbyteries, eleven hundred and thirty-four churches, and 
seventy-six thousand communicants. Again, after the war of the rebel¬ 
lion the action of the Assembly upon the state of the country and of 
the church gave great offence to many persons, particularly in the 
border t tates. The presbytery of Louisville issued a “Declaration and 
Testimony,” to which they solicited the signatures of all who agreed 
with them. This paper testified against various errors in the acts of 
the Assembly, growing out of the war, which it attributed to political 
feelings, charged the Assembly with unjust and scandalous self-contra¬ 
diction, and even falsehood, and raised avowedly the standard of revolt. 
The l’tsult was that in 18G6 the larger portion of the churches in Ken¬ 
tucky, and about one half of those of Missouri, embracing some ten 
thousand members, ceased to be enrolled as an integral part of the 
church. Adding this to the other loss of 18G1, and we find a total loss 
of eiglity-six thousand members. Yet, to counterbalance these appal¬ 
ling losses, the church, in this decade, gained sixty-five thousand mem¬ 
bers, thus leaving her, in 1S69, but twenty-one thousand members 
short of her number in 1859. The last report shows two thousand 
seven hundred ah*l forty churches and two hundred and fifty-eight 
thousand nine hundred and three members. The progress of this branch 
of the Presbyterian church, since the separation, was most remarkable. 
Thus in the three decades— from 1839 to 1369—three hundred and seventy 
thousand five hundred and eighty-nine members were admitted on pro¬ 
fession of their faith. In the first, ninety-three thousand five hundred 
and forty six; in the second, one hundred and thirty nine thousand 
six hundred and fifty-seven ; in the third, one hundred and thirty- 
seven thousand three hundred and eighty-six. From 1840 to I860 the 
increase of population of the country at large was eighty-one and one- 
half per cent. During the same period the advance in the membership 
of the Old School church was one hundred and thirty-one per cent. 

The last decade was a prosperous one with the New School Church. 
The summary for 1869 exhibits the following results: ministers, eighteen 
hundred and forty-eight; churches, sixteen hundred and thirty-one; 
communicants, one hundred and seventy-two thousand five hundred 
and sixty—a gain of about three hundred ministers, one hundred 
churches, and thirty-five thousand members. Thus it will be seen that 
at the time of re-union both bodies were in a highly prosperous and 
satisfactory condition. The crudities and objectionable features which 
were manifest in the early history of the Church were eliminated, and 
there now appeared no visible reason why they should not become the 
most influential and effective of Protestant denominations in this 
country. 4 heir consolidation was all that was needed to accomplish 
this result, and in 1869 this was consummated. 

The causes that led to re-union may be very easily explained. The 
principal actors in the separation of 1837 had passed away; their 
gradually increasing intercourse had brought about a friendly feeling 
between the two bodies; and the issues which led to the separation had 































































PRESBYTERIANS. 


465 



in the main died out. The common agitating excitements, alarms, 
perils, and sufferings of a struggle for the nation’s life drew Old and 
New School men into closer and more frequent communion, and con¬ 
tributed largely to awaken the feeling which afterwards developed into 
practical re-union. Yet in 1862 the Old School Assembly still declined 
to talk of re-union, though it unanimously agreed to open a corres¬ 
pondence by delegates. No doubt this correspondence was a great 
advance toward organic unity. But, although the subject was brought 
every year to the notice of both Assemblies, nothing more definite was 
accomplished until 1866, when the first joint committee was appointed 
to conl'er upon “ the desirableness and practicability of re-union.” The 
Presbyterian National Union Convention of November, 1867—held in 
Philadelphia—gave a perceptible impulse to the whole movement. It 
developed a growing, enthusiastic, and irresistible feeling in favor of 
re-union, which had the effect to turn many opponents into friends of 
the measure. In 1869 the report of the Joint Committee on Re-union 
was perfected and adopted by both Assemblies. The only points in it 
which we deem it necessary to mention here are the following: 

1. The two bodies “ shall be re-united as one Church, under the name 
and style of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 
possessing all the legal and corporate rights and powers pertaining to 
the Church previous to the division in 1838, and all the legal and cor¬ 
porate rights and powers which the separate Churches now possess.” 

2. “ The re-union shall be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical 
basis of our common standards; the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments shall be acknowledged to be the inspired Word of God and 
the only infallible rule of faith and practice; the Confession of Faith 
shall continue to be sincerely received and adopted as containing the 
system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures; and the government 
and discipline of the Presbyterian Church in the United States shall 
be approved as containing the principles and rules of our polity.” 

Thus was consummated what must be regarded as the most important 
and auspicious event in the religious annals of our country. It was the 
occasion of general congratulation and rejoicing throughout the land. 

But still there remained an important body of Presbyterians outside 
the fold—those of the Southern and Border States who withdrew in 
1861 and 1866—and were now known as the Southern Presbyterian 
Church, and in 1870 the United Assembly addressed itself to the task 
of persuading this body to crown the work of re-union by connecting 
itself again with the parent Church. A committee was appointed, and 
armed with resolutions expressive of the cordial desire of the body they 
represented for the speedy establishment of fraternal relations with the 
Southern Presbyterian Church, repaired to Louisville, where the last 
named body was sitting. Their overtures, however, were unsuccessful, 
and further efforts in this direction were postponed. 

The following statistics will show the condition of the Southern 
Presbyterian Church in 1870. It then reported eleven synods; fifty-five 
presbyteries; eight hundred and forty ministers; fifty-three licentiates; 
one hundred and sixty-one candidates; fourteen hundred and sixty-nine 



































































4G6 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


churches; eighty-two thousand and fourteen communicants, and forty- 
seven thousand three hundred and seventeen children in Sabbath 
Schools and Bible Classes. The following were its contributions for the 
year 1870: To sustentation, $49,002; to foreign missions, $23,269; to 
education, $34,209; to publication, $10,279; for presbyterial purposes, 
$12,247; for congregational purposes, $676,432; for miscellaneous pur¬ 
poses, $66,917. Total amount contributed, $872,355. 

It now but remains for us to give a brief account of the condition of 
the re-united Presbyterian Church. Its statistical report for the year 
ending May, 1870, showed fifty-one synods; two hundred and fifty-nine 
presbyteries; five thousand and seventeen ministers (including licen¬ 
tiates and candidates); four thousand five hundred and twenty six 
churches; four hundred and forty-six thousand five hundred and sixty- 
one communicants, and four hundred and forty-eight thousand eight 
hundred and fifty-seven Sabbath School scholars. 

Its contributions for the year are deserving of special mention, 
amounting as they did to the magnificent total of $8,440,121. The net 
increase in membership for the year was over fifteen thousand, and the 
gain in churches one hundred and fifty-five. Allowing for the same 
gain in the year ending May, 1871, and we find at the present time a 
membership of upwards of four hundred and sixty-one thousand, and 
four thousand eight hundred and thirty-six churches. The Church 
has the following theological seminaries under its control, viz.: Alie~ 
gheny, Auburn, Chicago, Columbia, Danville, Lane, New Albany, 
Princeton, Union, Union of Va. school for Germans, all of which are 
ably managed and, we believe, liberally sustained. Upon the day when 
the union of the two bodies was consummated, the Rev. Dr. Samuel W. 
Fisher, of the Joint Committee on Union, presented on behalf of said 
Committee a paper which, after reciting the unparalleled significancy 
of the important event and the happy influence it was calculated to 
have upon the country and the world, in effecting corresponding re¬ 
sults among all those who love the cause of the Redeemer, said “Let 
us then as an expression of our devout gratitude to Him who has 
brought this once dissevered and now united Church up to this Mount 
of Transfiguration, signalize this most blessed and joyful union, with 
an offering in some good degree commensurate with the pecuniary gifts 
he has bestowed upon us.” Then followed the resolution, which, as 
amended and unanimously passed, was in substance, “ to make a special 
offering to the treasury of our Lord, of five millions of dollars; and 
we pledge ourselves, first of all, to seek in our daily petitions the bless¬ 
ing of God, to make this resolution effectual; and second, that we will, 
with untiring perseverance and personal effort, endeavor to animate 
the whole Church with like purpose, and to secure the accomplishment 
of the great work before the third Thursday of May, 1871 . 11 

Upon the assembling of the General Assembly at Chicago, in May, 
1871, the result of this effort was reported at $7,607,499.91, which sum 
was applied to the following objects: New Churches, $3,236,475.61; 
Manses, $83,884.05; Repairs and Enlargements, $733,707.60; Payments 
of debts, $1,083,478.72; Institutions of learning, $1,405,548.66; Perman- 















































































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PRESBYTERIANS. 


407 


1 



enfc Institutions in foreign lands, $93,509.96; Special Gifts to the Board, 
$00,340.40; Hospitals, $48,665.35; Relief Fund and Sustentation, $41,- 
150.46; Presbyterian Houses, $46,882.37; Amounts not specified by 
Churches reporting, $162,681.10; Committees’ Expenses, $11,175*63. 

The Assembly of 1871 was characterized by dignity and harmony 
throughout. A vast amount of business of importance to the Church 
was dispatched, and measures were taken in pursuance of the plans of 
the union of all Presbyterian bodies to which the Church has com¬ 
mitted itself, by the appointment of Committees, &c. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

We append to this brief history of the Presbyterian Church in the 
United States biographical sketches of a few of her representative men, 
to whom she is in a large measure indebted for her rapid growth and 
commanding position. Within this denomination there are scores of 
eminent divines, who, in point of intellectual power and Library at¬ 
tainments, are worthy to be classed with the best minds of the nation. 
We are compelled, however, by our limited space to pay but this general 
tribute. 

REV. ALBERT BARNES. 

One of the brightest lights of the American pulpit; one of the mighti¬ 
est of men in the cause of the Son of God; one of the most unpreten¬ 
tious yet most manly of men, was Albert Barnes, the subject of this 
sketch. Born at Rome, N. Y., December 1,1798, of virtuous and indus¬ 
trious parents, his early training was attended to with more than or¬ 
dinary care. At an early age he entered upon the occupation of his 
father, as a tanner, but relinquished this ere long to prosecute his studies, 
having in view the profession of law. Up to the age of nineteen he 
was a skeptic in religion, and had no belief in the Bible as a revelation 
from God. An article from the pen of Dr. Chalmers convinced him 
of the truth of the Christian religion, but though convinced he was 
not yet willing to embrace it. In his twenty-first year he entered the 
senior class of Hamilton College, and while there embraced Christianity, 
and consecrated himself to the ministry. In 1820 he was graduated, 
and thereupon entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N. J., 
from which he emerged a licentiate in 1823. 

In 1825 he settled as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, 
N. J., where he remained nearly five years. In 1830 he was installed 
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, which office 
he filled with entire acceptability for thirty-seven years, resigning in 
1867, when he was unanimously elected pastor emeritus. 

While laboring in his first charge, he was struck with the great need 
of a plain and simple commentary on the gospels, and at once entered 
upon a course of careful study, which resulted in the production of his 
Notes on the Gospels, which are known wherever Christianity is known. 
His first issue bears date August 25, 1832. Devoting a small portion of 
each day, year by year, to annotating the Scriptures, book after book 
appeared until to his own surprise he found himself at the end of the 


























































468 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


i 0K 1 

t \ '* ir / y ( w* i 


New Testament. Turning then to the Old Testament, he prepared his 
annotations successively on Isaiah, Daniel, Job and the Psalms. He 
lived to see half a million volumes of his Commentaries sold in this 
country, and perhaps even a greater number in England, Scotland and 
Ireland, while translations were made into the languages of France, 
Wales, India and China. 

In December, 1870, like a shock of corn fully ripe he passed away, 
mourned by the whole Protestant world. His funeral on the 28th day 
of that month was attended by a large concourse of people. The Pall 
Bearers on the occasion were prominent ministers and laymen repre¬ 
senting nearly all denominations. Among the addresses delivered was 
one by the Rev. William Bacon Stevens, D. D., of the Protestant Epis¬ 
copal Church, others by Rev. John Chambers, Rev. T. H. Skinner, D. 
D., and Rev. Herrick Johnson, D. D. 

GEORGE JUNKIN, D. D., LL. D., 

Son of Joseph and Eleanor, born in Cumberland County, Pa., Novem¬ 
ber 1, 1790. His parents were of Scotch-Irish descent, and belonged to 
that branch of the Presbyterian Church called Covenanters. He pur¬ 
sued his studies under great difficulties, and graduated at Jefferson Col¬ 
lege in 1813. In 1816 he graduated from the Theological Seminary of 
the Associate Reformed Church. For two years he was engaged in 
Missionary labor in Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1818 he became 
pastor of the united congregations of Milton and Pennell, (McEwens- 
ville,) where he continued eleven years. In 1824 he withdrew from the 
Associate Reformed to the Presbyterian Church. In 1830 he resigned 
his charge, and became Principal of the Manual Labor Academy at 
Germantown. After two years he removed with his students to Easton, 
and Lafayette College was organized, of which he was made President. 

In 1833 he received the degree of D. D. from the College at which he 
graduated, and in 1856 that of LL. D. from Rutgers College. In 
1841 he accepted the Presidency of Miami University, Ohio. After 
three years he resumed his former position at Easton, and continued 
there until 1848, when he accepted the Presidency of Washington Col¬ 
lege, Va. Here he continued until 1861, after which date he resided with 
his son, in Philadelphia. His literary productions were a Treatise on 
Sanctification ; a Treatise on the Ancient Tabernacle of the Hebrews; 
a Treatise on Justification and Lectures on Prophecy, and some smaller 
works. In the controversy which separated the Church in 1837, he took 
great interest, and exerted a commanding influence. 

REV. DAVID ELLIOTT, D. D., LL. D., 

Moderator of the General Assembly of 1837, being the last Assembly 
previous to the division. 

Born Feb. 6, 1787, of Thomas and Jane Elliott, at ^herman’s Valley, 
Perry County, Pa., graduated at Dickinson College in September, 1808* 
and prosecuted his Theological studies under the direction of Rev. John 
Linn and Rev. Joshua Williams, D. D., licensed by the Presbytery of 
Carlisle September, 1811; settled at Mercersburg in 1812. In 1829 he 


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REFORMED CHURCH. 


4G9 


settled in Washington, Pa., succeeding Rev. Obadiah Jennings, D. D. 
For eighteen months he acted as President of the College there. In 1836 
he removed to Allegheny, and assumed the chair of Theology, which he 
still holds. In 1837 Dr. Elliott was chosen Moderator of the General 
Asse ably. He received the degree of D. D. from Jefferson College in 
1835, and that of LL. D., from Washington College in 1847. 

REV. MELANCTHON W. JACOBUS, D. D., LL. D., 

Moderator of the General Assembly (Old School,) 1869, being the last 
Assembly known as Old School. 

Born September 19, 1816, at Newark, N. J.; entered Princeton Col¬ 
lege in his fifteenth year, and was graduated in his eighteenth year 
with the first honors of the College; entered Princeton Theological 
Seminary in 1835, and having completed his course, was invited to re¬ 
main as assistant to Prof. J. Addison Alexander, in the Hebrew de- 
partment. In 1839 he was installed pastor of the First Presbyterian 
Church of Brooklyn. His health having failed in 1850, he spent a year 
in foreign travel in classic and Bible lands. During his absence he 
was elected Professor of Oriental and Biblical Literature in the Theo¬ 
logical Seminary of Allegheny, Pa., upon the duties of which office he 
entered in 1852. In 1848 he published his first volume of “Notes on 
the New Testament,” entitled “Matthew with the Harmony,” and in 
1853 he issued “ Mark and Luke.” In 1856 he published a “ Commen¬ 
tary on John,” and in 1859 an elaborate Commentary on the Acts ot 
the Apostles. Some of these works were re-published in Scotland. In 
1864-5 he issued two volumes on Genesis. In 1852 the degree of D. D. 
was conferred upon him by Jefferson College, and in 1867 LL. D. by 
the College of New Jersey. In 1858 he assumed charge of the Central 
Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, which he continues to serve in addi¬ 
tion to the duties of his professorship. 

REV. PHILEMON H. FOWLER, D. D., 

Moderator of the General Assembly (New School,) 1869, being the 
last Assembly known as New School. 

Philemon H. Fowler, the son of William and Margaret Fowler, was 
born in Albany, N. Y., February 9, 1814, graduated at Hobart College, 
(Geneva, N.Y.,) in 1832, and at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1836; 
ministered to the Second Presbyterian Church of Washington, D. C., 
from 1836 to the Fall of 1839, when he settled over the First Presbyte¬ 
rian Church of Elmira, N. Y. In 1850 he became pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church of Utica, N. Y., in which charge he still continues. 
The degree of S. T. D., was conferred upon him by both the University 
of Norwich, Vt., and Williams College, Mass. In 1869 Dr. Fowler was 
Moderator of the General Assembly which met in May in the Church 
of the Covenant, N. Y., and in November, in the Third Presbyterian 
Church, Pittsburgh. At the latter meeting the Re-union of the Pres¬ 
byterian Church was consummated. Dr. Fowler is a trustee of Hamilton 
College, N. Y., and of the Theological Seminary at Auburn, N. Y. 
He is also a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners 
for Foreign Missions. 
















































* 2,0 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES’. 


THE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH 

AMERICA. 

The Reformed Church (late German) dates its origin in America about 
1720. Members of this denomination in Europe began to emigrate to 
Pennsylvania soon after the province was confirmed to William Penn, 
which event took place in 1681. From this time forward German emi¬ 
gration continued and increased. They formed congregations and 
schools, and, for want of regular church ministrations, sought to edify 
each other by singing and listening to sermons and prayers read by the 
schoolmasters. 

In 1727 the Rev. George Michael Weiss was sent over by the classis 
of the Palatinate, accompanied by about four hundred emigrants. They 
settled at Skippach, in Montgomery County, Pa.; organized a consis¬ 
tory; built a log church, and placed Mr. Weiss over them as pastor. 
Through him the wants of the Reformed people in America were made 
known to the parent church, and the classis of Amsterdam furnished 
men and means to carry forward the work. In 1730 the number of the 
Reformed faith in this country was 15,000, and thereafter there was a 
large annual increase. Settlements were made in the colonies of New 
York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, but owing 
to a lack of ministers, the work of organizing churches was greatly 
retarded until about 1746, when the Rev. Michael Schlatter arrived in 
this country on a mission from the church of Holland. He was com¬ 
missioned to gather together the Reformed people, organize them into 
churches, arrange for supplying churches with ministers, and form an 
annual synod, besides adjusting all difficulties in churches, and visiting 
them statedly. In September of that year the first synod met in Phila¬ 
delphia, holding their sessions with the First Reformed Church, now 
located on Race street, below Fourth, and which still maintains a vigor¬ 
ous existence, and is regarded with veneration as one of the parent 
churches of the denomination. This synod numbered thirty-one minis¬ 
ters and elders, representing a few thousand members, though it wtis 
by no means a full representation of the strength of the denomination 
which at that time was forty-six congregations, embracing some thirty 
thousand members. The meeting of the synod was productive of great 
good to the church. Its affairs were reduced to an orderly condition, 
and acquaintance and good fellowship was cultivated among the dele¬ 
gates in attendance. In 1751 Mr. Schlatter, in his report to the Amster¬ 
dam classis, gave the following as a complete list of Reformed congre¬ 
gations in America. The first charge was Philadelphia and German¬ 
town (afterward united as the First Church, now on Race street) 
2. Goshenhoppen and Great Swamp. 3. Falkner Schwam and Provi¬ 
dence. 4. Skippach, Witpen, Indian Creek and Tohicken. 5. Lancas¬ 
ter and Schaffer’s Church. 6. York, Kreutz Creek, Conewago and Ber¬ 
mudian. 7. Tulpehocken. 8. Weiseichenland, Modecreek, Cocalico 
and Zeltenrich. 9. Donegal, Swatara and Quitopehilla. 10. North¬ 
ampton and Southampton. 11. Great Lehigh, Little Lehigh, Forks of 
Delaware, Saccony and Springfield. 12. Heidelberg, Egypt and Jor* 








































































REFORMED CHURCH. 


471 


dan. 13. Magunchy, Allemangel, Schmaltzgass and Manatawny. All 
the foregoing were in Pennsylvania. To these must be added: 14. 
'I he charge in Virginia, consisting of Misanotti, South Branch and 
New Germantown. 15. In Maryland, Monocacy and Conogocheague. 
16. In New Jersey, Rockaway and Foxhill. These sixteen charges 
embraced forty six congregations, of which number thirty-two were 
without ministers, and many of the others were served but once 
monthly. 

From this time forward the progress of the church was very slow. 
The French and Indian war, and later the Revolutionary war, sadly 
interfered with its prosperity by breaking off in a great measure its 
communication with the parent body in Europe, and thus losing 
its material aid. In 1792 the church severed its connection with 
the European body, which caused it to languish to a still greater 
degree. The absence of an educated capable ministry, the great 
lack of funds, the unfortunate prostration of business and spirit¬ 
ual interests by wars, the separation from the discreet, able, wise 
and liberal parent Church, all served to prostrate the energies and 
reduce piety to a low ebb in a denomination which bade fair, in its early 
history, to prevail over all others in America. This condition of affairs 
continued until 1812, when the Church began to exhibit a measure ol 
its old energy. In that year it was resolved to extend her borders, and 
a missionary (Jacob William Dechaut) was sent to Ohio and stationed 
at Miamisburg, Montgomery county. Shortly afterward two others 
(Revs. Weiss and Winters) joined him, and their united labors were 
rewarded with gratifying success. A classis was formed in 1819, fol¬ 
lowed, in a short time, by others. In 1820 the numerical strength of 
the entire Church was fifty ministers and about three hundred congre¬ 
gations, in most of which services were held only at intervals of one 
and two months. In 1824 a majority of the Ohio classes erected an in¬ 
dependent judicatory under the name of the “Synod of Ohio,” and, 
for many years thereafter, the Reformed Church consisted of two inde¬ 
pendent Synods, viz.: the Synod of the German Reformed Church in 
the United States, which was the Eastern and parent body, and the 
Synod of Ohio and the adjoining States. These bodies were slightly 
bound together by a triennial convention, which, however, was not a 
court of appeal, and possessed none of the powers of a general synod. 
Until 1825 the Church had no institutions of learning with which to fill 
its clerical ranks, but in that year a theological school was established 
at Carlisle, Pa., in connection with Dickinson College. In 1829 this 
was transferred to York, and in 1835 to Mercersburg, Pa., where it still 
remains, enjoying a good measure of prosperity. From 1825 onward, 
the growth of the Church was more rapid, and in 1845 the published 
minutes of the two Bynods made the following exhibit: The Eastern 
Synod comprised ten classes; one hundred and fifty-five ministers; 
four hundred and seventy-one congregations, and thirty-one thousand 
one hundred and seventy communicants. The Western Synod com¬ 
prised six classes ; seventy-two ministers; two hundred and thirty-six 
Congregations, and seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-five com- 
























































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


municants. The whole Reformed Church, then, consisted of two 
synods, sixteen classes, two hundred and twenty-seven ministers, seven 
hundred and seven churches, and thirty-nine thousand and fifty-live 
communicants. Up to the present time (1871) there has been a steady 
increase in the numbers of the Church and a measurable improvement 
in all its departments. Instead of two independent synods there is now 
one general synod and four particular synods, viz: Eastern, Pittsburg, 
Ohio and North-western. These comprise thirty two classes, five hun¬ 
dred and forty-seven ministers, twelve hundred and fourteen congrega¬ 
tions, one hundred and eighty-nine thousand nine hundred and sixty- 
four baptized members, of which number, however, only one hundred 
and twenty-one thousand three hundred and fourteen are communi¬ 
cants, the remainder not having yet been confirmed. 

There are one thousand and nineteen Sunday schools, with between 
fifty and sixty thousand scholars. 

The benevolent contributions of the Church, for the year 1870, were 
$94,019.S9, in addition to the amounts applied to the home wants of the 
congregations. 

Considerable zeal has been manifested, of late years, in advancing 
the educational interests of the denomination, and it may now be said 
to be fairly supplied with institutions of learning which are generally 
well sustained; among them Heidelberg College, Franklin and Mar¬ 
shall Colle ge, Ursinus College, and Mercersburg Theological Seminary 
are worthy of special mention. 

In the work of foreign missions, the Church has been comparatively 
inactive. No distinctive denominational effort has been put forth on 
the foreign field, but for the past twenty-five years it has contributed to 
the cause through the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions. 

In 1869, however, it was decided that the Church should support her 
own missions, and measures were taken in pursuance of this resolution. 

In the department of Home Missions a commendable degree of 
activity has been displayed. The aggregate number of Missions under 
the care of the Board during the three years ending with 1869, was 
ninety-seven. At the end of this time many of these had become self- 
sustaining congregations, and but forty Missions were left requiring 
aid. The aggregate appropriation to these was $8,290 annually. 

While most of the denominations of European parentage in this 
country have become, to a greater or less extent, Americanized, the 
Reformed body has preserved, with singular fidelity, its distinctive 
German characteristics. Its membership is composed almost entirely 
of Germans or persons of German extraction. Of its five hundred and 
forty-seven ministers, four hundred can preach in the English language, 
and three hundred in the German. A large proportion can officiate in 
either language as occasion may require. In 1867 a very wise move was 
made. Up to that time the official name of the Church was the 
“ German Reformed Church in the United States of North America,” 
and a movement was then made to strike out the word “German” 
therefrom. It was argued that this word could not rightfully be 









































































REFORMED C1IURCII. 


473 



retained; that the Reformed Church was only German so far as it was 
confined to people of that nationality; that in America it should be 
thrown open to all people, in accordance with the free spirit of our 
Republican institutions and with the precepts of the Divine Master. 

There was some opposition to this movement, but in 18G9 the word 
“German” was stricken out. Unimportant as the omission of this 
single word may seem, its effect upon the future growth and prosperity 
of the Church cannot be measured. It transforms it at once from a 
sectional to a world-wide church ; it sweeps away the bars that have 
heretofore circumscribed its operations, and as it enlarges its scope, so 
will it inevitably enlarge its capacity and its plans. 

The government of the Reformed Church is strictly Presbyterian, 
and identical with that of the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America, 
which see for course of procedure and explanation of the terms con¬ 
sistory, classis, &c. It would seem that the best interests of both these 
Reformed Churches pointed toward their union, and with absolutely 
no material points of difference between them, it is a matter of surprise 
that this has not been effected. Leading minds in both Churches are 
directing their attention to this matter, and it is to be hoped that their 
efforts will succeed in uniting these forces in the cause of our common 
Master. 

In doctrine the Church is closely allied to the Presbyterians. The 
Heidelberg Catechism is its symbol of faith. This excellent work was 
prepared and published under the formal authority of Elector Frederick 
the Third of the Palatinate in 1563, and was universally adopted by the 
Reformed as embodying the genius and spirit of their faith. In 1839 
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church endorsed it and 
sanctioned its use in the churches of that denomination. 

The Reformed Church is now spread over most of the States of the 
American Union. In the West especially it has taken a strong hold, 
and exhibits all that energy and enterprise for which that section is 
distinguished. 

With harmony within its own borders and a sincere devotion to its 
great mission of saving souls, an era of unprecedented prosperity is 
before this branch of the church militant. 

THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA. 

{Late Dutch.) 

This is the oldest body of Presbyterians in America. It descended 
immediately from the church of Holland, and for about a century from 
its commencement in this country it hung in colonial dependence on 
the classis of Amsterdam and the Synod of North Holland, and was 
unable to ordain a minister or perform any ecclesiastical function of the 
kind without a reference to the parent country and mother church. 

The origin of this church will Dad us back to the earliest histo y of 
the city and State of New York, for they were first settled by this peo¬ 
ple, and by them a foundation was laid for the first churches of this 
persuasion. 
























































471 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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The colony of New Amsterdam (now New York) was sett’ed in 1G12. 
Missionaries and pious immigrants arrived here in the very beginning 
of the colony, but precisely at what time a church was first organized 
is not known. The collegiate church is supposed to have been formed 
in 1619, though the earliest period to which its records conduct us is the 
year 1639. An authentic document is said to be still extant containing 
a list of its members in 1622. 

The Dutch church was the established religion of the coiony until it 
surrendered to the British in 1664, after which its circumstances were 
materially changed. Not long after the colony passed into the hands 
of the British an act was passed which went to establish the Episcopal 
church as the predominant party, and for almost a century afterward 
the Dutch and English Presbyterians and all others in the colony were 
forced to contribute to the support of that church. 

From this time forward emigration from Holland very materially 
declined, but for a length of time the Dutch inhabitants had a prepon¬ 
derance in numbers and wealth, and the natural increase aided by a 
small emigration gradually extended their settlements. 

The first judicatory higher than a consistory among this people was 
a Coetus, formed in 1747. The object and powers of this assembly were 
merely those of advice and fraternal intercourse. It could not ordain 
ministers, nor judicially decide in ecclesiastical disputes without the 
consent of the classis of Amsterdam. The erection of this Coetus was 
the result of a movement made in 1737 to throw off the authority of 
the parent classis. For a number of years prior to this time many lead¬ 
ing minds in the American church had been discussing the expediency 
of forming entirely independent church judicatories and training and 
ordaining their own ministers. The result was a protracted controversy 
which agitated the church for thirty-four years, embracing the period 
from 1737 to 1771, and finally resulting in the mutual adoption of 1 lie 
Articles of Union proposed by the classis of Amsterdam. The dis¬ 
tinct organization was then unitedly and harmoniously made, since 
which time the church has had a peaceful history. 

The following appears, from the most reliable authorities, to be the 
order in which the churches of this faith were planted in America. 
We have before mentioned the collegiate Church as the first; after it 
followed the churches in Albany, Flatbush, New Utrecht, Flatlands, 
and Esopus, now Kingston. The first church edifice erected by the 
colony in New Netherlands (now New York) appears to have bee i 
located near the lower end of Stone street, in New Amsterdam. The 
second stood close down by the water’s edge, within the fort of New 
Amsterdam and on the spot now called the Battery. This was after¬ 
ward transferred to the site of the late Garden street church. The first 
minister in New York was the Rev. Everardus Bogardus. The length 
of }iis pastorate or the date of his arrival cannot be determined. It is 
said that he became blind, and (on the authority of the Rev. Dr. De¬ 
witt) that in returning to Holland he was shipwrecked and lost. From 
the period of his ministry to 1684, we find the names of only two, Dom¬ 
inies, I. and S. Megapolensis. From this time until 1737 the church was 


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REFORMED CHURCH. 


475 


for the most part in a highly prosperous condition, though its efforts 
were confined chiefly to what is now the State of New York. It had 
there a large majority over all other denominations, and carried with 
it a large part of the wealth and influence of the province. It seems 
also to have been characterized by great piety and strict government. 

During the internal trouble that disturbed it from 1737 to 1771, it suf¬ 
fered much in every way. Many of its members were alienated; the 
legitimate work of the churches in their mission of saving souls was 
neglected in a great measure, and in the heat of strife the spirit of 
humble piety which had characterized it before could no longer be re¬ 
garded as its distinguishing feature. 

The church also during this period experienced severe losses from 
another cause. Despite the fact which was plainly apparent, that the 
English language was to become the common language of the country, 
there was an unwise persistence in the use of the Dutch language in 
the services of the church, notwithstanding that a very large body of 
the younger members clamored for a change which would accommodate 
both German and English hearers. Finally, the point was yielded and 
English sermons permitted, though not until many of their members 
were driven off into other denominations. 

The first minister who preached exclusively in English was the Rev. 
Dr. Laidlie, a native of Scotland and a graduate at Edinburgh. Flo 
was called by the consistory of the collegiate church, and entered on 
his ministry in 1764. His first sermon, preached to an immense audi¬ 
ence, was founded on 2 Cor. v. 11. “Knowing the terrors of the Lord 
we persuade men.” A signal revival of religion soon commenced under 
his ministration, and the church greatly flourished. 

The statistics of the denomination in 1834 were one hundred and 
sixty seven ministers; one hundred and ninety-seven churches; 
twenty-one thousand one hundred and fifteen communicants; about 
thirty thousand families, and one hundred and fifty thousand souls. 
In 1847 the minutes of the General Synod showed: particular synods, 
two; classes, twenty-four; ministers, two hundred and eighty-nine; 
churches, two hundred and seventy-six; communicants, thirty-two 
thousand eight hundred and forty; members of congregations, one 
hundred and ten thousand. 

In 1870 the statistics of the church were as follows: churches, four 
hundred and sixty-four; ministers, four hundred and ninety-three; 
communicants, sixty-one thousand four hundred and forty-four ; fami¬ 
lies, thirty-eight thousand five hundred and fifty-two; received during 
the year five thousand nine hundred and twenty-two; number of cate¬ 
chumens, twenty-two thousand four hundred and seventy six ; num¬ 
ber under Biblical instruction, twenty-three thousand eight hundred 
and thirty-six; Sunday school scholars, forty-eight thousand four hun¬ 
dred and eleven; contributions for religious and benevolent purpos* s, 
$2S1.G47.36 ; contributions for congregational purposes, $906,034.27 ; total 
contributions, $1,187,681.63. 

The doctrines of the church aro-tlioie handed down by the reformers, 
and are shared in common by all branches of the Reformed Church. 




























































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476 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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They hold that the Bible is the only and all-sufficient rule of faith and 
practice, and reject traditions and expositions of the fathers except only 
as they strictly and rigidly agree with it:— 

They receive the Confession of Faith of the Council of Dort; the 
Heidelberg catechism; the Compend of the Christian religion; the 
canons of the Council of Dort on the famous Five Points, (Predestina¬ 
tion, Atonement, Man’s entire corruption and helplessness, His conver¬ 
sion by grace alone, Perseverance of the Saints in grace,) as their creed. 

In government the church is strictly Presbyterian. They only use a 
different nomenclature in some respects in speaking of ecclesiastical 
affairs. Their primary court is that of the consistory— the same as that 
called a session in the Presbyterian church. This consists of the three 
distinct offices: ministers or bishops, elders, and deacons. The pastor 
and elders meet as a spiritual court to admit members, exercise discip¬ 
line, &c., and the deacons meet statedly to provide for the poor, &c. 
The pastors, elders and deacons meet as a consistory for the transaction 
of all temporal business relating to their own church. On important 
occasions, such as calling a minister, the Great Consistory is called to¬ 
gether. This is composed of all those who have at any time been elders 
and deacons in the church. 

The next court is the classis , which corresponds precisely with the 
presbytery in the Presbyterian church. This is composed of a minis¬ 
ter and an elder from each distinct church under the care of the classis. 

Next is the Particular Synod, which consists of two ministers and 
two elders from each classis within its bounds. 

The General Synod is the highest court, and from it there is no appeal. 
It is composed of three ministers and three elders from each classis 
throughout the entire church. Its meetings are now annual for the 
transaction of the business of the church. 

Until within a few years the official name of the church was the 
Deformed Dutch Church in America, but it gradually became apparent 
to the majority of the denomination that this name was not only un¬ 
suitable to their present condition, but furthermore that it was abso¬ 
lutely a bar to their growth and prosperity; consequently the word 
“Dutch” was stricken out, leaving the name as it should be, the De¬ 
formed Church in America. With this change also passed away the 
name of Dominie, by which pastors or ministers were formerly styled. 
Great care is taken by this church in the education of her ministers 
and religious teachers. Her college and theological seminary at New 
Brunswick, N. J., are an honor to the church. Amply endowed and 
furnished with able professors, they exert their fuT share of influence 
in raising up a learned and able ministry. The charter of the college 
was obtained in 1770. The seminary was founded and opened in 1810, 
with Dev. Dr. John H. Livingston at its head. 

ASSOCIATE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

This church originated in a secession from the Established Church 
of cotland, in the year 1733. Corruptions in the doctrines of the church 
and tyranny in her government were the grounds of the secession. At 


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REFORMED CHURCH 


the revolution of 1688, when Presbyterianism was restored in Scotland, 
hundreds of the Episcopal incumbents, who had before been thrust 
upon the people, were retained in their charges. They were ignorant, 
unsound, worthless men, and many of them clearly vicious. In this 
way the leaven of corruption w^as introduced into the Presbyterian 
Church, and it spread itself until many of the people and a majo rity of 
the ministers were leavened. Matters were brought to an issue in 1733 
by the presentation of a protest to the General Assembly against certain 
acts, by Rev. Messrs. E. Erskine, Wilson, Moncrieff and Fisher. TIPs 
protest excited the wrath of the assembly, and having refused to with¬ 
draw it, these four ministers were “suspended from the exercise of the 
ministerial functions and all parts thereof.’’ This occurred in August, 
1733. 

In the succeeding November it was found by the commission that 
the four brethren had continued to exercise their ministry, and the 
order of the assembly was to proceed to a higher censure. The tyran¬ 
nical proceedings of the ecclesiastical courts, and the undaunted bear¬ 
ing of the accused, awakened a wide-spread sympathy for them. Seven 
synods sent up communications to the commission in their favor, and 
some presbyteries sent petitions of a like character. 

Finally the commission decided, by a large majority, to “Loose the 
relation of the said four ministers to their charges, and declare them no 
longer ministers of this church, and to prohibit all ministers of this 
church to employ them in any ministerial function.” Seven ministers 
of the commission protested against this sentence. When the sentence 
was announced to the four brethren they handed in a paper, declaring 
themselves under the necessity of seceding from the church. They 
soon after met as a presbytery, and published what has generally been 
distinguished as the Extra-judicial Testimony. They declined to act 
judicially for about three years after their secession, hoping that the 
breach would be healed, but toward this end no substantial progress 
was made. 

It was soon found that the secession was regarded with favor by the 
better class of people, and that it afforded a very convenient refuge for 
those who were oppressed by the system of patronage. When a min¬ 
ister was intruded upon a congregation against its will, it soon came 
about that the congregation set to work peaceably to build a church of 
their own and call a seceder minister. 

In 1736 the four seceding ministers proceeded to judicial acts, and 
near the close of that year published their “Judicial Testimony.” They 
appointed Mr. Wilson Professor of Theology, and at his death Mr. 
Moncrieff filled the chair. 

In May, 1739, a libel was framed against them by the commission of 
the assembly and laid before the assembly itself. It charged, in sub¬ 
stance, their secession and their acting as an independent court of Christ. 

, Being summoned, the seceders, now eight in number, appeared as a 
constituted presbytery at the bar of the assembly and formally denied 
its authority. The next year the assembly passed an act of deposition 
against them, and they were violently thrust out of their places of 
word) in. 
























































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


Notwithstanding these trials in their early history, the associate 
presbytery had soon increased so much in number that they found it 
necessary to constitute themselves into a synod, to consist of three pres¬ 
byteries. Tlii 3 was done in 1714, at which time the whole number of 
settled ministers was twenty-six. 

Not long after this a question came before them in regard to the law¬ 
fulness of swearing certain Burgess oaths, containing this clause: 
“ Here I protest, before God and your Lordships, that I profess and 
allow with my heart the true religion presently professed within this 
realm and authorized by the laws thereof: I shall abide thereat and de¬ 
fend the same to my life’s end, renouncing the Roman religion called 
papistry.” 

The synod was nearly equally divided upon this point. Two years 
of sharp contention ensued, and, in 1747, a breach took place and two 
distinct synods were formed, the General Associate or Anti-burgher 
s ynod and the Associate or Burgher Synod. After a separation of over 
seventy yeirs these two branches were re-united September 8, 1820. 
Having given an account of the rise of this church in Scotland, we 
must now turn our attention to the church in America. 

The Associate brethren were characterized by a missionary spirit 
from the first, and their particular attention was addressed to the 
American field. 

In 1736 a letter was received from Pennsylvania urgently requesting 
that either an ordained minister or a probationer be sent over to labor 
in that district. r l his the presbytery was not then able to do. In 1750 
petitions were again sent, addressed to the Anti-burgher Synod, from 
some of the colonists of Eastern Pennsylvania. In 1751 urgent applica¬ 
tions were again made by Rev. Alex. Craighead, of Pennsylvania, and a 
number of other persons, earnestly beseeching the synod to ^end min¬ 
isters to labor in that part of America. The synod accordingly ap¬ 
pointed Mr. James Hume, a licentiate, and Mr. John Jamison, student, 
after being licensed to be ordained, and sent to Pennsylvania as mis¬ 
sionaries. Both these young men, however, were called and settled in 
congregations at home, and thus the design was frustrated. In 1753, Mr. 
Alexander Gellatly was appointed to this important work, and had the 
honor to become the first missionary of the Associate Church in this 
country, and is entitled to the name of the Father of Secession in the 
United States. In the latter part of that year he arrived, accompanied 
by Rev. Andrew Arnot, who was temporarily to assist him. 

The two found an extensive field of labor, much larger than they 
could possibly attend to. Their labors were, for some years, confined 
chiefly to Lancaster, Chester and York counties, Pennsylvania. 

Soon after their arrival, according to instructions, they constituted 
themselves into a presbytery, named the “Associate Presbytery of 
Pennsylvania,” subordinate to the Associate Anti burgher Synod. 
The Presbyterians who had been occupying the field before them, in¬ 
vited them to join with them, and upon their declining to do so they 
issued a warning against the associate body, denouncing them as schis¬ 
matics, separatists and hereticals. A protracted controversy between, 
the two bodies ensued, 
















































































REFORMED CIIURCII. 


479 


In 1758 Matthew Henderson arrived as a missionary from Scotland, 
and was settled at Oxford, and Pencader in Chester county. In 1701 
Mr. Gellatly died in the forty-second year of his age. In the sarr e 
year Mr John Mason, father of Dr. John Mason, of New York, arrived 
and settled in New York. At this time the Associate Presbytery of 
Pennsylvania consisted of only three ministers—Proudfit, of Pequa, 
Henderson, of Oxford, and Pencader and Oxford, of New York. 

Hitherto all the missionaries sent had been connected with the 
Anti-burgher Synod, bu L , in 1704, Rev. Thos. Clark (known as Dr. Clark) 
arrived in America with most of his congregation, of Ballibay, Ire¬ 
land. They were connected with the Burgher Synod. Arriving at 
New York, part of the people went to Long Cane, South Carolina, and 
the rest, with their minister, settled at Salem, New York The next 
year Dr. Clark, having assented to certain articles, was received as a 
member of the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania. This union be¬ 
tween Burghers and Anti-burghers was, by instructions from the Anti¬ 
burgher Synod, dissolved in 1771. 

In 1776 an associate presbytery was so far strengthened that it was 
found expedient to divide it into two presbyteries. The Presbytery of 
Pennsylvania consisted of ten ministers, and the Presbytery of New 
York consisted of three ministers. These two were co-ordinate but 
both subordinate to the Synod of Edinburgh. During the Revolutionary 
war their allegiance to the church of the mother country was sensibly 
weakened. A movement was set on foot to unite the two associate 
bodies and the reformed presbyteries into one ecclesiastical body. This 
resulted in the union at Pequa, June 13, 1782. Several ministers and 
elders protested and appealed to the Associate Synod of Scotland, and 
their protest not being admitted they withdrew, claiming to be the 
true Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania. The united body took the 
name of the Associate Reformed Church. 

Our present business is to follow the history of the protesting body 
(which still retained its former name) down to the present time. The 
church was now greatly weakened, and missionaries were soon sent 
to its aid from Scotland. The first of these were Messrs. Anderson and 
Beveridge, and a number of others followed before the close of the 
century. In 1784 the presbytery issued a narrative and testimony. 
Subordination to the Synod was found inconvenient and disadvanta¬ 
geous, and the testimony was adopted without consulting with the 
synod. This called forth expressions of dissatisfaction, but practically 
subordination became gradually a dead letter thereafter. 

In 1794 the church established a theological seminary in Beaver 
county, Pennsylvania, of which Dr. John Anderson continued to be 
the sole professor until 1819, when he resigned, owing to age. The num¬ 
ber of students was very small, the average attendance being not more 
than four or five and the highest number nine. In 1800 a Synod was 
constituted, consisting of four presbyteries—Philadelphia, Cambridge, 
Cliartiers and Kentucky (now Miami.) Its first meeting was at Phila¬ 
delphia, May 20, 1801. The evil of slaveholding had engaged the at¬ 
tention of the church for many years, and, in 1811, at the synod in 




































































480 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


Canonsburg, an act was passed declaring it a moral evil to hold negroes 
in bondage, directing the members of the church to set them at liberty 
or to treat them as free in the matters of food, clothing and wages. 
Those who refused were declared unworthy of church fellowship. 
These provisions not being complied with, the synod, in 1831, passed 
an act by which all slaveholders were forthwith excluded from her 
communion. The effect of this was to entirely extinguish the Asso¬ 
ciate Presbytery of the Carolinas, and at the same time to purge the 
church of the sin of slaveholding. 

In 1820 the theological seminary in Beaver county, having been 
given up, two others were established ; one at Philadelphia, of which 
Dr. Banks was chosen professor, and the other at Canonsburg, with 
Dr. Ramsey, as professor. 

The union of the two branches of the secession in Scotland at this 
time caused considerable controversy in the American church, which 
was not finally ended until 1835. In 1826 the synod condemned the 
union “ as a defection from a covenanted Reformation,” and they subse- 
quenty agreed to continue in union with the protesters. 

In 1820 overtures were made by the Associate Reformed Synod of the 
West for a union of the two bodies, and correspondence and meetings 
of committees followed for two years. Finally, however, through a 
very trifling cause, the whole matter fell through. 

In 1822 the presbyteries of the church were seven in number, em¬ 
bracing sixty-one congregations and 7,378 communicants. In 1825 the 
church commenced missionary operations in the West, which were 
continued from year to year until they had been the means of organ¬ 
izing six presbyteries, some of them the largest in the denomination. 
In 1826 the Eastern Seminary ceased to exist, owing to the death of Dr. 
Banks, its professor. In 1842 the synod commenced missionary effort 
in the foreign field. Two missionaries were appointed to labor on the 
island of Trinidad. Others were sent to California and Oregon. They 
also established a presbytery in Hindoostan. 

In 1851 the Reformed Dissenting Presbytery proposed a union with 
this church, which was effected. In 1854 the presbyteries of Cambridge, 
Albany, and Vermont (which, in 1840, had withdrawn from the church 
and claimed to be the true associate synod) reunited with it. In 1858 a 
union was effected between the Associate and Associate Reformed 
churches, and they chose as their name the “United Presbyterian 
Church.” For an account of their union and the doctrines of the 
church the reader is referred to the sketch of that church which will 
be found in its proper place. 

When the two bodies united the Associate Church consisted of 21 
presbyteries, 293 congregations, and 23,505 members. 

ASSOCIATE REFORMED CHURCH. 

The Associate Reformed Church had its origin in a union which was 
agreed upon at Pequa, Pennsylvania, June 13, 1782, between the Asso¬ 
ciate and the Reformed Presbyterian churches, and took its title from a 
union of the names of the two bodies, The Associate was the older of 

























































REFORMED CHURCH. 


481 


these churches in this country, and until the war of the Revolution it 
continued in subjection to the Synod of Scotland. The war inter¬ 
rupted their intercourse with the Synod, and the Associate people, the 
earliest and warmest advocates of American independence, began to 
agitate the qutstion of a separation from the Synod and a union of the 
different Presbyterian bodies in this country. First, the Burgher and 
Anti-burgher portions of the Associate church united. Next, overtures 
were made to the Presbyterian Synod of New York and Philadelphia 
for a union, but these resulted in failure. Afterwards a union with the 
Reformed (Covenanter) Presbytery was proposed. Some twenty con¬ 
ventions were held in reference to it, and at length the Reformed Pres¬ 
bytery, the Associate Presbytery of New York, and nearly all the 
members of the Presbytery of Pennsylvania united in one organic body 
which constituted the Associate Reformed Church. This was consum¬ 
mated at Pequa, and the Synod was formally constituted in Philadel¬ 
phia on the 30tli of October, 1782. The basis of the union consisted 
chiefly in a modification of the doctrine of the Westminster Confession 
of Faith concerning the power of civil magistrates in matters of reli¬ 
gion, and an adaptation of the form of church government to the Word 
of God and the circumstances of the church in this country. The united 
body then consisted of three presbyteries and fourteen ministers. 

On the 31st of May, 1799, the Synod issued its formal standards at 
Greencastle, Pennsylvania. 

From this time forward the church prospered and grew rapidly. Soon 
its churches were scattered over the country from the Canadas to the 
Carolinas and southwest as far as Kentucky. In October, 1802, the 
Synod was divided into four subordinate Synods, viz: New York, Penn¬ 
sylvania, Scioto and the Carolinas. On May 30th, 1804, the first Gen¬ 
eral Synod met in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, of which Rev. Alex. 
Dobbin was chosen Moderator. 

The province of the General Synod was declared to be to preside over 
the religious interests of the church at large. It was also the highest 
court of appeal. It soon began, however, to transact all the important 
business of the church, so that the subordinate synods being of little 
interest or importance, were given up. This centralizing of power pro¬ 
duced trouble; unhappy feelings were excited, and in 1820 the entire 
Synod of Scioto withdrew all connection with the General Synod, and 
following year the synod of the Carolinas asked to be constituted an 
independent synod. 

About this time propositions were made for a union with the Re¬ 
formed Dutch Church, but this result was not accomplished. In 1821 
overtures were made by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
Church for an organic union. A basis of union was prepared by a joint 
committee, and in 1822 it was adopted by the General Synod of the 
Associate Reformed Church by a vote of seven to five. The General 
Synod was then declared dissolved and its members invited to seats in 
the General Assembly. Thus terminated the General Synod, but the 
great mass o f the ministry and membership did not acquiesce in the 
union and set themselves at once to the work of perpetuating the Asso¬ 
ciate Reformed body on true and proper grounds. 



















































































482 


DENOMINATIONS IN TTIE UNITED STATES. 


The Associate Reformed Synod of the West had, in 1820, constituted 
itself an independent Synod. It was then composed of fourteen minis¬ 
ters and eight elders. This now became the nucleus of the church in 
the West, and her interests again advanced rapidly. Numerous 
churches were organized, new presbyteries were formed, and in Octo¬ 
ber, 1839, a new Synod was formed, styled the Second Associate Re¬ 
formed Synod of the West, which held its first meeting at Hamilton, 
Ohio, the following year. 

In October, 1852, a third Synod was organized, named the Associate 
Reformed Synod of Illinois, whose first meeting was held at Oquacoka, 
Illinois. These several Synods were placed under the care of the Gen¬ 
eral Synod of the Associate Reformed Church of the West. In 1858 it 
had three subordinate Synods ; twenty-two presbyteries ; 360 churches 
and congregations; 23,916 communicants; two theological seminaries, 
several colleges, higher schools and academies, and three foreign mis¬ 
sionary fields. 

The Synod of the Carolinas which in 1S21 became an independent 
synod, called the Associate Reformed Synod of the South, numbered 
in 1858 eight presbyteries and sixty-five ministers, and had an efficient 
college and theological seminary under its care at Due West, South 
Carolina. 

The Synod of New York having never withdrawn from the General 
Synod, and not having acceded in any way to the act of union with the 
Presbyterian Church in 1822, upon that event occupied the ground and 
claimed the rights of the General Synod. It now numbers six presby¬ 
teries, forty-seven churches, and 7,368 communicants. It has a theo¬ 
logical seminary and an efficient band of missionary laborers in the 
foreign field. 

Until 1855 these different Synods had been independent, though ad¬ 
hering to the same standards, but on May 17th of that year a union 
was effected between the Synod of New York and the General Synod 
of the West, under the name of the General Synod of the Associate 
Reformed Church. The Synod of the South continued its separate ex¬ 
istence. 

In 1858 a union was effected between the Associate and Associate Re¬ 
formed churches, and the united body assumed the name of the United 
Presbyterian Church. In this union there was no sacrifice of essential 
points of doctrine on the part of either body, as there were before but 
slight differences between them. Therefore, the reader is referred to 
the article on the United Presbyterian Church for a resume of the doc¬ 
trines of this church. 

REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The sixteenth century saw the beginning of that glorious revival of 
evangelical religion, the Protestant Reformation. In Scotland it may 
be said to have assumed practical shape in 1559, when, under the preach¬ 
ing of John Knox, the people were brought to regard the Church of 
Rome with such hostility that the Queen Regent avowed her intention 

















































































REFORMED CHURCH. 


/ 0 \ 


to suppress the Reformation with fire and sword. This precipitated the 
crisis, and induced the Reformers to combine and arm themselves in 
self-defence. 

The Protestant movement had no political character prior to this. Its 
friends did not desire to overthrow the existing government. All they 
sought was to reform the abuses in the Church, and practise their own 
religion without molestation. This was refused them, and their non¬ 
conformity to the Papal establishment was proclaimed to be a crime to 
be punished by civil pains and penalties. Thus the alternative was 
forced upon them either to abandon their faith and submit to the bond¬ 
age of Anti-Christian superstition without reserve or inquiry, or to 
assert, defend, and maintain their conscientious liberties against all 
opposers. They chose t.he latter course. 

From this time forward the progress of the Reformation was rapid. 
In 1560 the authority of the Pope was renounced, the Bible was declared 
free to all, and a Confession of Faith and Book of Discipline, giving to 
the Church a Presbyterian constitution, were adopted. In 15S0 the 
Scottish Reformers entered into a solemn covenant, which was sub¬ 
scribed and sworn to by the king and people of all ranks. This was 
called the “National Covenant,” and it defined and gave stability to 
the First Reformation. In subscribing to it the covenanters solemnly 
bound themselves to adhere to and defend the true religion, as expressed 
in the Confession of Faith, and to forbear from the practice of the inno¬ 
vations recently introduced, which, in their belief, were “contrary to 
the Word of God and tending to the re-establishment of the Popish 
religion and tyranny.” Thus arose the Reformed Presbyterian Church. 

The union of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603 resulted in 
a hierarchy which was deemed dangerous in the last degree to the 
Presbyterian interests. This united in still closer bonds the friends of 
ecclesiastical liberty. When King James VI, on the death of Queen 
Elizabeth of England, became monarch of that kingdom also, he laid 
aside his Presbyterian principles and became one of the strongest 
a-serters of arbitrary power. He held that the King is the Head of 
the Church, and “that Presbytery was fit only for a nation of 
republicans.” 

In 1617 James endeavored to impose on the Church of Scotland the 
whole system of superstitions and fantastic rites observed in the Eng¬ 
lish Church, but upon the first attempt to introduce the carved and 
tinselled images, so unmistakable were the murmurings of the people 
that the bishops took the alarm and wisely laid them aside. The Eng¬ 
lish liturgy was, however, read every day in the Royal Chapel, and for 
the first time since the Reformation the sound of instrumental music 
was heard there. What was first introduced into the Royal Chapel was 
but a prelude to foisting the same upon the people. 

In 1618 an assembly held in Perth passed certain acts for the intro¬ 
duction to Scotland of some English ceremonies. These were, kneeling 
at sacrament; the private administration of baptism ; private commu¬ 
nicating; the observance of holidays; and confirmation. They are 
kuown as the “ Five Articles of Perth;” they were ratified by Parlia- 

















































































484 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


ment and became the law of the land. Their rigorous enforcement 
followed, which resulted in the banishment of many ministers eminent 
for piety, learning, and eloquence. Some of these repaired to Ger¬ 
many, and others to the north of Ireland, where they laid the founda¬ 
tion of the Presbyterian Church of that country. 

In 1633 King Charles imposed upon Scotland a “Service Book,” 
which destroyed the last vestige of the ancient worship of the Reforma¬ 
tion Church. In 1637 the liturgy of the “Service Book” was ordered 
to be introduced into the churches of Scotland. It was at the first ser¬ 
vice of this kind at Edinburgh that an old woman named Janet Geddes 
seized the stool on which she had been sitting and discharged it at the 
dean’s head, saying, “Villain, dost thou say mass at my lug?” Her 
example was followed by others, and the dean was obliged to flee. 
This was the signal for a most determined resistance to the innovations 
from all parts of Scotland, and the result was the great moral revolu¬ 
tion of 1638. In this year, while Cha~le3 I and Parliament were con¬ 
tending, the Protestants of Scotland entered into a solemn league and 
covenant with the English Parliament, by which the independence of 
the Presbyterian churches was confirmed. It was at this time that the 
Scottish Presbyterians began to be styled “ Covenanters.” 

At the accession of William and Mary in 1689, Episcopacy was estab¬ 
lished in England and Ireland, and Presbyterianism in Scotland. This 
retained the very obnoxious feature against which the Covenanters had 
so long struggled—royal supremacy over the church—and a portion of 
them dissented from it, urging, 1st. That the Solemn League and 
Covenant, which they considered the constitution of the empire, was 
entirely disregarded in its arrangements; and, 2d. That the civil rulers 
usurped an authority over the church which virtually destroyed her 
spiritual independence, and was at variance with the sole headship of 
the Redeemer. 

For more than sixteen years these remained without a ministry, 
organizing themselves into praying societies and meeting statedly for 
religious worship. In 1706 the Rev. John MacMillan left the estab¬ 
lished church and joined them. The Rev. Mr. Nairne followed, from 
the secession church in 1743, and these two, with ruling elders, con¬ 
stituted the “Reformed Presbytery.” Through this body the Reformed 
Presbyterians in America received their present ministry. 

From the early part of the eighteenth century the persecutions at 
home had gradually driven a number of Covenanters and their families 
to America. In 1743 the Rev. Mr. Craighead collected the Covenanters 
of Pennsylvania together and induced them to bind themselves to abide 
by and maintain their principles. In 1752 the Rev. Mr. Cuthbertson 
arrived in America from the Reformed Presbytery of Scotland, and 
being joined by Messrs. Lind and Dobbin, from the Reformed Presby¬ 
tery of Ireland, in 1774 a presbytery was constituted and the Church 
took her stand as a distinct visible community in the North American 
Colonies. 

Her growth was slow until 1782, which year was signalized by <h<\ 
union of the presbyteries of the Associate and Reformed Churches, 

























































UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 


485 


which gave origin to the “Associate Reformed Church in the United 
States.” A portion of the Associate Church and one of her ministers, 
iiowever, did not approve of the union, and a large number of the 
people of the Reformed Presbyterian Church were also opposed to it. 
Neillier of these bodies would enter into it when consummated, and 
thus both, though diminished in numbers, retained their distinctive 
organizations. Hence, instead of the consolidation of two bodies into 
one, there resulted but the addition of a new body to the original 
number. 

Within ten years from this time four ministers emigrated from 
Europe to aid in maintaining the Reformed Presbyterian cause. They 
were the Revs. Reid, McGarragh, King, and McKinney. In 1798 the 
Rev. Messrs. McKinney and Gibson, with ruling eldei’3, proceeded to 
constitute the “Reformed Presbytery of the United States of North 
America.” Thus the Church took her stand on American ground. 
Some Reformed Presbyterians have, from time to time, entertained the 
opinion that the Constitution and government of the United States are 
essentially infidel and immoral, and that, therefore, they should be 
dissenters from both, and principally on the ground of maintaining 
this opinion a number of ministers with adherents, in 1833, seceded 
from the General Synod, and up to the present time the two bodies 
have maintained a separate existence, each claiming to be the original 
church. The seceding party of 1833 assumed the name of the “ Synod 
of the Reformed Presbyterian Church,” while the other body retains 
the name which the church had before the division, viz.: “The 
General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.” 

The doctrinal principles of the Church are thoroughly Calvinistic. 
Their leading doctrines and order of worship are substantially the same 
as those of the Presbyterian Church (to which the reader is referred,) 
except in the following respects: 

1. That in singing God’s praise the Psalms are to be used in social 
worship, to the exclusion of all imitations and uninspired compositions. 

2. Sacramental communion is not to be extended to those who do not 
approve the principles of this particular church or submit themselves 
to her authority. Not that she designs by this to unchurch any other 
denomination, but she does not feel at liberty to allow every man to be 
the judge of his own qualification for sealing ordinances. 

This church possesses a high character in respect to the training of 
children to fear God, and is a self-denying missionary body. Among 
its ministers are men eminent for piety and learning. Its growth in 
this country has been slow. The following statistics will show the con¬ 
dition of the two branches respectively in 1871 : 

The General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church (which 
was the name before the division) has presbyteries, 7; ministers and 
licentiates, 41; congregations, 66; communicants, 6,670; theological 
seminaries, 1; foreign missions, 1. 

The Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church has presbyteries, 
8; ministers and licentiates, 86; congregations, 87; communicants, 
8,577; theological seminaries, 1; foreign missions, 1; Sunday-school 





































































436 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


scholars, 2,306. Contributions for the year—foreign missions, $7,465.10; 
home missions, $4,146 ; freedmen’s mission, $2,359.21 ; theological sem¬ 
inaries, $3,062.80; church building, $28,355.09; pastors’ salaries, $59,442. 
66; all other objects, $40,311.61. The churches of the Reformed Pres¬ 
byterian Church are located principally in the Middle and Western 
States. 

UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA. 

The United Presbyterian Church was formed in Pittsburgh, Penn¬ 
sylvania, May 26, 1858, by a union of the Associate and Associate Re¬ 
formed Churches of North America. These churches claimed as their 
common parent the Church of Scotland, and were substantially one in 
doctrine, worship, and church government. 

Of the same family was the Reformed Presbyterian Church. The 
members composing these different churches were intermingled all 
over the country, and in their divided condition their congregations 
were so small as to be unable in many cases to support pastors. The 
consequence was that in many portions of the country these people 
were not able to enjoy the preached word by ministers of their own 
faith. 

To remedy this evil, and, if possible, to bring these Churches into a 
closer relation, a call for a convention was issued, and delegates from 
the three denominations assembled in Pittsburgh, October 17th, 1838. 
This convention contemplated only a “ nearer approximation pre¬ 
paratory to organic union,” and measures were taken for a fraternal 
exchange of pulpits and a union in meetings for prayer and other reli¬ 
gious exercises. 

The second convention was held in Philadelphia, on September 29th, 
1339. On this occasion there was a free interchange of opinions upon 
subjects on which it was supposed there existed a diversity of views, 
which might present some difficulty in the way of union, such as 
psalmody, communion, slavery, testimony bearing, and covenanting, 
but it appeared that there existed a remarkable degree of harmony. 
Further than a full discussion no steps toward union were taken at 
this time. 

Other conventions followed in 1841 and 1842, and at the latter one it 
was resolved that there was such a degree of harmony and unanimity 
on the more prominent subjects as to encourage the convention to take 
further measures toward a visible ecclesiastical union. In 1845 the 
convention met for the seventh time, and adopted a Confession and 
Testimony as a basis of union. This basis was submitted to the su¬ 
preme judicatories of the respective churches, but, after consideration, 
it did not prove entirely acceptable. The eighth meeting of the con¬ 
vention was marked with discouragement, and it adjourned sine die , 
after resolving “ That this Convention finds nothing more that it can 
do at present in furtherance of the object of its appointment.” 

This action had a salutary effect upon the people, who were, with 
few exceptions, strongly favorable to union. They redoubled theii 





















































































UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 487 

^ 

efforts to create an overwhelming sentiment in favor of the measure. 
The General Synod of the Associate Reformed Church took up the 
matter and appointed delegates to attend a future convention, should 
the sister churches or either of them concur in the measure. At this 
time the Reformed Presbyterian Church withdrew and no longer co¬ 
operated in the efforts to effect a union of the churches. 

At length a basis, framed in accordance with the general principles 
which had been approved by the supreme judicatories of the Associate 
and Associate Reformed Churches respectively, was prepared by a 
committee, which, being presented to the Synods, was by them trans¬ 
mitted in overture to the Presbyteries. After revising the reports of 
the Presbyteries at the annual meeting of the supreme judicatories the 
basis was adopted by them both, with the understanding that the 
formal consummation of the union should take place at the time of the 
annual meeting in 1858. 

On Wednesday, May 26, 1858, the union of the Associate and the 
Associate Reformed Churches was consummated in Pittsburgh, Pa., 
and the measure was hailed with rejoicings by the people of both 
churches throughout the land. Of the “Testimony of the United 
Presbyterian Church,” we give the following as the substance: 

Article 1. The Scriptures are in every part the inspired Word of God 
both in language and in sentiment, and are the only rule of faith and 
practice. 

Article 2. Jesus Christ is Supreme God, being one in essence with 
the Father, and also the Son of God in respect of his natural, neces¬ 
sary, and eternal relation to the Father. 

Article 3. God created man in a state of perfect holiness and with 
perfect ability to obey him, and entered into a covenant with him, in 
which covenant Adam was the representative of all his natural pos¬ 
terity, so that in him they were to stand or fall as he stood or fell. 

Article 4. Our first parents, by breach of covenant with God, sub¬ 
jected themselves to his eternal wrath and brought themselves into a 
state of depravity wholly inclined to sin, and unable, of themselves, to 
perform a single act of acceptable obedience to God; that their posterity 
are born in the same state of guilt, depravity, and inability, and so will 
continue until delivered therefrom by the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

Article 5. That Jesus Christ, by appointment of the Father and by 
his own voluntary act, placed himself in the room of a definite number 
who were chosen in him before the foundation of the world ; so that he 
was their proper and legal surety, and, as such, in their behalf, satisfied 
the justice of God and answered all the demands which the law had 
against them, and thereby infallibly obtained for them eternal re¬ 
demption. 

Article 6. That in justification there is an imputation to the believer 
of that righteousness, or satisfaction and obedience, which the Lord 
Jesus Christ, as surety of his people, rendered to the law; and it is only 
on the ground of this imputed righteousness that his sins are pardoned 
or his person accepted of God. 

























































































■t 










a ®«8k 


DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES. 


Article 7. That the gospel in its strict and proper sense, as distin¬ 
guished from the law, is a revelation of grace to sinners as such; and 
that it contains a free and unconditional offer and grant of salvation 
tlirough Christ to all who hear it, whatever may be their character or 
condition. 

Article 8. That saving faith is not merely an assent of the mind to 
the proposition that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of sinners; but also a 
cordial reception and appropriation of him by the sinner as his Saviour, 
with an accompanying persuasion or assurance corresponding to the 
degree or strength of his faith that he shall be saved by him. 

Article 9. That repentance is one of the fruits of a justifying faith; 
and, of course, cannot be regarded as a ground of the sinner’s pardon, 
or as necessary to qualify him for coming to Christ. 

Article 10. That although the moral law is of perpetual obligation, 
and ever binds the believer as a rule of life, yet as a covenant, he is, by 
his justification through Christ, completely and for ever set free from 
it, and, consequently, is not required to yield obedience to it as a condi¬ 
tion of life and salvation. 

Article 11. That the Holy Spirit accompanying the word so acts 
upon the soul as to quicken, regenerate, and sanctify it; and that 
without its direct operation the soul would have no ability to perceive 
in a saving manner the truths of God’s Word or yield to the motives 
which it presents 

Article 12. That Jesus Christ has a two-fold dominion besides that 
which belongs to him as God. These are over the Church, of which 
he is the living Head and Lawgiver, and over all created persons and 
things. 

Article 13. That the law of God is supreme in its authority and obli¬ 
gations, and where commands of Church and State conflict we are to 
obey God rather than man. 

Article 14. That slaveholding is a violation of the law of God and 
contrary to the letter and spirit of Christianity. 

Article 15. That all associations which impose an oath of secresy or 
an obligation to obey a code of unknown laws, are inconsistent with 
the genius and spirit of Christianity, and church members ought not 
to have fellowship with them. 

Article 16. That the church should not extend communion in sealing 
ordinances to those who refuse adherence to her profession or subjec¬ 
tion to her government and discipline, or who refuse to forsake a com¬ 
munion which is inconsistent with the profession she makes; nor 
should communion in any ordinance of worship be held under such 
circumstances as would be inconsistent with the keeping of these ordi¬ 
nances pure and entire, or so as to give countenance to any corruption 
of the doctrines and institutions of Christ. 

Article 17. That public social covenanting is a moral duty, not at 
stated times, but upon extraordinary occasions, in times of danger to 
the Church, in times of exposure to backsliding, and in times of re¬ 
formation. Such covenant transactions bind posterity faithfully to 
adhere to and prosecute the object for which they were entered into. 


w I 



















































































BAPTISTS. 


— 


Article 18. That it is the will of God that the songs contained in the 
Book of Psalms be sung in his worship, both public and private, to the 
end of the world; and in singing God’s praise these songs should be 
employed to the exclusion of the devotional compositions of uninspired 
men. 

The foregoing declarations cover the views of the United Presbyterian 
Church “ in relation to certain articles of divine truth which have been 
either denied by not a few professing Christians, or permitted to lie in 
obscurity.” By them they did not design to displace the Confession of 
Faith, but rather to direct attention to it as a document to which the 
church had solemnly declared its adherence. 

With these as its leading principles the United Church started upon 
her career in 1858. The combined strength of the two bodies out of 
which she was formed in that year was 54,789 communicants. On 
coming together some of the members of both bodies dropped off, and 
the new church may be said to have consisted of fifty thousand mem¬ 
bers upon its formation. 

Its progress has been reasonably rapid up to the present time. It 
now (1871) has eight Synods, fifty-six Presbyteries, 553 ministers, 729 
congregations, 58 mission stations, 69,805 communicants, 43,227 Sabbath 
school scholars, 6,820 officers and teachers; contributions, Home Mis¬ 
sions $25,999; Foreign Missions $40,079; Freedmen’s Missions $10,066. 
Total contributions $812,553 ; average contributions per member $11.64. 
The United Presbyterians are a God fearing people, strict in the educa¬ 
tion of their children, and conscientious in all their dealings. They 
have ever been earnest in the work of the Lord, in their peculiar way, 
both at home and in the missionary fields, and in preserving simple 
piety, and unostentatious forms of worship, their influence has been 
for good. 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, U. S. (SOUTH ) 

General View of the Church During the Year ending April 7, 1870 . 


Synods. 11 

Presbyteries. 55 

Ministers. 840 

Licentiates. 53 

Candidates. 161 

Churches. 1,469 

Licensures. 16 

Ordinations. 14 

Installations. 52 

Pastoral relations dissolved. 40 

Churches organized. 33 

Churches dissolved. 14 

Members added on examination... 5,048 

Mi rubers added on certificate. 2,851 

Total number of communicants. 82,011 

Adults baptized. 1,529 


Children baptized. 3,555 

Sabbath School Scholars. 47,317 

Contributed to Sustentation. $19,002 

Contributed to Foreign Missions... 23,269 

Con tributed to Ed ucation. 84 ,°09 

Contributed to Publication. 10,279 

Contributed for Presbyterial pur¬ 
poses. 12,247 

Contributed for Congregational 

purposes.. 676 432 

Contributed forMiscellaneous pur¬ 
poses. 66,917 

Whole amount contributed. 872,355 

Churches not reporting number of 
members... 206 


♦ 





































































































SECTION IX.—AMERICAN BAPTISTS. 

Having given, in section fifth, a statement of what Baptists claim 
respecting their existence prior to the Reformation of the sixteenth 
century, we will not say anything here of them previous to their 
appearance in the United States, but refer our readers to what we have 
there said. And, as the creed of American Baptists is substantially the 
same as that of Baptists in England and on the continent, we will not 
repeat the statement of that creed here, but shall, in matters of doctrine 
or practice, confine ourselves to those points alone in which the several 
bodies of Christians coming under the description “American Bap¬ 
tists” differ from each other. By the name Baptist, when not preceded 
by any qualifying term, we mean that largely predominating class of 
Baptists in the United States and the British Provinces who are Cal- 
vinistic in their doctrines, and who maintain close communion. These 
we will notice first, giving a more particular account of them, as they 
comprise the great body of that large number of Christians in America 
known as Baptists. 

As the Baptists of America and of England and the continent have 
“ one Lord, one faith, and one baptism,” so they are bound together by 
strong bonds of sympathy. This is yearly strengthening. Last year 
(1870) a delegation representing the Baptists of England. Wales, Scot¬ 
land, and Ireland, visited the Baptists of America, bringing fraternal 
greetings. The delegation consisted of Rev. Dr. Price, of Abedare, 
Wales, Rev. Dr. Todd, pastor of the Baptist Church, Sydenham, 
London, and Rev. Dr. R. M. Henry, pastor of the First Baptist Church, 
Belfast, Ireland. This was not the first delegation of the kind visiting 
America, but it contributed very greatly in awakeniug and strengthen¬ 
ing the bonds of sympathy, and promises good results. 

The name of Roger Williams must have the honor of being placed 

Roger Williams afc the k ead of ever y account of the introduction of Bap- 
' tists into America, and of the establishment of Baptist 
churches. In our article on English Baptists, in alluding to the history 
of this people in Wales, it will be remembered by our readers we re¬ 
ferred to the proportionally large membership there now, and the claim 
made by Welsh Baptists to great antiquity. The mention of Roger 
Williams turns our thoughts again to the little mountainous Princi¬ 
pality of Wales. Here Roger Williams was born in the year 1598. At 
an early age he was sent to Oxford College, and educated through the 
munificence of Sir Edward Coke. He was a member of the Church of 
England, and was designed for the priesthood. But he became a 
Puritan, and emigrated to America in 1630, settling at Salem, Massa¬ 
chusetts, and was soon after called to the office of teacher in connec¬ 
tion with the Rev. Mr. Skelton. He was not here long before his 
liberal views on the question of conscience in matters of belief ren¬ 
dered him obnoxious to the Puritan settlers of the colony. He con¬ 
tended against religious persecution in all forms. He protested against 
the union of church and State, which then and long after existed in 
both Massachusetts and Connecticut. He was not then a Baptist, 




\®)1 









































































































































> 










































■ 
































. 





























BAPTISTS. 


491 


though in advocating these views he was defending principles of which 
Baptists had ever been the representatives. This the authorities of the 
colony would not tolerate. He was therefore condemned for no other 
reasons than holding those opinions which now none think of ques¬ 
tioning, but all love. In the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, 
we think it was always so. But it was not. It cost much heroic suffer¬ 
ing and noble sacrifice to obtain it for us. To none is the world more 
indebted than to Roger Williams. They sentenced him to banishment, 
and expelled him in 1635 from the colony. In the spring of 1G36 he 
settled in what is now the State of Rhode Island on the site where the 
opulent city of Providence stands. Here he founded a colony, obtain¬ 
ing a charter from the King. A fundamental principle of this colony 
was, that there should be no persecution for conscience’ sake in matters 
of religion, but that every man was to have perfect freedom to worship 
God after his own conviction of truth and duty. It was not toleration 
he established which implies the right to punish, but magnanimously 
withholds it. It was perfect freedom which denies the right. This is 
just the difference between Rhode Island Colony, and that of Lord 
Baltimore in Maryland. The latter granted toleration, only a privilege 
they retained power to revoke at their pleasure. The former incorpo¬ 
rated religious liberty into the fundamental law of the Commonwealth. 
It was the first time the world ever beheld such a sight. That little 
Colony of Rhode Island was the first government that ever was based 
upon it. The Puritans who fled from religious intolerance knew not 
howto be tolerant. Roger Williams fled from their intolerance and 
established a colony in which perfect freedom was guaranteed by the 
law to all its inhabitants. 

It was after he arrived in Rhode Island, but before he obtained the 
charter, that he was baptized, though in theory he was a Baptist when 
he was banished. 

We will here introduce the testimony of the eminent American 
Bancroft’s historian Bancroft to the character of this man, and the 
Testimony, importance of that place he occupies as a contributor to 
those free institutions now the glory and strength of our land: “In 
the unwavering assertion of his views he never changed his position. 
The sanctity of conscience was the great tenet which, with all its con¬ 
sequences, he defended as he first trod the shores of New England, and 
in his extreme old age was the last pulsation of his heart. It was his 
glory to found a State upon that principle, and to stamp it upon its 
rising institutions in characters so deep that the impress has remained 
to the present day, and can never be erased, without the total destruc¬ 
tion of his work. He was the first person in modern Christendom to 
assert in its plenitude the doctrine of religious liberty, of conscience, 
the equality of all before the law, and in its defence he was the har¬ 
binger of Milton, and the precursor of Jeremy Taylor. Bis philan¬ 
thropy compassed the earth. W illiams would permit the persecution 
ol no religious opinion, of no religion, leaving heresy unharmed by 
law, and orthodoxy unprotected by penal enactments.”* 


* History of United States, vol. 1, crimp. 9. 



































































492 DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


* Quoted by Dr. Belcher, History of Denom. p. 146. 
f Winebreuner’s History of Deuom p. 58. 


Such was Roger Williams, the first of American Baptists. Possibly 
a few were in the other colonies before he avowed himself one, but we 
hear of Baptists first in connection with him. 

The principles he advocated were destined to spread, and have 
influence of exerted a mighty influence in moulding the free institu- 
Principies. tions of our nation. All now defend religious liberty ; 
but American Baptists claim to have been its first and stanchest 
defenders. In England they stood alone as representatives of the right 
of all men to worship God according to the dictates of their own con¬ 
science. The same was true of them for a time in America, though 
soon after their appearance the Quakers became their zealous co- 
operators in this good cause, now so triumphant, but which our fathers 
were so slow to accept, and to give others the benefit of. Dr. Bushnell 
says of the Pilgrim Fathers: “They as little thought of raising a 
separation of Church and State as of planting a new democracy.”* 
The feeling of the Puritans of New England toward all dissent from 
the standing order may be gathered from these lines, found, at death, 
in the pocket of a Mr. Dudley : 


“ Let men of God in court and churches watch 
O'er such as do a toleration hatch.” 


But principles live, and in due time triumph. So Baptists claim it 
has been with them, as the representatives of liberty of conscience, and 
the denial of the right of the civil magistrate to coerce for religious 
dissent. What they claim has been conceded by high authority among 
those not of them. In 1789, George Washington, who was an Episco¬ 
palian, in a letter addressed to the Virginia Baptists, said : “ While the 
Baptists have always defended the principles of religious liberty, they 
have never violated them. They have had but one opportunity of 
forming a system of civil government, and they so formed it as to create 
an era in the history of civilization. In the little Baptist State of 
Rhode Island was the experiment first attempted of leaving religion 
wholly to herself, unprotected and unsustained by the civil arm. '] he 
principles which were here first planted have taken root in other lands, 
and have borne abundant fruit. The world is coming nearer to the 
opinions of Roger Williams; and so universally are his sentiments 
now adopted in this country, that, like other successful philosophers, 
he is likely himself to be lost in the blaze of his own discovery.” • 

The influence of their principles at this time and for years previous 
must have been great to call forth such a testimony from “the Father 
of his country.”! Mr. Jefferson resided in Virginia within a few miles 
of a Baptist church. Eewas accustomed often to attend its service. 
As is now often the fact, so then, when business was to be attended to 
it was done by the church in the presence of the whole congregation. 
The pastor one day asked Jefferson what he thought of the working of 
the democratic form of government in the Baptist Church. He replied, 



































































“ It interests me much, I consider it the only form of true democracy 
now existing in the world, and have concluded it would be the best 
form for the government of these American Colonies.”* This was 
before the declaration of independence. How far the practical workings 
of the democratic principles of Baptists as illustrated under the eye of 
Jefferson, among the little band of Baptists worshipping within a few 
miles of his residence, influenced his political views, we do not say. 
But, undoubtedly, it was not inconsiderable. And through him how 
far it aided in making the genius of our government what it is none 
can tell. In August, 1789, a delegation of Virginia Baptists waited on 
General Washington to express their fears that the principle of reli¬ 
gious liberty was not as well guarded as it ought to b<\ In one month 
after the expression of those fears by this delegation of Baptists, that 
portion of our National Constitution was adopted which provides that 
“ Congress shall make no law establishing articles of faith, or modes of 
worship, or prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the 
freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peace¬ 
ably to assemble and to petition to the government for a redress of 
grievances.”! 

Thus was the principle of religious liberty stronger than all its foes. 
Struggling long it won its way to the favor of statesmen by its essential 
justice. But while it made that progress the extracts we have given 
show, yet, the emancipation of Church and State was not complete, for, 
though the fundamental law of the land had incorporated into it the 
provision just quoted, making it for all time illegal and impossible for 
the general government to intermeddle with the subject of religion, in 
favor of any denomination, yet, in New England, the Congregation- 
alists remained by statute law the standing order, for support of which 
all others were taxed. Nor was this odiously unjust law repealed in 
Connecticut until 1838. In Virginia the Church of England was not 
established by law until some years after the Revolution. While as 
late as 1785, through the influence of Episcopalians, the legislature of 
Georgia enacted a law on the subject of religion against which Baptists 
protested, and in consequence of which it was repealed at the next ses¬ 
sion. At length the principle triumphed in every one of the original 
thirteen colonies, in which Church and State had been united in any 
form, so that now the Constitutions of every State in the Union accord 
with the Amendment to the National Constitution passed, as is be¬ 
lieved, through the influence of the protest of the Virginia Baptists in 
17S9. And to-day the Republic of the United States aid its daughter, 
the Republic of Liberia, are the only two governments in the world 
where Church and State are completely divorced, and where perfect 
religious freedom exists. Others did nobly, especially the Quakers, but 
Baptists claim to have been the leadei’3 and the largest contributors. 
The statistics, to be riven further on in our article, will show that their 
influence in the United States to-day is very great; perhaps numeri¬ 
cally greater than any other body. 

* Curtis’ Progress of Baptist Principles, p. 356. 

t Curtis’ History of Baptists, p. 206. 

32 


























































^55 




431 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


1VSW 


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Persecution. 


This position was not easily gained. It cost the early churches and 
preachers much suffering. As we have seen, Roger 
Williams was banished from Massachusetts Colony for 
n its defence, in the midst of the rigors of a New England winter, an! 
compelled to track his way across the wilderness in search of a home 
for himself and followers on the banks of the Narragansett, seeking a i 
asylum among Pagan savages, when banished from the civilization of 
Christian men who had themselves fled from persecution. 

The laws of Massachusetts Colony against Baptists and Quakers were 
severe. John G. Whittier has quaintly written, 


“ The Baptists felt their iron heel, 

And Quakers quaked with unaccustomed zeal.” 





The more their principles prevailed the more violent became the 
punishment. The penalties inflicted were the severest the spirit of the 
age—which had softened down as compared with previous years—would 
allow; banishment, whipping, fine, and imprisonment, beside being 
taxed to support the clergy of the “ Standing Order.” For failure or 
refusal to pay this tax, regarding it as unjust, they “oftentimes had 
their bodies seized upon and thrown into the common jail, as male¬ 
factors, and their cattle, swine, horses, household furniture, and imple¬ 
ments of husbandry, forcibly distrained from them and shamefully 
sold, many times at not quarter of their first value.”* In 1723 a law 
was passed by the general Court relieving Baptists from this tax. But 
it relieved their persons only, not their property. Hence it was of little 
service, retaining and enforcing the unjust principle on which all such 
laws rest. In Connecticut Baptist ministers were put in the stocks, 
and afterward thrown in prison for preaching the Gospel contrary to 
law. In Virginia Dr. Hawks, an Episcopalian, says : “ No dissenters 
experienced for a time harsher treatment than did the Baptists. They 
were beaten and imprisoned, and cruelty taxed its ingenuity to devise 
new modes of punishment and annoyance.”! This spirit of persecu¬ 
tion long lingered after the strength of popular feeling had bound it 
hand and foot, and the laws it enacted remained unrepealed on the 
statute books of the New England Colonies and of Virginia years after 
public sentiment had made their execution impossible. 

Into the details of persecution suffered in the effort to force compli¬ 
ance with those iniquitous laws we are forbidden by our limits to enter, 
though they are more numerous than our readers may at first suppose, 
and exhibited, on the side of the persecuted, a nobleness of heroism 
worthy of all praise, and of intolerance and cruelty and utter disregard 
of the conscience of others, on the part of the persecutors, we are sur¬ 
prised to find existing in the very morning of the day in which we 
live. We will mention a few, however. In Virginia, on June 4, 1708, 
only 103 years since—men are living, no doubt, whose fathers remember 
it—three Baptist ministers, John Walker, Lewis Craig, and James 
Childs, were brought before the magistrates in Spottsylvania County, 


* Dr. Hovey’s Life and Times of Backus, p. 167. 
f History of Prot. Epis. Church iu Virginia, p. 161. 










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and bound over for trial as “disturbers of the peace,” charged with 
preaching the Gospel, their accusers saying they could not meet a man 
“ without putting a text of Scripture down his throat.” 

This trial has been made memorable in history because of the part 
taken in it by the eloquent Patrick Henry, who, on hearing of their 
arrest, rode sixty miles, that he might be present at their trial, and 
volunteer in their defence. Seating himself in the court room, he 
listened to the reading of the indictment. The words “ For preaching 
the Gospel of the Son of God,” caught his ear. Rising immediately on 
the concluding of the reading, he stretched out his hand, received the 
paper, and then addressed the Court. He dwelt on the charge “ For 
0 ) preaching the Oospel of the Son of God.” He asked, at the close of a 
most eloquent appeal, “What law have they violated?” And 
then, for the third time, in a slow*, dignified manner, he lifted his eyes 
to heaven, and waved the indictment about his head. The effect was 
electrical. The Court and audience were at the highest pitch of excite¬ 
ment. The prosecuting attorney and the witnesses against these three 
Y*' men grew pale and trembled. The Judge shared in the excitement, 
now becoming extremely painful, and with tremulous voice gave the 
authoritative command, “ Sheriff “ discharge those men.” 

Patrick Henry defended those men from ardent love for religious 
liberty, and not because they were Baptists. His descendants are now 
Baptists, and the inhabitants of the counties of Virginia where Bap¬ 
tists were most harrassed and persecuted by those unjust laws against 
them are now almost all connected with them. Baptists have now in 
Virginia 948 churches, and 122,120 communicants, having, it is said, 
more members in the City of Richmond alone, than the Episcopalians, 
once established by law, have at present in the entire State. But none 
rejoice more than Baptists that Episcopalians and all others now enjoy 
that perfect liberty once denied to them. 

In New England their sufferings were longer in duration, because 
commencing at an earlier period, but were much more severe. In 1649, 
John Clark, Obadiah Holmes, and John Crandal, were arrested and 
imprisoned in Boston, each well whipped, and fine!, in the order in 
which we have written their names, twenty, thirty, and five pounds 
each. Judge Endicott, in sentencing them, said: “You go up and 
down, and secretly insinuate things into those who are weak, but you 
cannot maintain it before our ministers, you may try and dispute with 
them.” No wonder such opinions prevailed when those who forsook 
infant baptism were regarded as deceived by the Devil. 

About this time Dr. Dunstar, President of Harvard College, an able 
preacher, and learned in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, became a Baptist. 
He was not only removed from his Presidency, but the feeling against 
him in the colony was so bitter that he was compelled to go to Ply¬ 
mouth Colony, where he died in 1659. But, as we have said, it is im¬ 
possible to give extended details. We will, therefore, dismiss this part 
of our history with a single additional case. In the seventeenth cen¬ 
tury, Dr. Hezekiah Smith, “a godly and learned man,” of imoosing 
personal appearance and of eloquent speech, became a Baptist, He was 


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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


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full of zeal for the Lord and for the new principles he had embraced. A 
few Baptists lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Dr. Smith visited them 
that he might preach the word to them, and confirm their faith. The 
^authorities dreah d the possible consequences of the coming of a man 
of so much power, whose antecedents would necessarily create a wide¬ 
spread popular interest in him. They therefore took measures to pre¬ 
vent his preaching in the place. Orders were accordingly issued by the 
town authorities to that end. The order prohibiting him from preach¬ 
ing, and designed to expel him from the place, was put in the hands of 
a constable to read to Dr. Smith and urge him to depart, and certainly 
to desist from preaching. When that worthy official was confronted 
by the commanding presence of Dr. Smith, he was overcome with 
amazement. He attempted to read his paper to him but utterly failed, 
lie stammered—became confused. Idis brain swam, and his vidon 
grew dim. Gazing at Dr. Smith, he forgot his paper, and began : “ Mr. 
Smith, I warn—I warn—I warn—I warn you off God’s earth,” and 
then, turning, beat a hasty and inglorious retreat, leaving Dr. Smith 
master of the field. Dr. Smith preached often in Haverhill, and his 
labors bear fruit to-day in the strength and influence of Baptists there. 

But, thank God, those days of persecution are now passed, and we 
will not linger among their sad stories of suffering and injustice. We 
rejoice that we live in other days, and this glance backward serves to 
show how great progress has been made in religious as well as civil 
freedom. 

The first Baptist Church was organized in America, in 1639, in Pro¬ 
vidence, Ithode Island, though the first Baptist Church 
of Newport disputes this claim. The verdict of opinion 
in the controversy that sprung up a few years since, on this question of 
priority between the two churches, is, we believe, generally in favor of 
the first church of Providence. 

Of this church Roger Williams was a member. It originally con¬ 
sisted of twelve members. This small body was soon increased by the 
addition of twelve others, whether by baptism in Providence, or by 
letter, having been members of Baptist Churches in England, we have 
no means of knowing. It yet exists, vigorous and influential, under 
the able ministry of Rev. Dr. S. L. Caldwell. Its present edifice was 
erected nearly a century since and is the largest church edifice in the 
city. It stands in the centre of an open square, surrounded by spread¬ 
ing elms, the favorite shade tree of New England cities. 

Other churches were soon after organized in the different colonies. 
The First Newport, in 1644; Second Newport, in 1656; First Boston, in 
1665; Middletown, New Jersey, in 1688; and the Piscataway and Co- 
hansy Churches, in the same State, the former in 1688 and the latter in 
1689 ; First Philadelphia, in 1698; Brandywine, Pa., in 1715, and First 
Church in New York City, in 1724. Churches were organized at many 
other points where new settlements sprung up, so that within about 
a century after Roger Williams became a Baptist there were about sev¬ 
enty-five in existence, notwithstanding the oppressive laws against 
them. Connected with some of these early churches were laymen who 




V® 1 


Early Churches. 


© 

































































BAPTISTS. 




Growth. 




became prominent in civil positions, and, while the ministry of that 
early day among Baptists was not, as a whole, a well educated body, 
they comprised some who ranked high as scholars. 

Those early churches became centres of influence, and sent out, in 
time, colonies that in a few years became rigorous churches, and these 
again became fruitful vines. The pastors of those bodies were earnest 
men of God, even their bitterest adversaries acknowledging them to be 
godly and earnest men, mighty in word and deed. From these 
churches missionaries went out into destitute settlements, and, preach¬ 
ing the gospel, baptized those who believed and organized churches. 
The record of their labors is on high, and being dead their works still 
follow them. 

From the early churches the transition of our inquiries to the growth 
of Baptists is natural and easy. From the planting of 
the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, 
to this date, 1870, 241 years have elapsed. Within the first century we 
found about 75 churches planted under most adverse conditions. Dur¬ 
ing the remaining 141 years the Baptists have grown to be, probably, the 
first denomination, in point of numbers in the United States. This is 
undoubtedly true, when, as we now do, we include all denominations 
coming under the general classification of Baptists. “ A little more 
than 100 years ago, Dr. Ezra Stiles, of Newport, R. I., afterwards Presi¬ 
dent of Yale College, published an estimate of -the relative strength of 
the different denominations then existing in New England, and what 
their numbers might be in 100 years, i. e. in 1860. He reckoned the 
Baptists then at one-twentieth of the Congregationalists (his own 
people,) and estimated that they would be in about the same propor¬ 
tion in 1860. But, though sanguine and mathematical, he has proven, 
now that 1860 has come and passed, a false prophet. Baptists equal the 
strongest if they be not the most numerous, while the relative propor¬ 
tion of the Congregationalists to Baptists is as 1 to 7 when we include 
all who practice immersion and deny the validity of infant baptism, 
and as 1 to when we confine ourselves to the regular Close Commu¬ 
nion Calvinistic Baptists, with whom Dr. Stiles compared them in 1760. 

Baptist churches are to be found in all parts of the United States and 
Canada, while the strength of Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed and 
Episcopalians is limited to certain districts rather than general. At 
present the aggregate of all coming under the general name of Baptist 
in the United States, embraces a membership of 2,014,524, gathered in 
21,700 churches and having 18,391 ministers. The proportion of these 
figures belonging to the several subdivisions of Baptists will be given 
in their proper place and relation. 

Having given this general view of the history of the American Bap¬ 
tists, w T e now proceed to give our readers some account of that largely 
predominating body among them, usually and properly designated 
Baptists without any qualifying term, being Calvinistic in doctrine, 
and adhering rigidly to the practice of close communion. 

Their membership is now 1,419,493, gathered into 17,745 churches, 
having 10,818ordained ministers; like all Baptists, their 
church government is strictly congregational, each 


Baptists. 




















































'198 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


Education. 


church being a perfect community within itself, and under no amena¬ 
bility to any other body or church, none having the right to legislate 
for it, but governing itself by the will of a majority of all its members, 
male and female. True, these churches are banded into associations, of 
which there are 799 in the United States. To these bodies each church 
reports its condition annually by letter, and is represented by delegates 
in its sittings. These associations, however, are purely voluntary, and 
have no legislative functions whatever. The most they can do is to 
advise and recommend. They can enact nothing binding any church 
connected with them. 

This large body are close communionists. They complain of the un¬ 
fairness of the representations often made of their views and practice 
on the communion question. They, in common with all the leading 
evangelical denominations, regard baptism as a prerequisite to commu¬ 
nion. The real question at issue is baptism. Baptists say immersion 
only is Scripture baptism; others accept immersion, sprinkling, or 
pouring as equally valid. The early churches we have already noticed 
were the American parents of this body, and were close or strict in their 
communion. Their mode of worship is identical with Congregation- 
alists and Presbyterians, while the tone and doctrine of the preaching 
heard in their pulpits is the same. 

While there were exceptions, it is true that the majority of the early 
ministers* of this body were men who knew nothing of 
the learning of the schools, not having received a clas¬ 
sical training. Nor do Baptists believe it ought to be made a requi¬ 
site, but that if a man feel himself called of God to preach, and is 
either too far advanced in life, or has been educated for another pursuit, 
the absence of a regular classical and theological education ought not 
to be made a bar to his preaching. They, however, encourage all young 
men to obtain the most thorough training possible, and have in most 
of the States education societies to aid worthy but indigent young men. 
Many men among Baptists who felt called to the work of the ministry, 
but were without the culture of the schools, by diligent application 
became eminent in scientific and classical knowledge, and eloquent as 
preachers. Baptists may, therefore, be classed, both in their past and 
in the present, among the friends of education, and when we take into 
account their early history, and the difficulties against which they have 
struggled, they have done much in this direction. 

Brown University, located at Providence, Rhode Island, is their oldest 
institution, having been in existence more than one hundred years, and 
now having personal property and real estate the combined value of 
which is near $1,000,000. But previous to the planting of this venerable 
institution they had an academy at Hopewell, New Jersey, out of which 
Brown University sprang. Many eminent men have been students of 
Brown. Chief Justice Chase, Bishop Clark, Horace Man, Dr. Angel, 
President of Michigan University, and many others are among her 
alumni. They now have 29 colleges and universities, the aggregate 
value of properties and endowments being $2,737,000; and aggregate 
volumes in libraries 125,721; Brown contains 38,000. Beside Brown 






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their best known colleges are Rochester and Madison in New York, 
Lewisburg in Pennsylvania, Chicago University in Illinois, and Water- 
ville in Maine. The others are in flourishing condition also. 

Of Theological Seminaries they have nine. Two of these are quite 
handsomely endowed. Newton, Mass., has endowment and real estate 
worth $400,000, and Crozier, at Upland, Delaware connty, Pa., recently 
established, $317,000, the gift of one family, the heirs of the late John 
P. Crozier, a prominent, wealthy and liberal Baptist, well known for 
his abundant liberality towards the Christian Commission, and his ar¬ 
dent friendship for its President, G. H. Stuart, Esq. 

Their Colleges contained, in 1870, 3,455 students, and their Theo¬ 
logical Seminaries, 560. Of course the latter are all preparing for the 
ministry, while many of the former have the same vocation in contem¬ 
plation. 

In addition to the Colleges, Universities and Theological Seminaries 
mentioned, they have a number of other institutions of lesser grade. 
We must not omit, however, to mention the Vassar Woman’s College, 
located at Poughkeepsie, New York, and founded by the princely mu¬ 
nificence of Matthew Vassar, Esq., whose entire gift amounted to 
$825,000. It had nearly 400 students in 1870. It is designed to be for 
young ladies what Harvard, Yale and Brown are for young men. A 
great impetus has recently been given, through the untiring energy of 
Rev. S. S. Cutting, D. D., to the establishment of Academies in all the 
States. Much interest is shown in the movement and already muni¬ 
ficent donations have been made. Hon. E. Cook, of Havana, N. Y., 
has given $150,000. 

Of religious periodicals this body have 25 weeklies, 1 bi-weekly, 3 
semi-monthlies, 6 English monthlies, three German 

Periodicals. mon t,hlies and 1 quarterly. Of the weeklies, the “ Watch¬ 
man and Reflector,” of Boston, the “ Examiner and Chronicle,” of New 
York, and the “Standard” of Chicago, have the largest circulation. 
Next to these, in circulation, but the equal of the best, is the “Na¬ 
tional Baptist, ” of Philadelphia. These four papers are conceded 
among the best religious weeklies of the country. There are none 
better. The Baptist Quarterly is one of the most scholarly publica¬ 
tions of its kind in America. 

This body have been and are now pre-eminently a missionary body. 

The origin of the Foreign Mission work among them 
was most providential. Rev. Adoniram Judson and 
Luther Rice left this country in 1812, sent out by the Congregation- 
alists of New England as missionaries to India. On the voyage the 
study of the New Testament made both them and their wives Baptists, 
and on landing at Serampore they were all baptized by Rev. William 
Ward, an English Baptist Missionary, at that place. Rice returned 
to lay the matter before the Baptist churches of America and urge the 
formation of a Mission Board among them. Judson remained, but 
God led him to Burmah. His sufferings and his work there are too 
well known to justify recital here. Judson toiled in Burmah. Rice, 
with trumpet tones, roused the churches here. The work has moved 


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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


on gloriously. The American Baptist Missionary Union now has in 
Asia 20 stations, 328 out stations, 319 churches and 17,426 members. In¬ 
cluding those in Burmah not under immediate supervision of the 
Board, the number of the members is about 20,000. Of the laborers 
among these 100 are American, 48 male, 52 female and 476 natives, of 
whom 80 are ordained ministers of the gospel. The union has mis¬ 
sions in Africa and Europe as well. The total statistics for 1870 are 
1,919 stations, 630 churches, 957 preachers and teachers, 4,600 baptized 
last year, and 46,964 members—the whole sustained at an annual cost 
of $210,000. 

Beside the Foreign Mission they have a Home Mission Society, the 
object of which is to send the Gospel to destitute portions of the West, 
and now to the freedmen of the Southern States. This society is doing 
a grand work. Its receipts in 1870 were $230,000. Beside sustaining 
missionaries it has a building loan fund designed to aid feeble churches 
in erecting places of worship. It is designed to increase this fund to 
$500,000, a considerable portion of which has been secured by Rev. Dr. 
E. E. L. Taylor, who has the matter in charge. 

They have a Publication Department sustained by a separate society, 
for the publication of Sunday school books and denominational litera¬ 
ture. This society now has large assets and does a business of about 
$350,000 annually, and is constantly increasing. 

The movement in favor of missions awakened hostility at the time 
Old School of its inception and formation. This led to a secession 
Baptists. G f a num ber of churches from the great body. These 
churches are found chiefly in Delaware and Maryland, and farther 
south, and in the Southwest. They are generally feeble, have but little 
influence, are opposed to missions, to Sunday Schools, and to an edu¬ 
cated ministry. They number, it is thought, about 60,000. But this is 
only an approximation, as they pay little attention to the collection of 
their statistics. 

As the Baptists of the British Provinces are in perfect accord with 
Baptists Of the the g reat body of whom we have just given an account, 
Br an ^Canada? 68 a worc * respecting them is fitting at this point. The first 
Baptist church was constituted in New Brunswick, 
October, 1778, at Horton. Soon after churches were organized at various 
points; and on June 23, 1800, the first Baptist Association of British 
North America was organized in Lower Granville, Nova Scotia. Bap¬ 
tists now have 567 churches, and 41,000 members. Their growth has 
been quite rapid. They have four colleges, and publish three English, 
and one French periodical, each weekly. They co-operate in Foreign 
Missions with the American Baptist Missionary Union. In Nova 
Scotia they predominate. 


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BAPTISTS. 


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FREEWILL BAPTISTS. 


This body of Christians, though one of the smallest of those in the 
Origin United States coming under the general classification 
“ Baptists,” is one of the most active in the promotion 
of spirituality of personal religious character. 

They appeared for the first time, as organized and distinctive, in the 
year 1780. The causes leading to their separation were two. The first 
is found in the Arminian tendencies, existing, to a limited extent, 
among some of the early Baptist churches. It is true that, generally, 
the early Baptist churches of this country were Calvinistic, yet, there 
were members, and some ministers, who having belonged in England 
to that division of Baptists called “ General ,” and who have always 
been moderate Calvinists, and some of them Arminian, brought those 
views with them and sought to propagate them in the churches here. 
This would, of course, awaken opposition, and in time cause just such 
a separation as we are now describing. The second is found in the 
Antinomianism evidently spreading to a considerable extent about this 
time, and which, in a quarter of a century later, caused the secession 
of another body, heretofore alluded to, and known as Old School Bap¬ 
tists, leaving the great body of Baptists, of whom we have given an 
account, Calvinists, without falling into Antinomianism on the one 
hand, or Arminianism on the other. Against the former, the principles 
of the body we are now giving a sketch of were the natural and inevit¬ 
able reaction. 

The founder of this body was the Rev. Benjamin Randall. He was 
an uneducated man, but of sound sense and fervent piety. He was 
converted at New Castle, New Hampshire, under the preaching of the 
celebrated George Whitefield, when twenty-two years of age. About 
four years after his conversion, in 1776, he united with the Calvinistic 
Baptist Church in Berwick. 

Feeling called to preach, license was granted him by the Church to 
“exercise his gift,” which he did with remarkable success. Pie was 
instrumental in the promotion of an extensive revival of religion in 
Dover, N. H., the place of his birth, and in many other places. Ho 
imbibed Arminian notions, thus dissenting from the body with which 
he had connected himself. The Baptist Church in Berwick met, con¬ 
sidered his case, and withdrew the hand of fellowship from him. 

There was not a denomination in existence in America to which he 
and his followers could naturally ally themselves. On the mode and 
subjects of baptism they were Baptists, but Baptists were Calvinists, 
while they were Arminians. The first church organized was at New 
Durham, N. H. Like all new sects, terms of reproach were used in 
describing them. They were called Randallites, General Provisioners, 
New Lights, and Freewillers, the last of which has clung to them, and 
which they have accepted, being known now as Freewill Baptists. 

They are a unit with the great body of Baptists on the subject of 
baptism and the question of church government, but 

Peculiarities. ^ e y ( j Q no t acce pt the doctrines of Cavinism. They 


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deny personal, unconditional election to eternal life in Christ, in con¬ 
sequence of an eternal decree. Hence, they repudiate the doctrine of 
final perseverance, as explained in harmony with the Calvinistic theory, 
but that election is made sure by perseverance only. They differ also 
on the subject of communion, practising what is known as “ open com¬ 
munion,” and not, like the Regular Baptists, regarding immersion as 
essential to communion. In fact, they do not regard baptism as a 
scriptural prerequisite to the Lord’s table. In this they differ from 
others, as much as from the great body of their Baptist brethren. 
They have also always been unflinching opponents of slavery. For 
this reason they had no churches in the South prior to the late rebellion. 
Now they have missionaries at various points, and have established, on 
a liberal basis, a school at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. 

Their early ministers were men without the advantages of a thorough 
Schools and collegiate training, having received only such an educa- 
Periodicais. tion as the common schools of New England afforded at 
that time. In a few instances, a few months at an academy may have 
supplemented this. But the cause of education has received their 
hearty support, a3 they have increased in numbers, wealth, and influ¬ 
ence. We have mentioned the college founded by them at Harper’s 
Ferry. Beside, Bates’ College, in Maine, is under their control, and 
liberally endowed by Mr. Bates, after whom it is named. At Hillsdale, 
Michigan, they have a college largely attended. They have academies 
at other points. Their principal periodicals are the “ Morning Star ” 
and the “ Baptist Union,” of New York. 

They have not grown rapidly, and for a few years past they have 
been stationary, and by some thought to be retrograding. 
At present they number 1,875 churches, 1,141 clergymen, 
and 66,691 ministers. 

CAMPBELLITE BAPTISTS, OR DISCIPLES. 

The designation by which this body have chosen to be known is that 
of disciples. They regard the title “Campbellite Baptists,” as a reproach; 
for, though Rev. Alexander Campbell was their founder, they claim to 
be the restorers of “Primitive Christianity,” and hence object to de¬ 
nominating a church by any other designation than is found in Scripture. 
The followers of Christ haying been termed disciples, they have chosen 
this as their appellative; sometimes, we believe, they employ the phrase 
“ the Church of the Disciples.” They are by far the largest body (after 
the Regular Baptists,) in America. They have had a rapid growth, and 
in many sections of the United States, and in parts of the British Pro¬ 
vinces, they are now numerous and influential. It is common to cite 
the growth of the Methodist Episcopal body as most surprising in its 
rapidity, but we think it probable that a careful comparison of statistics 
would show no less rapidity, if, indeed, not much greater, in the pro¬ 
gress of the Disciples, who from a feeble origin, far within the lifetime 
of many now living, have become strong—in some sections almost con¬ 
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The character and life of a man who possessed the mental abilities, 

Rev. Alexander and force of character to originate, organize and estab- 
Gampbeli. lisli such a monument as this, and whose followers in a 
few years after his death numbir hundreds of thousands, are worthy of 
study. His memoir has recently been issued in two large volumes, and 
will well repay perusal. 

A brief sketch of this eminent man is all our limits allow; he was of 
Scotch-Presbyterian education, and parentage. His father, Rev. Thos. 

Campbell, had long been aMit isterof high standing in the “Secession” 
branch of the Presbyterian Church, in the North of Ireland, who, with 
his family, emigrated to this country early in the beginning of the pre¬ 
sent century. His liberal views soon rendered him the object of per¬ 
secution among his Presbyterian brethren, for which reason he encoun¬ 
tered much opposition. He was at one time formally arraigned before 
an ecclesiastical tribunal of his brethren, on the charge of heresy. His 
fundamental position, while yet in connection with the Presbyterians, 
was, that the divisions existing among Christians were caused by a 
want of conformity to Scripture, and that the true and certain way to 
insure such unity, was to cast aside all creeds, and follow only the 
teachings of the Bible. The more rigorously he advocated his peculiar 
views, the stronger the opposition to him became, until on September 
7th, 1810, he and his family and a considerable number of others, who 
had imbibed his sentiments, separated from the Presbyterians, and 
organized a church at Brush Run, in Washington County, Pennsylva¬ 
nia, where a house of worship was erected. Of this church, Rev. Thos. 

Campbell and his son, Alexander, became joint pastors. In this church 
much devotion was manifest, and perfect concord prevailed; at length 
a subject of difficulty presented itself—a member raised the question 
“ Is Infant-baptism Scriptural; ” Mr. Campbell and his son entered into 
the discussion occasioned by this query, and having been educated in 
its belief, undertook the defence of “Infant Baptism.” The result of 
the investigation was, that they both, and many members of the Brush 
Run Church, were convinced not only that Infant Baptism was with¬ 
out Bible authority, but that Immersion alone was Scriptural Baptism. 

They, at the conclusion of the investigation, were Baptists. 

True to their convictions they became Baptists; and on the 12th of 
June, 1812, were immersed by Rev. Mr. Luce, and forming a Baptist 
church, were admitted, in the fall of 1813, into the Redstone Baptist 
Association. About this time Rev. Alexander Campbell comes promi¬ 
nently into notice. He was educated at Glasgow University in Scot¬ 
land, and was, from a student, eminent for energy of character, bril¬ 
liancy of talents, and love of learning, together with a wonderful 
ability in debate. He first attracted attention by a speech in the Red¬ 
stone Baptist Association in defending the position that “no terms of 
communion should be required other than the Holy Scriptures re¬ 
quired.” He subsequently became famous as a debater. Perhaps 
America never saw his superior in this. He loved what he 
truth, and brought to its defence rare abilities, wide reading, and much I) 

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the subject of baptism, raised him high in the estimation of Baptists, 
and gave wide celebrity to his talents and knowledge for the first time. 
Three years after he held a debate with Rev. Mr. McCall*, of the 
Presbyterian Church, in Washington, Kentucky, which contributed 
largely to increase his fame and extend his influence among the Bap¬ 
tists. Beside these, he held other debates in the course of his remark¬ 
able career. The two most prominent being those with Rev. Mr. 
Purcell, now Archbishop of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Romish question, 
and with Rev. Dr. N. L. Rice, at Lexington, Kentucky, on the subject 
of baptism. Mr. Campbell having at this time founded, and being in 
the zenith of his leadership of that large body whose history we are 
tracing. This was one of the most noted of his numerous encounters 
with theological opponents, while his opponent, Dr. Rice, was one of 
the ablest disputants the Presbyterian Church in America ever pro¬ 
duced. Henry Clay, the great statesman of Kentucky, presided at this 
debate, and thousands gathered to hear it. 

From the time of his union with the Baptists in 1812, and especially 
his speech before the Redstone Association, it was evi¬ 
dent that while he was in his views essentially a most 
decided Baptist, yet he was not, on some points, in full sympathy. 
Those points he pressed. Perhaps his growing popularity, and his 
remarkable abilities made him an object of jealousy with some, and 
thus caused his points of dissent to be magnified beyond their true 
value. 

The chief point of dissent is on the design of baptism. The Baptists 

P r { require of all candidates for admission into their churches 
ecu lan y. re i a ^ on G f w hat they term “ Christian experience.” 
That is, they require a statement in evidence of the power the truth 
in which belief has been avowed has had upon the heart, as an indis¬ 
pensable condition to baptism. The Disciples oppose this as unscriptural, 
and refer to the confession of the Eunuch (Acts viii, 37,) as all we are to 
demand. Like Baptists, they do not require submission to a creed as a 
condition of membership. They, however, attribute to the act of im¬ 
mersion an effect Baptists will not allow, and which, in the judgment 
of the latter, is regarded as akin, if not identical, with the ritualistic 
theory of baptismal regeneration. We will, however, give their pecu¬ 
liar conception of the efficacy of baptism in their own language. “ No 
one is taught to expect the reception of that heavenly monitor and 
comforter (the Holy Spirit) as a resident in his heart until he obeys the 
Gospel. Thus, while they proclaim faith and repentance, or faith and 
a change of heart, as preparatory to immersion, remission of sins, and 
the gift of the Holy Spirit, they say to all penitents, or all those who 
believe and repent of their sins, as Peter said to the first audience 
addressed, after the Holy Spirit was bestowed after the glorification of 
Jesus, ‘ Be immersed every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Spirit.’ ” 

Baptism, they teach, is designed to introduce the subjects of it into the 
participation of the blessings of the death and resurrection of Christ, 


Origin, 




































































BAPTISTS. 


503 


who died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. But it has 
no abstract efficacy without previous faith in the blood of Christ, and 
de< p and unfeigned repentance before God; neither immersion in water 
nor any other action can secure to us the blessings of peace and pardon. 
It can merit nothing; still to the believing penitent it is the means of 
receiving a formal, distinct, and specific absolution, or release from 
guilt. Formed for a new state, by faith and repentance, the believer 
enjoys its heavenly adaptations the moment he enters the Kingdom, 
by being baptized in the name of Christ. The waters of Baptism, in 
connection with the death of Jesus, afford him as great an assurance 
of safety, as did their type, the waters of the Red Sea, to redeemed Is¬ 
raelites, when they engulphed Pharaoh and his hosts. Thus we are 
taught, that penitent believers are born the children of God by baptism ; 
that salvation is connected with baptism when accompanied by faith, 
that remission of sins is to be enjoyed by baptism, through the blood 
of Christ; that persons having previously believed and repented, wash 
away their sins in baptism, calling on the name of the Lord; that men 
are saved by baptism, in connection with the renewing of the Holy 
Spirit; and, that the answer of a good conscience is obtained in Baptism 
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.* 

They call Bible things by Bible names. This has led to the calumny 
that they have been exposed to, of denying the Divinity of Jesus 
Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. They will not use the current Theo¬ 
logical technicalities as applied to the Godhead. They repudiate 
the terms “trinity,” “eternal generation,” “eternal filiation,” “etern¬ 
ally begotten,” “ co-essential and consubstantial,” and all others of a 
like character. But they are believers in the Trinity, and with 
the exception of their peculiar and seemingly mystical conceptions on 
the design of baptism are orthodox. Their statements on this subject 
are the chief cause of their denominational severance from Baptists. 

Recent movements in the Western States, where they are numerous, 
look towards their future identification with the great Baptist body. 
Whether such a consummation be reached or not, it is certain, from the 
account we have given of them, there are points of union, while the 
ground of disagreement and separation is mainly on the effect of 
Baptism—Baptists denying baptismal regeneration, and regarding all 
statements in definition of its effects implying baptismal regeneration^ 
as dangerous. 

The strength of this body is found in Western Pennsylvania, in 
Kentucky, in Virginia, and in the Western and Northwestern States. 
They are found in the British Provinces, and hav' Missions in the 
Holy Land; Dr. Barclay, author of the “City of the Great King,” is 
their Missionary at Jerusalem. They have 5,000 Churches, 45,000 
Ministers, and 500,000 members. 

Rev. A. Campbell, in the incipiency of the formation of this body, 
institutions and founded the Christian Harbinger. The Quarterly issued 

Periodicals. Cincinnati, under their auspices, is one of the ablest 



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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


in the United States. Besides, they publish several weeklies, and minor 
periodicals. They have a College at Bethany, Va., among the best in 
our country, and other Institutions of minor grade, but popular, at 
other points. The Homestead of Henry Clay, in Kentucky, is owned 
by them. Here, they have laid the foundations of a first-class College. 


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Under this Section we group several divisions of the Baptist family, 
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We begin with that body popularly known as Winebrennarians, but 
Winebreima- who call themselves “ The Church of God.’’ They agree 
riaus. with Baptists on the mode and subjects of Baptism; 
regarding believers as the only Scriptural subjects, and immersion as 
the only Scriptural mode. They dissent from Regular Baptists on Cal¬ 
vinism, being strongly Arminian in their doctrinal views, approach¬ 
ing more nearly the Methodists than to Baptists, or to the Presbyterians. 
They practice feet-washing generally, but not regarding it as an ordi¬ 
nance in the same positive sense as Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, 
they do not hold it as a Church ordinance, and therefore do not regard 
its non-observance as sufficient cause for discipline. Its general ob¬ 
servance is the result of the strength of sentiment in the denomination 
in its favor, rather than of any law. Their Church government is 
somewhat similar to that of the Methodists, excepting that they have 
no Bishops. They have local Elderships, and a General Eldership, 
the latter owning and controlling all property, superintending prat¬ 
ing, having charge of the publication of hymn books, and all periodi¬ 
cal literature. From this statement it is evident that on the subject of 
Baptism they are Baptists, but on doctrine and Church government 
they are Methodists. 


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Origin. 


They take their popular name from their founder, Rev. John Wine- 
brennar. This divine became, in 1820, pastor of the Ger¬ 
man Reformed Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 
His ministry was remarkable for the extensive revivals of religion that 
occurred under it. These were not confined to Harrisburg, but, as he 
preached and labored in all the region round about, they were shared 
by numerous other German Reformed churches. During those revival 
scenes the mind of Mr. Winebrennar underwent a radical change on 
some important points, and his sentiments were accepted by many who 
had been awakened under his preaching. This led to the call for a 
convention to consider the duty of a separate organization. This con¬ 
vention met at Harrisburg in October, 1830, and resulted in the forma¬ 
tion of “ The Church of God,” agreeing on the great subject of salvation 
through Christ, with all evangelical Christians, and holding those 
peculiar views we have stated. They are numerous in parts of Penn¬ 
sylvania, in Ohio, in Indiana, and are found in Illinois, Michigan, 
Iowa, Missouri, and the Territories. They have one eldership in 



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Texas. They have in all 350 churches, about the same number of 
preachers and Sunday schools, and a membership of 35,000. They have 
a Board of Publication located at Harrisburg, and issue the “ Church 
Advocate,” circulation 4,000, and “ Sunday School Gem,” circulation 
10,000. They have no churches in the Eastern States, and none in the 
British Provinces.* 

This body derive their popular name, Dunkards, from the German 
word Tunlzer , which signifies Tumbler, in allusion to 
their peculiar form of baptism. They have the candi¬ 
date, when in the water, go upon his knees, and then immerse him by 
pushing him forwards, and thus under the water. This they repeat 
three times. Hence, they are called trine-immersionists. They ap¬ 
peared in Germany about the close of the sixteenth century. A few 
are still found there, the lineal descendants of those fathers. Many 
emigrated to America between 1718 and 1730, and subsequently many 
others arrived. They settled chiefly in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 
Virginia, and are now found in the older Western States, especially 
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. They are a quiet, peaceable, industrious, 
pious people. They are remarkably simple in their habits, plain in 
dress, and spiritual in their worship. They are generally wealthy, 
kind to the poor of their own number, and have ever been decided in 
their testimony against slavery. They regard the term Dunkard as a 
reproach, and call themselves German Baptists. They publish no very 
definite statistics, but, from the most reliable information we can 
gather, we judge their number about 10,000, mostly in Pennsylvania. 

The description of the Regular Baptists is a description of the tenets 
of the Sabbatarian Baptists, except on a single point. 

The Sabbath day. They dissent from the body, and Baptists. y 
from all Christians, in continuing the observance of the Jewish Sabbath. 
They appeared in England soon after the Reformation. They appeared 
in this country first in 1665, organizing a Church at Newport, Rhode 
Island, other Churches were soon after organized in that State, and in 
New York and New Jersey, several of which still exist. They have 
Churches in Virginia, and Ohio, and perhaps a single Church in each 
of a few other Western States. They are generally a people of ardent 
piety, and of deep devotion. They have several Missionaries in China, 
and at other points. They have 75 Churches, 82 Ministers, 7,336 mem¬ 
bers, one weekly periodical; “The Sabbath Recorder,” and two Aca¬ 
demical Institutions, one in New Jersey and another in New York. 

There is a fragmentary body of Baptists, now nearly extinct, called 
Six Principle Baptists. They hold to the six principles six principle 
Paul lays down in Hebrews vi, 1. They once had some Baptists, 
influence in Rhode Island, and perhaps churches at other points, but 
in 1845 they had but 19 churches, 14 ministers, and 3,000 members. 
Since then they have been gradually declining, and now make no 
report of statistics, though having a few churches. 


* I am indebted to Rev. C. H. Forney, Harrisburg, Pa., for statistics, &c. 
























































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PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

ITS COLONIAL CONDITION. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States is the daughter 
of the Church of England. She retains, in substance, the articles of 
faith and the ritual of the mother Church. 

The members of the Church of England in the Colonies were com¬ 
paratively few. The nothern Colonies had been established by Puri¬ 
tans, in order to escape from the persecutions and disabilities to which 
they were subjected in the mother country. But they did not learn 
from their sufferings the lesson of toleration. They retaliated upon the 
members of the Church of England, and upon all other dissentients 
from “the common order,” the persecutions to which they themselves 
had been subjected.* In Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, the 
number of adherents to the Church of England was more numerous; 
and in those Colonies it was protected and fostered by the Governors 
and the laws of the local Legislatures.! Yet even in these southern 
Colonies the Episcopalians were outnumbered by members of other 
denominations. When the Revolutionary War began there were not 
more than eighty parochial clergymen to the north and east of Mary¬ 
land. In Connecticut the Episcopal Church received an impulse, in 
the early part of the eighteenth century (1722-27), from the accession to 
lY its ranks of several eminent Presbyterian clergymen—some of them 
members of the faculty of Yale College—and soon became “ rooted ” in 
that State “amid storms and persecutions.”! The larger part of the 
clergy were supported by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 
in Foreign Parts. In the cities of Boston, Newport, New York, and 
Philadelphia alone, were the Episcopalians able to support their clergy- 
i men without assistance from this society. 

The Church of England in the Colonies labored under many disad¬ 
vantages. In the absence of bishops, its ministry could be replenished 
only by emigration from the mother Church of England, or by a double 
voyage of candidates across the Atlantic. The same cause naturally 
led to a relaxation of discipline. Although many of the clergy in the 
Colonies were exemplary and devoted men, yet the condition of things, 
in those distant dependencies, was such as to open a refuge there for 
j clergymen of doubtful reputation and antecedents in the Church of 
England. The evils resulting from this state of things led to early, 
\ 7;<\ but unsuccessful, attempts to secure the introduction of bishops into 
the American Colonies. 

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“ Letters and memorials,says Bishop Wilberforce, “ from the Colo¬ 
nies supply, for a whole century, a connected chain of expostulations ; 
yet still the. mother country was deaf to their entreaties. At home 
they were re-echoed from many quarters. Successive Archbishops 

• The American Church and American Union, Henry Caswell, p. 35. Beardsley’s 
History of the Church in Connecticut, pp. 14, 59. Coit’s Puritanism, p. 177. 
t Bishop White’s Memoirs of the Church, p. 18. 

$ Beardsley’s History, p. 32-60. 
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PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 


pressed them on successive administrations; and the Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel during almost every year made some effort 
in the same cause. The records of these memorials show how earnestly 
and with what strength of argument it pressed this great cause upon 
the notice of the government.” 

T he Episcopal oversight of the Colonies was committed to the Bishop 
of London. Commissaries of the Bishop, who were charged by him 
with authority to enforce the discipline of the < hurch, were appointed 
for Virginia, Maryland, New York, and South Carolina.* But the 
effort on the part of the clergy of the Colonies to secure the Episcopacy 
not only encountered the indifference of the mother Church, but was 
also met by violent resistance on the part of the other denominations. 
They declared that Bishops from England would come into the Colonies 
possessed of all the prerogatives which they enjoyed at home, and 
would thus bring other churches under Episcopal jurisdiction, and 
subject them to the action of ecclesiastical courts. “ What would have 
been the event,” says Bishop White, “in this respect, had the Epis¬ 
copal clergy succeeded in their de3ire3, is a problem which it will be 
for ever impossible to solve. In regard to the motives of the parties in 
the dispute, there are circumstances which charity may apply to the 
most favorable interpretation. As the Episcopal clergy disclaimed the 
designs and expectations of which they were accused, and as the same 
was done by their advocates on the other side of the water, particularly 
by the principal of them, the great and good Archbishop Seeker, they 
ought to be supposed to have had in view an Episcopacy purely reli¬ 
gious. On the other hand, as their opponents laid aside their resistance 
to the religious part of it, as soon as American independence had done 
away all political danger, if it before existed, it ought to be believed 
that in their former professed apprehensions they were sincere.”! 

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 

The Episcopal Churches in the American Colonies established, as we 
have seen, by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts, and placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, were 
called collectively “the Church of England in America.” When the 
Colonies became independent, the Episcopal Churches became, of 
necessity, severed from all connection with the Church of England. 
Their organic union with it was dissolved, but their essential unity in 
the ministry, creeds, liturgy, and articles was maintained.! 

The position of the several Episcopal congregations toward each other 
was peculiar. They were not united in any organization. Each parish 
stood alone. All the congregations dropped off from the authority 
which had hitherto united them, and each congregation became, for a 
time, an independent church. But it was the recognized principle of 
them all that they should be united not only in faith and worship but 
also in ecclesiastical union in one body. Providentially left as separate 

* American Church and Union, p. 61. 

f Bishop White’s Memoirs, p. 19. 

X Hawk’s Constitution and Canons, p. 5-8. 

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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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churches, it was their duty and desire, on Gospel principles, and in 
accordance with primitive usage, as they believed, and on the ground 
of their own historical derivation, to be united as one National Church 
in seve r al Dioceses under the Episcopate. 

The existence of separate Spates in a Federal Union, furnished a pro¬ 
vidential provision for realizing the theory of the Episcopal Church, 
viz.; that of a National Church consisting of separate dioceses united 
in one representative body. The proper mode of proceeding, in order 
to carry out this tlieoiy, was obvious, and was immediately adopted. 
The several congregations in each State met and adopted a constitution 
and canons which made them separate and independent dioceses in 
each State. This was the first step toward the union of all the churches 
in tl le United ;^tates in one organization. 

At the close of the Devolution the Episcopal Church was in an ex¬ 
ceedingly feeble state. Most of its clergy in the Northern States had 
adhered to the parent government, and had fled to England, or to other 
Colonies, on the breaking out of the war. Those who remained and 
refused to omit the prayers for the King, or to pray for Congress, were 
treated with much violence. In many of the northern Colonies not 
one church remained open ; and in Pennsylvania only the one church, 
of which Dr. White (subsequently Bishop White,) was rector, was left 
undisturbed.* In Virginia the loyal clergy were ejected from their 
livings. The consequence of this state of things was that when peace 
was proclaimed in 1783. the Episcopal Church was found to have been 
almost destroyed. Virginia had entered in the war with one hundred 
and sixty-four churches and chapels, and ninety-one clergymen spread 
through her sixty-one counties. At the close of the war ninety-five 
parishes had become extinct, and of the ninety-one clergymen only 
twenty-eight remained.f The churches had been desolated by the 
war, and the character of many of the clergy was worldly, and religion 
at a low ebb among the congregations. A similar state of things 
existed in Maryland. But twenty of the clergy remained there, and 
the parishes had suffered in an equal proportion with those of Virginia. 
In North and South Carolina the Church was, if possible, in a still 
worse condition. It was also exceedingly unpopular with the people, 
in consequence of having been more largely than other churches iden¬ 
tified with the Tory cause. 

The first step toward the union of all the churches of the United 
States in one body was taken at a meeting of a few clergymen from 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, at Brunswick, New Jersey, 
on the 13th and 14th of May, 1784. They had assembled for the purpose 
of reviving a society, formerly existing in the Colonies, for the support 
of the widows and children of deceased clergymen. A meeting was 
appointed to be held in October, to confer upon some general principles 
of union.J 


* Bishop Wilberforce, p. 175. 

f Dr. Hawks’ History of the Church in Virginia, p. 154. 
t General Convention, with Notes, &c., Hawks & Perry, 377 et seq. 












































































The meeting was accordingly held in October of the same year. It 
consisted of fifteen clergymen and eleven laymen from New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The general 
principles which they agreed should be the basis of the union were as 
follows: The continuance of the three orders of the ministry—the use 
of the Book of Common Prayer—the establishment of a representative 
body of the church, consisting of the clergy and laity, who should vote 
in separate orders. They recommended to the churches to send clerical 
and lay deputies to a meeting to be held in Philadelphia, on the 27th of 
September, 1785. 

A delegate from Connecticut attended this convention, but took no 
part in its proceedings. The clergy of Connecticut refused to unite in 
the general organization, until they should have a Bishop at their head. 
As soon as peace had made it possible (March, 1783,) the clergy had met 
in convention and elected Dr. Samuel Seabury, of Staten Island, to be 
their Bishop. Dr. Seabury had sailed for England to obtain consecra¬ 
tion there, before the British troops had evacuated New York. He 
made application for consecration to the Archbishop of York—the see 
of Canterbury being then vacant—but the Archbishop could not conse¬ 
crate a citizen of the United States without a special Act of Parliament. 
Hence Dr. Seabury had recourse to the Scottish bishops, who were not 
connected with the State, and who could, therefore, if they were so dis¬ 
posed, consecrate a Bishop for the United States. The application of 
Dr. Seabury was readily granted ; and he was consecrated at Aberdeen 
by Bishop Kilgour, of Aberdeen, Bishop Petre, of Ross, and Bishop 
Skinner, of Moray. 

The first General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
agreeably to the suggestion made in the meeting in Philadelphia in 
October, 1784, was assembled on the 27th of September, 1785, in Phila¬ 
delphia. It was composed of clerical and lay deputies from seven of 
the thirteen States of the Union, viz.: New York, New Jersey, Penn¬ 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. They 
made such changes in the Prayer Book as were necessary to accommo¬ 
date it to changes in the State. A general Constitution was proposed; mea¬ 
sures were taken to obtain the Episcopacy; changes in the Prayer Book 
and Articles were proposed and published in a volume called “the Pro¬ 
posed Book.” It remained to be seen whether the Episcopacy could be 
obtained from England, and whether the union would be ratified, and the 
constitution adopted in a subsequent convention. A committee was ap¬ 
pointed with power to re-assemble the convention at Philadelphia. 

In this Convention of 1785 there were some decided differences of 
opinion, and some warm discussions as to the terms of union. Three 
distinct parties were developed in the course of the debate upon the 
terms of union. (1.) The Southern States, and particularly South 
Carolina, would have greatly restrained the power of bishops; made 
them subject to their own conventions; refused them the privilege of 
presiding, ex officio, in the convention; and would have distinguished 
them from presbyters only by the prerogatives of ordaining and con¬ 
firming. (2.) The Eastern States, under the lead and influence of Con- 


PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 













































































512 DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


necticut, would have given to bishops all spiritual government; the 
presidency, ex officio, of conventions; the exclusion of the laity from 
all agency in the legislation and government of the church; and an 
unqualified veto upon the enactments of their conventions. (3.) Dr. 
White and the other representatives of the Middle States would have 
given the presidency of the conventions, ex officio , to the bishops, and 
admitted the laity to a co-ordinate rank in legislation and government. 
Similar differences appeared in the proposed revision of the Prayer 
Book. The deputies from Virginia proposed that the first four petitions 
of the Litany should be omitted, and objected to the rubric which 
allowed ministers, at their own discretion, to expel notorious evil livers 
from the communion. On the other hand, deputies from the Eastern 
States would have restored to the communion service those portions of the 
office of Edward VI, which had been omitted in the English, but re¬ 
tained in the Scotch Liturgy, and which were regarded as attributing 
higher honor and efficacy to the sacrament. These differences, how¬ 
ever, were either harmonized or adjourned. The presidency, ex officio, 
of the Bishop in the convention remained undetermined; but it was 
conceded in practice and afterwards adopted as law. The preparation 
of the Proposed Book, and its submission to the dioceses, saved it from 
many direct proposals of al erations which might have been warmly 
pressed and obstinately resisted. 

The outlines of the Constitution, as finally agreed upon, were as 
follows: There shall be a triennial convention, consisting of a deputa¬ 
tion from each diocese of not moxe than four clergymen and four law¬ 
men ; they shall vote by dioceses, each order having a negative on the 
other; when there shall be a Bishop in the State he shall be ex officio a 
member of the convention ; the different orders of the clergy shall bo 
accountable only to the ecclesiastical authority of their own dioceses ; 
previous to ordination there shall be a declaration of belief in the Holy 
Scriptures and conformity to the doctrines and w T orsliip of the Church. 

There was more harmony in the convention as to the measures to be 
taken to secure the Episcopate. Bishop Seabury, indeed, and his clergy 
declined to attend the convention because they apprehended that it 
would (as it d.d) sanction the representation of the laity, and refuse the 
veto to the Bitliop on the proceedings of his diocesan convention. The 
convention appointed a committee to correspond with the Archbishops 
and Bishops of the Cnurcli of England, with a view to obtain the 
Episcopate. The convention then adjourned to meet in Philadelphia 
on the 20th of June of the following year. 

The address of the committee to the English prelates was forw T arded 
to John Adams, then the American Minister in England, with the 
request that he should present it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
'ihe Governors of New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, 
for which States it was contemplated that Bishops should be conse¬ 
crated, also sent certificates testifying to and approving the acts of the 
convention, and enforcing its application. In the spring of 178G, the 
committee received an answer signed by two Archbishops, and eighteen 
of the twenty Bishops of England. It was courteous in its tone, and 


/ 














































































PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 


expressed a desire to comply with the request, but delayed compliance 
until they could be advised of the alterations which were to be made in 
the Prayer Book. The General Convention held in June, 1788, and the 
subsequent one which met in Wilmington in October, made such satis¬ 
factory representations to the English Bishops that all obstacles to the 
consecration of the American Bishops were removed. Accordingly, 
Dr. White, of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Prevost, of New York, sailed to 
England; and were consecrated in the Chapel of Lambeth Palace on 
Sunday, February 4, 1787, by the two Archbishops and the Bishops of 
Bath and Wells, and Peterborough. In the Convention of 17S9, in Phila¬ 
delphia, after the provision for the power, on the part of the House of 
Bishops, of originating acts and of a negative on the proceedings of the 
lower house, Bishop Seabury and the clergy of Connecticut and Massa¬ 
chusetts took their seats in the convention. The Prayer Book received 
certain modifications—some of which had long been desired by many 
eminent bishops and divines in the English Church—and thus the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States was finally estab¬ 
lished with the Constitution, Ritual, and Discipline which it has since, 
with a few unimportant modifications, retained. 

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY AND PRESENT CONDITION OP THE CHURCH. 

Since the final settlement, of the Episcopal Church in the United 
States it has made rapid progress. At that period there were but three 
bishops, and the number of the clergy was less than two hundred. In 
the present year (1871) there are fifty-two bishops, and nearly three 
thousand clergymen. The number of communicants is upwards of two 
hundred thousand; and the reported contributions for the year (which 
are always much less than the actual contributions,) fell but little short 
of five millions of dollars. The number of dioceses and missionary 
jurisdictions in the United States is forty-five. There are also three 
foreign missionary fields—Africa, China, and Japan—with their re¬ 
spective bishops; and also a Greek mission at Athens, a mission at 
llayti, and parishes at Paris and at Rome, which are under the juris¬ 
diction of the Presiding Bishop. 

In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, a General 
Convention has been regularly held every three years, and a few special 
conventions, which are also provided for in cases of emergency, have 
also been convened. Until within the last thirty years the Church 
pursued an even tenor; and the controversies and doctrinal differences 
which arose among its ministers and members were not such as greatly 
to disturb its peace and progress. In the Northern states its increase 
was steady and rapid. But in the South it still continued feeble. In 
the General Convention of 1811 the Church of Maryland was reported 
as “still in a deplorable condition,” and the Church in Virginia was 
declared to be “ in danger of her total ruin.” In the next General Con¬ 
vention of 1814 the same representations, with regard to the Southern 
dioceses, are repeated. In Delaware the condition was “ truly distress¬ 
ing, and the prospect gloomy.” In Maryland the Church still con¬ 
tinued “in a state of depression;” in many places “ her ministers had 












































































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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


thrown off their sacred profession,” “ her liturgy was either contemned 
or unknown,” and “ her sanctuaries desolate.” From the reports made 
in the convention in 1820 the Church appears to have received a new 
impulse. A theological school, subsequently transferred to New York, 
had been established at New Haven, and a General Missionary Society 
organized. “The Church was now rapidly extending on every side, 
and the clergy lists record over three hundred names.” 

In the Convention of 1829 seventeen dioceses were represented by 
forty-seven clerical deputies, and thirty-seven lay deputies, from fifteen 
dioceses, and by nine bishops. Thirteen bishops, fifty-one clerical and 
thirty-eight lay deputies made up the Convention of 1832, which con¬ 
vened in New York on the 17th of October. The Convention of 1835 
was one of the most important that was ever held; and was a turning 
point in the policy, and a starting point for an accelerated progress of 
the Church. Fourteen bishops and one hundred and twenty deputies, 
sixty-nine clerical and fifty-one lay, representing twenty-one dioceses, 
composed the convention. Illinois, with the Rt. Rev. Philander 
Chase, was received into union. The Constitution of the Board of Mis¬ 
sions was established, making every baptized member of the church a 
member of the missionary organization. Provision was made for 
Missionary Bishops, and for the divisions of dioceses. The Canons 
were revised and reported in one body. Arrangements were made for 
securing historical documents of the churches, and the Rev. Dr. Hawks 
was appointed their conservator. 

From this period the progress of the Church was much more rapid 
than before. Under the zealous and Apostolic labors of Bishops 
Moore and Meade, the Church in the diocese of Virginia revived, and 
became one of the most prosperous in the union. In Maryland, also, 
and in North and South Carolina a similar revival of spiritual life and 
of missionary zeal was awakened. 

“ The Convention of 1844 met in Philadelphia. Twenty-four bishops, 
ninety-three clerical and eighty-four lay deputies were in session for 
eighteen days. In the words of the late Bishop of Maine (Bp. Burgess): 
“The recent resignation and suspension of one bishop, (Ben. T. Onder- 
donk, of N. Y.,) the overhanging rumor that foreboded the trial and 
suspension of another, (Henry U. Underdonk, of Penn.,) the personal 
discussion which arose out of the election to the Episcopate of Mis¬ 
souri;* the effort to procure a declaration against the doctrine of the 
Oxford Tracts; the consecration of Bishops Chase, of New Hampshire, 
Cobbs and Hawks,f the nomination of the missionary bishops, Free¬ 
man, Southgate and Boone; the renewed but unsuccessful efforts to 
require a longer delay before the ordination of ministers from other 
denominations; the inquiry into the state of the General Theological 
Seminary; and the adoption, not without controversy, of the principle 


♦Of the Rev. Dr. Hawks, of New York, whose election was negatived by the House 
on account of the pecuniary embarrassments in which he had been involved in the 
management of a school at Flushing. 

f Rev. Cicero Hawks, Bishop of Missouri. 




















































































(m" 


PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 


515 


of an unlearned Diaconate in certain cases; all concurred to make this 
the busiest and most exciting of all our General Conventions.’ 7 * 

The Convention of 1853 was memorable for the memorial presented 
by the Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg and other prominent divines, in favor of 
Liturgical relaxation and Church comprehension. It resulted in the 
appointment of a commission having the consideration of these sub¬ 
jects committed to them. Notwithstanding the earnest desire of some 
of the most eminent of the bishops and clergy for the promotion of 
this object, nothing further was effected than the development of the 
fact that some of the first minds of the Church anxiously desired larger 
liberty in the use of the Liturgy, and more flexibility in all the agencies 
for Church extension. A record of the feelings and views of those 
who favored this movement is contained in the “ Memorial Papers,” 
edited by the late Bishop Potter, of Pennsylvania. 

The Convention of 1862 met in New York in troublous times. No 
bishops or delegates, of course, appeared from the seceded States. The 
introduction of resolutions having reference to the disturbed state of 
the country, occasioned lengthy debate, and absorbed a large part of 
the session. One portion of the Convention desired that an emphatic 
testimony should be given to the sin of rebellion, and to the duty of 
supporting the government in putting it down; and another portion 
were anxious that the Convention should limit its action to strictly 
ecclesiastical and religious questions; and thus interpose no obstacles 
to the subsequent reunion of the separated dioceses. This reunion in 
fact took place in the next Convention of 1865. The Churches in the 
seceded States had become formally separated by their independent 
action during the civil war, in organizing a Council, framing a Consti¬ 
tution and Canons, and proceeding to the consecration of a Bishop, 
with an express disavowal of the authority of the General Constitution 
of the Church. But a reconciliation was effected; and the Bishop of 
Alabama, who had been consecrated during this period, was received 
into the Episcopate of the Church of the United States, by signing an 
equivalent to the promise of conformity taken by the other Bishops at 
their consecration. 

The organization of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States is singularly analogous to that of our Republic. There is noth¬ 
ing which belongs essentially to Scriptural Episcopacy which is ad¬ 
verse to, or inconsistent with civil freedom. The prevalent impression 
that the system of the Church, as contained in her Constitution and 
Articles, is priestly and monarchical; that the laity are more excluded 
than those of other churches from participating in its government; 
and that Bishops wield a vast, undefined, irresponsible authority, is an 
entire misapprehension. That such claims are sometimes urged in 
its behalf, is unfortunately too true; but they are wholly unsupported 
by the laws and standards of the Church. Our entire Church scheme 
is singularly analogous to our State and National governments. It is 
essentially republican. It is democratic and representative. The doc- 


* Perry’s Churchman’s Year Book for 1870. 



















































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


trine that the Bishop is, by Divine appointment, the chief officer anti 
ruler of the Church, does not, in the least degree, interfere with the 
establishment of a representative system, which shall not diminish or 
take away those powers, but shall define and regulate their exercise by 
law, and shall secure to all other orders and degrees of men in the 
Church, the maintenance of their own liberties and rights, as set foi tli 
in the Word of God. 

Let us make good our assertion that the Episcopal Church organiza¬ 
tion is eminently republican and free. 

Begin with the parish. Every regular member of a parish is a voter 
for the Vestry, which administers the affairs of the parish. This is 
analogous to town and district elections, of civil officers to administer 
civil affairs. 

The Vestry, thus elected, select a clergyman, fix his salary, and 
manage all the temporalities of the Church. No Bishop, convention, 
or other power, can prescribe whom they shall elect, what salary they 
shall give, or how they shall manage their affairs. These Church ves¬ 
trymen are analogous to the select men and Common Council men of 
our towns and cities. 

At an annual meeting of the Vestry lay delegates are appointed to a 
Diocesan Convention, in which the clergy and laity have an equal 
voice, and which legislates for the Church in the diocese. A diocese 
bears the same relation to the Church at large as a State bears to the 
United States; a Diocesan Constitution has the same relation to the 
General Constitution as a State Constitution has to that of the United 
States; a Diocesan Convention stands to the General Convention as 
State legislatures do to Congress. 

Again—the General Convention is composed of two houses—the 
House of Bishops and the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies—each 
house having a veto on the other; just as Congress is composed of a 
Senate and a House of Representatives, which have each the same 
power of negative. Both legislate under a Constitution of granted, 
specified, limited powers, which neither may transcend. 

Let us look at some other features of our system, with more special 
reference to the supposed power of bishops. A young man wishes to 
become a minister. The Bishop cannot, of his own will, authorize 
him to become so. The young man cannot even become a candidate 
for orders until he reeeives the testimony of some of his fellow par¬ 
ishioners, that by their judgment he is fit, by his character and 
talents, to enter the ministry. 

Let us look at the administration of a Diocese by the Bishop. He 
does not administer its affairs alone. A standing committee is ap¬ 
pointed by the diocese, consisting usually equally of clergymen and 
laymen, without whose sanction he cannot admit a candidate for the 
ministry; cannot ordain him; cannot discipline or punish him. In 
short, he can perform no governmental act without the assent of this 
committee, and then only according to written law—law made not by 
his order, but by all the orders in the Church. 

Let us look at the condition of laymen in the Church 


The clergy 









































































PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 


517 


fe 


m 


J 


man can administer discipline over them only in accordance with the 
specifications of the rubrics and canons ; and when it is exercised ail 
appeal to the Bishop is always in their power. The clergyman cannot 
say to the layman: “ I do not believe you are a true Christian, and 
therefore I suspend you from the communion of tbe Church.’’ He 
must proceed on something done , and that something must be specified 
in the laws. 

Again, let us look at the power of the Bishop, by some supposed to 
be so formidable and despotic. What is it? How did the Bishop re¬ 
ceive—how does he hold—how can he exercise his office ? 

He became a Bishop by the election of a majority of the clergy and 
laity of the diocese, and by the sanction of a majority of the bishops 
and standing committees of the Church. His powers are all defined 
by law. He only can confirm or ordain ; but he can do either only as 
the law directs. He presides in the conventions, and administers the 
affairs of the diocese, but only as the law provides and the standing 
committee sanctions. He can do nothing of his mere will; he cannot 
reverse the action of his conventions ; he cannot censure or discipline 
a clergyman, but upon trial and condemnation by his peers; he can¬ 
not come into a parish and set aside the clergyman except upon occa¬ 
sions of visitation, prescribed by canons. From these facts it appears 
that the power of a Bishop in the Church can become exhorbitant, 
only when the clergy and laity choose to surrender their well guarded 
rights. It appears also from the history of the Episcopal Church in 
the United States, that its alliance, in the past, with monarchy, and 
its tendency to support arbitrary power, was an accident of its position, 
the consequence, in large part, of its union with the State, and not the 
necessary result of its own organization. 

The doctrines of the Church are found systematically stated in the 
creeds and the XXXIX Articles of the Church. The artichs are, 
many of them, taken from the Augsburgh Confession; and in them 
the great doctrines of the Trinity, the Atonement, and of justification 
by faith alone, are emphatically presented. 

The Liturgy of the Church is substantially the same as that of the 
Church of England. The changes that have been made in it have 
been such as to prevent repetitions, to shorten the service, and to re¬ 
move some obsolete and some doctrinally objectionable phraseology, 
which many of the most eminent divines in the Church of England 
have desired to see removed. 

Different parties and schools of theology have existed in the Episco¬ 
pal Church in the United States, as in the Church of England. Until 
the publication of the Oxford tracts in this country, about thirty years 
ago, there had been two parties, designated respectively high and low 
Churchmen, whose divergence had increased from tbe period of the 
consecration of Bishop Hobart, of New York, (1811,) who was an 
earnest champion of the exclusive and Jure divino right of the Episco¬ 
pacy. The great leaders of these parties respectively in the earlier 
periods were Bishops White and Griswold, and Bishops Hobart and 
Ravenscroft; and in a later period the two Bishops Onderdonk, of 



































































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518 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATED 


1 

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New York and Pennsylvania; and Bishop Mead, of Virginia, and 
Bishop Mcllvaine, of Ohio. The former school contended for the ex¬ 
clusive validity of Episcopal orders, exacted strict compliance with the 
rubrics, and the exclusive use of the Liturgy on all occasions, dis¬ 
countenanced meetings for social and extempore prayer, presented the 
church and the fathers as the authoritative interpreters of scripture, 
exalted the sacraments as channels of grace, rested salvation equally 
upon faith and works, and declined union with the ministers of other 
evangelical denominations in worship and in work. The latter school 
for the most part admitted that Episcopacy was of Apostolic insti¬ 
tution, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and that it was necessary 
to the perfection, but not to the being of the Church. They admitted 
the obligation to use the Liturgy alone as prescribed, in the public 
services upon Sundays and Holy Days; but claimed the liberty of 
extempore prayer, or of using portions of the service only, on occasions 
of weekly lectures and of social worship. They advocated the right of 
private judgment in interpreting the scripture; regarded the sacra¬ 
ments as signs and seals, and not sources of grace; proclaimed with 
emphasis the doctrine of justification by faith alone; and freely joined 
with Christians of other denominations in social worship, in the circu¬ 
lation of Bibles and of tracts, and in many other methods of extending 
the knowledge and power of the Gospel in the world. They also 
claimed with equal emphasis, and with powerful argument, that they 
truly represented the Reformers by whom the prayer book was formed; 
and that the exclusive and unchurching dogma of Episcopacy and the 
whole connected High Church system, was unknown in the Church 
until the middle of the seventeenth century. 

Since the introduction of the Oxford tracts a still higher Ritualistic 
and Churchly party has appeared in the Church of England, and in 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country. Hundreds of clergy¬ 
men of this party in England, and a score or more in this country, 
have joined the Church of Rome. This party have introduced into 
the worship of the Church many ceremonies which were carefully 
excluded by the framers of the Anglican formularies of faith and 
worship. Their theology, their phraseology, their whole tone of 
thought and feeling is far more Mediaeval and Romish than Protestant. 
The progress of this party has been watched with painful solicitude by the 
, conservative members of the Church. At the last General Convention (Oct. 
1871), in Baltimore, the Protestant sentiment of the Church found full and 
emphatic expression ; the extremes of Ritualism were vindicated by only 
a small minority; and the House of Bishops, in their admirable Pastoral 
Letter to the churches, uttered solemn warnings against the introduction 
of Romish errors and superstitious innovations. It is now hoped that the 
parties known as the Evangelical and Conservative may come into more 
complete harmony in their doctrinal views, more cordial fellowship of 
spirit, and more earnest co-operation in works of faith and labor of love; 
and that their united Christian intelligence and zeal will discountenance 
and arrest the further progress of high and superstitious Ritualism in her 
community. 













































































PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 


519 


EPISCOPALIANS. 

BISHOPS OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 


OF AMERICA. 


P. O. 


BENJAMIN BOSWORTH SMITH, D. D., Bishop of Kentucky. Frankfort . 

CHAS. P. McILVAINE. D. D., D. C. L., LL. D., Bishop of Ohio. Cincinnati. . 

SAMUEL A. McCOSKRY, D. D., D. C. L., Bishop of Michigan. Detroit . 

WM. R. WHITTINGHAM, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Maryland. Baltimore . 

ALFRED LEE, D. D., Bishop of Delaware. Wilmington . 

JOHN JOHNS, D. D., Bishop of Virginia. Theo. Sem . 

M ANTON EASTBURN, D. D., Bishop of Massachusetts. Boston . 

CARLTON CHASE, D. D., Bishop of New Hampshire. Claremont . 

HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D. D., late Bishop at Constantinople. New York . 

GEORGE UPFOLD, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Indiana. Indianapolis . 

WILLIAM MERCER GREEN, D. D., Bishop of Mississippi. University Place, Ten. 

JOHN PAYNE, D. D., Missionary Bishop of Cape Palmas (Africa )...New York .1. 

JOHN WILLIAMS, D. D., Bishop of Connecticut. Middletown . 

HENRY JOHN WHITEHOUSE, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Illinois.. Chicago . 

THOMAS FREDERICK DAVIS, D. D., Bishop of South Carolina.. Camden . 

THOMAS ATKINSON, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of North Carolina... Wilmington . 

WILLIAM INGRAHAM KIP, D. D., Bishop of California. San Francisco . 

HENRY WASHINGTON LEE, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Iowa. Davenport . 

HORATIO POTTER, D. D., LL. D., D. C. L., Bishop of New YorV.Ncw York . 

THOMAS MARCH CLARK, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Rhode Island ..Providence . 

ALEXANDER GREGG, D. D., Bishop of Texas. Galveston . 

WILLIAM HENRY ODENHEIMER, D. D., Bishop of New Jersey..Burlington . 

GREGORY THURSTON BEDELL, D. D., Assistant Bishop of Ohio. Gambier . 

HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE, D. D., Bishop of Minnesota. Faribault . 

HENRY CHAMPLIN LAY, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Easton. Easton, Md . 

JOSEPH C. TALBOT, D. D., LL. D., Assistant Bishop of Indiana ...Indianapolis . 

WM. BACON STEVENS, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Pennsylvania ...Philadelphia . 

RICHARD HOOKER WILMER, D. D., Bishop of Alabama. Mobile . 

THOMAS HUBBARD VAIL, D. D., Bishop of Kansas. Lawrence . 

ARTHUR C. COXE, D. D., Bishop of Western New York. Buffalo . 

CHAS. TODD QUINTARD, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Tennessee ...Nashville . 

ROBERT HARPER CLARKSON, D. D., Bishop of Nebraska. Omaha . 

GEORGE M. RANDALL, D. D., Missionary Bishop of Colorado. Denver . 

JOHN BARRETT KERFOOT, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Pittsburgh..Pittsburgh . 

C. M. WILLIAMS, D. D., Missionary Bishop of China and Japan Osaka, Japan . 

JOS. PERE BELL WILMER, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Louisiana ...New Orleans . 

GEO. DAVID CUMMINS, D. D., Assistant Bishop of Kentucky. Pewee Valley . 

WILLIAM EDMOND ARMITAGE, D. D., Bishop of Wisconsin Milwaukee . 

HENRY ADAMS NEELY, D. D., Bishop of Maine. Portland. . 

DANIEL S. TUTTLE, D. D., Missionary Bishop of Montana. Salt Lake City, U. T... 

JOHN FREEMAN YOUNG, D. D., Bishop of Florida... Fcrnandina . 

JOHN WATRUS BECKWITH, D. D., Bishop of Georgia. Macon . 

FRANCIS McNEECE WHITTLE, D. D., Assistant Bishop of Va. 

WM. HENRY AUGUSTUS BISSELL, D. D., Bishop of Vermont ...Burlington . 

CHARLES FRANKLIN ROBERTSON, D. D., Bishop of Missouri..^. Louis . 

BENJ. WISTAR MORRIS, D. D., Missionary Bishop of Oregon. Portland . 

ABRAM NEWKIRK LITTLEJOHN, D. D , Bishop of Long Island ..Brooklyn, N. Y . 

WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, D. D., Bishop of Albany. Albany, N. Y. . 

FRED. D. HUNTINGTON, D. D., Bishop of Central New York. Syracuse, N. Y. . 

OZI W. WHITAKER, D. D., Mis'y Bishop of Nevada and Arizona.. Virginia, Nev . 

HENRY NILES PIERCE, D. D., Missionary Bishop of Arkansas. 

WILLIAM WOODRUFF NILES, D. D., Bishop of New Hampshire. 

WILLIAM PINKNEY, D. D., Assistant Bishop of Maryland. 

M. A. D. WOLFE HOWE, D. D., Bishop of Central Pennsylvania. 


Cons. Tr. 

. 1832 

. 1832 

. 1836 

. 1840 

. 1841 

. 1842 

. 1842 

. 1844 

. 1844 

1849 

1850 

1851 
1851 
1851 
D53 
1853 

1853 

1854 
1854 
1854 
1859 
1359 
1359 
1859 
1359 
1300 
1802 
1862 

1864 
18 5 

1865 

1865 

1866 
1866 
1866 
1866 
1863 
1866 
1867 
1867 

1867 

1868 
1868 
1368 
1868 

1368 

1369 

1869 
1 69 
1«69 

1370 

1870 

1870 

1871 


THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 

This Body, which meets triennially, is composed of the House of Bishops, consisting of all the 
Diocesan and Missionary Bishops in the American Church; and of the House of Clerical and Lay 
Deputies, consisting of four Clergymen and four Laymen from each Diocese. It legislates for the 
American Church within the limits of the United States, but can make no alteration in the Constitu¬ 
tion, or in the Liturgy and Offices, unless the same has been adopted in one Convention, and sub¬ 
mitted to all the Dioceses, and afterwards adopted in another Convention. 

Presiding Bishop : The Right Rev. Benjamin Bosworth Smith, D. D., Frankfort, Ky. 

Secretary of the House of Bishops : The Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., New York, N. Y. 

Assistant Secretary of the House of Bishops: The Rev. William Tatlock, Stamford, Ct. 

President of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies : Rev. James Craik, D. D., L ouisville, Ky. 

Secretary of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies: The Rev. William Stevens Perry, D. D., 

Assistant Secretary of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies: The Rev. J. Sebastian B. 
Hodges, D. D., Newark, N. J. 


























































































































































520 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


Second Assistant Secretary of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies: The Rev. John M. 
Mitchell, Savannah, Ga. 

Treasurer of the General Convention : F. Ratchford Starr, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Registrar of the General Convention : The Rev. John H. Hobart, D. L)., Summit, N. J. 

Deputy Registrar of the General Convention : The Rev. William Stevens Perry, D. D. 

Custodian of the Standard Prayer Book: The Rev. Benjamin I. Haight, D. D., LL. D. 
Historiographer of the Church: The Rev. William Stevens Perry, D. D. 

Trustees of the Missionary Bishops’ Fund: Messrs. Cyrus Curtiss, Horace White, and Samuel H. 
Hun ington. 

The last General Convention met at Baltimore, October 4th, 1871. The next General Convention is 
to meet at New York, on the first Wednesday in October, 1874. 


SUMMARY OF THE DIOCESES. 


No. 

DIOCESES AND 
MISSIONS. 

& 

u 

V 

u 

Parishes. 

Baptisms. 

Communi¬ 

cants. 

Sunday 

Schools. 

Infants. 

Adults. 

Total. 

Confirma¬ 

tions. 

Present 

Number. 

Teachers. 

Scholars. 

1 

Alabama. 

28 

26 




286 




2 

Albany . 

86 

104 



1,343 

767 

7,887 

915 

6,708 

3 

California. 

43 

40 




128 




4 

Central New York. 

65 

98 

626 

319 

945 

623 

8,093 

925 

6,795 

5 

Connecticut. 

158 

137 

1,382 

450 

1,832 

1,119 

16,609 

1,713 

11,780 

6 

Delaware. 

26 

31 

299 

47 

346 

177 

1,576 

318 

2,981 

7 

Easton. 

25 

32 

309 

31 

351 

240 

1,581 

140 

904 

8 

Florida. 

*16 

*14 








9 

Georgia. 

30 

31 

316 

62 

378 

309 

2,616 

222 

1,823 

10 

Illinois. 

89 

84 

975 

236 

1,211 

750 

5,815 

941 

6,! 68 

11 

Indiana. 

36 

32 

382 

123 

605 

351 

2,418 

437 

3,491 

12 

Iowa. 

35 

54 

255 

107 

368 

236 

1,931 

365 

2,596 

13 

Kansas. 

15 

14 

79 

33 

112 

98 

486 

61 

418 

14 

Kentucky. 

48 

35 



753 

565 

3,468 

462 

3,759 

15 

Long Island. 

87 

70 

1,605 

345 

1,950 

1,255 

10,307 

1,438 

12,780 

16 

Louisiana. 

29 

48 

501 

109 

610 

351 

2,351 

285 

2,397 

17 

Maine. 

19 

21 

323 

117 

440 

248 

1,751 

218 

1,765 

18 

Maryland. 

135 

107 




1,347 




19 

Massachusetts. 

122 

85 

1,117 

230 

1,347 

821 

10,965 


8 902 

20 

Michigan. 

67 

78 

936 

302 

1,241 

622 

6,021 

807 

5,673 

21 

Minnesota. 

42 

42 

391 

127 

518 

247 

2,400 

256 

2,053 

22 

Mississippi. 

*27 

*44 








23 

Missouri... 

34 

34 



571 

447 

2,509 



24 

Nebraska. 

22 

16 



186 

90 

843 



25 

New Hampshire. 

22 

22 

75 

34 

106 

86 

939 

111 

778 

26 

New Jersey. 

123 

116 

1,455 

321 

1,959 

1,109 

9,499 

1,271 

10,960 

27 

New York.. 

287 

170 

3,133 

511 

3,644 

2,560 

20,000 

1,894 

20,867 

28 

North Carolina. 

*49 

*73 








29 

Ohio. 

105 

106 

899 

269 

1,168 

786 

8,310 

1,053 

8,793 

30 

fPennsylvania. 

209 

177 

3,244 

531 

3,775 

1,705 

20,196 

2,808 

11,176 

31 

Pittsburgh. 

47 

61 

654 

97 

751 

437 

3,012 

412 

2,814 

32 

Rhode Island. 

40 

35 

381 

133 

514 

272 

4,533 

601 

4,786 

33 

South Carolina. 

*57 

*59 








34 

Tennessee. 

38 

32 



556 

420 

2,066 



35 

Texas. 

20 

35 

255 

80 

375 

239 

1,520 

188 

1,321 

38 

Vermont. 

28 

42 

236 

132 

368 

372 

2,421 

200 

1,502 

37 

Virginia. 

135 

172 





8,600 


6,500 

38 

Western New York. 

*78 

*82 




1,070 




39 

Wisconsin. 

70 

68 

856 

272 

1,128 

618 

5,580 

564 

4,343 

40 

Oregon and Washington. 

12 

13 



'120 

33 

233 


526 

41 

Arkansas. 










42 

Dakota. 










43 

Colorado. 










44 

Montana. 

7 

6 

65 

12 

77 

19 

130 

37 

316 

45 

Indian. 










46 

Nevada. 










47 

Western Africa. 

13 









48 

China and Japan. 

9 









49 

Greece. 

1 









50 

Haiti. 

O 

O 










Contributions 

for 

Missionary 

and 

Church 

Purposes. 


$186,342 58 

181 425 84 
471,124 97 
23,738 13 


34.289 96 
215,473 11 
42,039 8 1 
60,205 67 
8,126 87 
89,005 53 
318,786 70 
29.107 92 
64,767 01 

139,531 95 
89,813 87 
45,666 42 


6,429 52 
4,000 70 
338,325 31 
565,329 69 

200,772 18 
613,820 70 
98,455 00 
134,867 85 

16,793 42 
12,959 60 
16,984 88 
63,747 00 

106,696 74 
13,835 80 


12,014 67 


General Summary. —Dioceses, 61; Bishops, 53; Priests and Deacons, 2,710; Parishes, 2,612; 
Baptisms of Infants, 20,749 ; of Adults, 5,030; not specified, 3,760; Confirmations, 20,793; Communi¬ 
cants, 176,686; Sunday School Teachers, 18,644; Scholars, 185,975; Contributions, $4,206,029. Re¬ 
ports are wanting, as the asterisks (*) show, from several Dioceses, 
f Central Pennsylvania. 








































































































































































EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHUfiCH. 


EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. 

No church possesses a more honorable history than the Lutheran 
Church, for she justly claims the glory of the Reformation. She is the 
mother church of Protestantism, and is in regular succession from the 
first Lutheran Reformers. 

The preceding pages have treated of the European Church, and it 
now remains for us to glance briefly at the American Church, from its 
establishment down to the present time. 

The earliest settlement of Lutherans in this country was made by 
em 5 grants from Holland to New York, soon after the first establish¬ 
ment of the Dutch in that city, then called New Amsterdam, which 
took place in 1621. 

This fact, which is of some historical interest, rests upon the au¬ 
thority of the venerable patriarch of American Lutheranism, Henry 
Melchior Muhlenberg. In his report to Halle he says:—“As I was 
detained in New York I took some pains to acquire correct information 
concerning the history of the Lutheran Church in that city. This 
small congregation took its rise almost at the first settlement of the 
country. Whilst the territory yet belonged to Holland the few Low 
Dutch Lutherans were compelled to hold their worship in private, but 
after it passed into possession of the British, in 1664, liberty was 
granted them by all the successive governors to conduct their worship 
publicly, without any obstruction.” 

Indeed, so great was the number of Lutherans, even at this time, 
that the very next year (1665) after the English flag had been displayed 
from Fort Amsterdam, they petitioned for liberty to send to Germany 
a call for a regular pastor. 

This petition Governor Nicols of course granted, and in February, 
1669, two years after he had left the government, the Rev. Jacobus 
Fabricius arrived in this colony and began his pastoral labors. 

On the thirteenth of October, 1669, Lord Lovelace, who had suc¬ 
ceeded Governor Nicols, publicly proclaimed his having received a 
letter from the Duke of York, expressing his pleasure that the 
Lutherans should be tolerated. 

But, although the first settlement of Lutherans was in New York, 
that city cannot claim the distinction of having established the first 
Lutheran churches. On the excellent authority of Rev. J. C. Clay, in 
his “ Annals of the Swedes on the Delaware,” and of Schubert, in his 
“Scliwedische Kirchenverfassung,” we find that the first Lutheran 
churches in the United States were established by the Swedes, who 
emigrated to this country and settled on the banks of the Delaware 
during the reign of Queen Christina, and under the sanction of her 
prime minister, Oxenstiern, about the year 1636, sixteen or seventeen 
years after the settlement of New England by the pilgrim fathers, and 
about thirty years after the establishment of an English colony in 
Virginia. 

As these churches were few in number and received no accessions 
from the mother country, the Swedish language was soon lost by the 
rising generation, and preaching in the English tongue was necessary 


























































522 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


long before any of the German, pastors officiated in that language. 
Under these cirumstances recourse was had to Episcopalian clergymen 
for English ministrations, and thus these churches gradually became 
connected with that denomination, though by their charters they are 
still styled Swedish Lutheran churches. 

In 1703 a Lutheran church was erected in the city of New York by 
Lutherans Dorn Holland, in which worship was conducted in the 
Dutch, the English, and afterwards also in the German tongue. This 
Church made one with the congregation previously alluded to, of 
which Jacob Fabricius was the first pastor. To preserve the chrono¬ 
logical order of the establishment of Lutheran Churches in America 
then we have first, the Churches of the Swedes on the banks of the 
Delaware; second, the Church at New York; and third, the German 
Lutheran Churches in Pennsylvania, of which we are now to speak. 

From the date of the grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn, in 
1031, until 1700, many hundred German families emigrated to that 
colony. 

It was not until a few years later, however, that the tide of German 
emigration fairly set in. In the year 1710 about three thousand Ger¬ 
mans, chiefly Lutheran, who went from the Palatinate to England in 
1709, to escape Romish intolerance, were sent over to New York by 
Queen Ann. In 1713, one hundred and lifty families of these settled 
in Schoharie, in New York, and so rapidly did German settlers flock 
into Pennsylvania that in 1717 the Governor felt it his duty to call 
the attention of the Provincial Council to the fact “ that great numbers 
of foreigners from Germany, strangers to our language and constitu¬ 
tion, had lately been imported into the province.” 

In 1727 large numbers of Germans came to Pennsylvania from the 
Palatinate, Wurtemberg, Darmstadt, and other parts of Germany. 
This colony was long destitute of a regular ministry, and until they 
were supplied the Swedish ministers labored among them as far as 
their duties to their own churches would permit. 

The first German Lutheran churches in this country were regularly 
organized by the Rev. Messrs. Bolzius and Gronau in 1733, in Pennsyl¬ 
vania. 

Others were gradually formed, not only in that State, but in Mary¬ 
land, Virginia, the interior of New York, and the Western States. 

In 1733 a number of Lutherans established themselves in Georgia, 
and to designate the gratitude of their hearts to God, who had protected 
them, styled their location Ebenezer. 

These emigrants were from Saltzburg, formerly belonging to Bavaria, 
and restored to the Austrian dominions at the peace of 1814. 

Through the aid of the British Society for the Promotion of Christ¬ 
ianity these people were enabled to find a refuge in the wilds of America 
from the persecutions of the Romish Church. Those two able and 
faithful ministers, Messrs. Bolzius and Gronau, came to them shortly 
after their arrival, and settled among them as pastors, in which ca¬ 
pacity they continued to serve them until their death. Gronau died 
twelve years after his arrival in Georgia, but Bolzius was spared to the 
Church about thirty years. 



































































EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCII. 523 


In 1738 these colonists erected an orphan house atEbenezer, to which 
work of benevolence important aid was contributed by the distinguished 
George Whitefield, who also furnished the bell for one of the churches 
erected by them. The descendants of these colonists are still numerous, 
and are connected with the Lutheran Synod of South Carolina and 
adjacent States. 

Soon after the above colonization numerous Germans, coming from 
Pennsylvania and other States, settled in North Carolina, and there 
enjoyed the services of many excellent ministers, among whom were 
Nussman, Arndt, Storch, Roschen, Bernhard and Shober. The de¬ 
scendants of these colonists constitute the present numerous Churches 
in the Carolinas. 

In 1735 a settlement of Lutherans was formed in Spottsylvania, as 
Virginia was then sometimes called. A Church was formed, and the 
pastor, the Rev. Mr. Stoever, visited Germany for aid. He obtained 
three thousand pounds, part of which was expended in the erection of 
a church, the purchase of a plantation and slaves to work it for the 
support of the minister, and the balance for a library or consumed by 
the expenses of the town. This is supposed to be the Church in Madi¬ 
son County, of that State. It seems to have enjoyed but a small mea¬ 
sure of prosperity. 

In 1739 a few Germans emigrated to Waldoborough, Maine, to whose 
number an addition of fifteen hundred souls was made thirteen years 
thereafter. But the title to the land given them by General Waldo 
proving unsound, many left the colony, and its numbers never greatly 
increased. 

Heinsius speaks of a colony of Swiss Lutherans who, tired of the 
persecutions of the Church of Rome, also sought a refuge in this 
Western world. They came by way of England, under the direction 
of Colonel Purry, who established them in a place called after himself, 
Purrysburg. 

This colony, if we mistake not, was in Beaufort County, South Caro¬ 
lina, but we have not been able to find any account of its progress or 
present condition. 

We have now given an account of the first planting of the Lutheran 
faith in America. Of all these colonies, that which in the providence 
of God has most increased, and has hitherto constituted the great body 
of the Lutheran Church in this country, is that in the Middle States, 
Pennsylvania, interior of New York, Maryland, &c. 

The year 1742 was a memorable one for the Church. It was signalized 
by the arrival of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the 
Americal Lutheran Church. He possessed high intellectual and moral 
qualifications, and his whole life had been one of indefatigable zeal and 
arduous and enlightened labor for the Master’s cause. His education 
was of the very first character. In addition to his knowledge of Greek 
and Hebrew, he spoke English, German, Hollandish, French, Latin 
and Swedish. But what was still more important he was educated in 
the school of Francke, and had imbibed a large portion of his Heavenly 
spirit. 

He first landed in Georgia, and spent a week with his brethren, 





































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


Bolzius and Gronau, to refresh his spirit and learn the circumstances 
of the country. He then pursued his course by a dangerous coasting 
voyage, in a small insecure sloop, which had no accommodations for 
passengers, until he arrived in Philadelphia November 25, 1712. 

Here he surmounted the opposition of Count Zinzendorf, (who, under 
the assumed name of Thornstein, had passed himself off as a Lutheran 
minister and inspector,) and was cordially received and entered upon 
his labors with comprehensive and well directed views for the benefit 
of the whole Church. He continued his labors for near a half century 
with indefatigable zeal. 

Soon after his arrival Muhlenberg was joined by other highly re¬ 
spectable men, of excellent education, and of spirit like his own, the 
greater part of whom came like himself from Germany. Among them 
were Brunnholtz and Lemke, in 1745; Handshuh, Hartwick (the 
founder of the flourishing Seminary which bears his name,) and Wey- 
gand, in 1748; Heinzelman and Schultz, in 1751; Gerock, Hausil, 
Wortman, Wagner, Schartlin, Shrenk and Rauss, in 1753; Bager, in 
1758; Voigt and Krug, 1764; Helmuth and rchmidt, 1769; and Kunze, 
in 1770. In 1743 Naesseman, the Swedish minister, reported to bweden 
that there were at that time twenty German Lutheran congregations 
in America. 

The number of ministers increased but slowly. The first Synod was 
held in 1748, and there were then only eleven regular Lutheran min¬ 
isters in the United States. 

In 1751 the number of congregations was rated at about forty, and 
the Lutheran population in America at sixty thousand. 

But the ministers, though few in numbers, were for the most part 
earnest and indefatigable workers. 

The difficulties that beset their way were numerous and arduous. 
The population was unsettled, ever tending farther into the interior; 
intemperance had already made sad havoc in the land ; the semi-civi¬ 
lized habits, so natural to pioneers in colonization, were formidable 
obstacles to religion. Inadequate ministerial support; difficulty of 
traveling for want of roads; and not unfrequently the tomahawk aud 
scalping knife of the savage impeded their progress. 

In common with all other religious denominations the Lutheran 
Church suffered severely from the disastrous influences of the wars 
that followed close upon this period. First came the French and In< ian 
war, and later the war of the Revolution. Christianity is a religion of 
peace, and the tempests of war never fail to blast and scatter the leaves 
which are for the healing of nations. Luring the wars many of the 
churches were destroyed throughout the land, and especially in New 
England. 

While the war of the Revolution was in progress no regular reports 
were forwarded to Halle, and consequently our acquaintance with the 
particulars of the Church’s history is necessarily limited. 

We learn from the “ Kirchenagende,” published in 1786, three years 
after the independence of the United States was acknowledged by 
Great Britain, that the Lutheran ministry in the Middle States then 
tmbraced the following twenty-four persons: Henry Melchior Muhlen- 


















































































EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. 









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T>. D., senior of the ministerium, Nicholas Kurtz, William 
Kurtz, Lewis Voigt, John Andrew Koag, Christian Imanuel Scliultze, 
John George Bager, Just Christian, Henry Helmuth, D. D., John 
Frederick Schmidt, John Christopher Kunze, D. D., Gotthilf Henry, 
Ernst Muhlenberg, D. D., Conrad Wildbohn, Jacob B. Buskirk, John 
Frederici, Christian Streit, John George Jung, Conrad Boeller, Jacob 
Georing, Daniel Schroeter, Daniel Lehman, Henry Moeller, Frederick 
Ernst, Frederick Valentine Melsheimer and Daniel Kurtz, D. D. 

From this time forward many other able and efficient ministers 
entered the field from year to year, and assisted greatly in carrying 
forward the work of the Church, but owing to the want of a suitable 
institution for their education and to other causes, the proportion of 
men destitute of a thorough education in the ministry was also greatly 
augmented; and although the number of congregations was largely 
increased the standard of piety materially declined, and was until 1820 
at a low ebb, though it must be borne in mind that all the denomina¬ 
tions shared alike in this falling off of spirituality. The cause of this 
was the war of the Revolution and the war of 1812, together with 
the almost universal thirst for riches which characterized the people 
of this new country at that early period. In their eagerness to take ad¬ 
vantage of the unprecedented opportunities then offered to accumulate 
wealth, they were too frequently unmindful of the welfare of their souls. 

In 1786 the Kirchenagende (“ Directory of Worship, n ) was published, 
wdiich continued in use until 1818, when the one now in use in the 
German Churches was published. 

In 1787 the Legislature of Pennsylvania, out of gratitude for the revo¬ 
lutionary services of the Germans, and respect for their industry and 
excellence as citizens, endowed a college in Lancaster for their special 
benefit, to be forever under their control. Of this institution Dr. 
Muhlenberg, then pastor in Lancaster, was chosen president. 

In 1791 the same body passed an act appropriating five thousand 
acres of land to the flourishing free school of the Lutheran Church in 
Philadelphia, in which at the time eighty poor children were receiving 
gratuitous education. 

In the year 1820 the General Synod of the American Lutheran 
Church was formed. The formation of this noble institution was a 
starting place and a central radiating point of improvement in the 
Church, and its influence has been uninterrupted and most propitious. 

Prior to this era the Church had gradually become divided into five 
or six different distant and unconnected Synods. Having no regular 
intercourse with each other these several portions became more or less 
estranged, and lost all the advantages of mutual consultation, confi¬ 
dence and co-operation. The formation of the General Synod was the 
precursor of union and improvement, and though much prejudice and 
hostility were encountered in the effort to institute this body, yet by the 
prudence and kindness of its leaders, and particularly by the good fruits 
which were soon seen to result from it, these obstacles were overcome. 

This Synod tended to diffuse a spirit of brotherly love, of union and 
piety. It established a theological seminary, in wnieh several hundred 

laborers have been trained for the vineyard of the Lord. 

34 






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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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Its jnfluence in introducing scriptural discipline into the Churches 
and promoting correct views of Church government lias been poweiful 
and extensive. It published a selection of ardently pious and evangeli¬ 
cal hymns which have doubtless had a most salutary influence, and 
by which hundreds of thousands of souls have been aided in their 

devotions. 

In other Synods not connected with the General Synod, a similar 
spirit of improvement was manifested, and upon the whole, the Luthe¬ 
ran portion of the Redeemer’s kingdom in America. from 1820 to 1840, 

made rapid strides in improvement. 

This period was also distinguished by the establishment of the theo¬ 
logical seminaries at Hartwick, (which is the oldest of all,) at Lexington 
and at Columbus, all of which have done and are doing an important 
work for the Church and the age. 

The general progress of the Church may be seen from the fact that 
while in 1820 there were but one hundred and forty Lutheran ministers 
in the United States, in 1841 they numbered four hundred and six, of 
which the Synod of Pennsylvania, including Maryland and Virginia, 
contained seventy-four ; the Synod of Ohio, twenty-three; North Caro¬ 
lina, fifteen; South Carolina, ten; and New York, ten. In 1851 the 
total number of ministers was seven hundred and seventy-one. 

From that date to the present (1871,) the Church has experienced a 
steady and gratifying increase, and has evinced a remarkable degree of 
energy in prosecuting its Church work. The earnestness manifested 
by this body in the education and training of youth is an evidence of its 
wisdom in providing for the future growth of the Church, a point too 
often neglected by protestant denominations. 

It is stated upon undoubted authority that the Lutheran Church has 
more educational institutions under its control than any religious body 
except the Homan Catholics. 

The “Statistical View” of the Church for 1871 makes the following 
exhibit: District Synods in the General Synod of the United States of 
America, twenty one; number of Ministers, six hundred and forty- 


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seven; Churches, eleven hundred and fourteen; Communicants, nine¬ 



ty-eight thousand and seventy seven. District Synods in the General 
Synod in America, twelve; Ministers, five hundred and forty-four; 
Churches, nine hundred and sixty-two; Communicants, one hundred 
and twenty-four thousand eight hundred and nineteen. District Synods 
in the (Southern) General Synod in North America, six; Ministers, 
one hundred and fourteen; Churches, one hundred and ninety-five; 
Communicants, sixteen thousand six hundred and eleven. District 
Synods not connected with any general body, fourteen; Ministers, nine 
hundred and six; Churches, twelve hundred and sixty-six; Communi¬ 
cants, one hundred and fifty-three thousand, two hundred and fourteen. 
Grand total, Synods, fifty-three; Ministers, two thousand two hundred 
and eleven ; Churches, three thousand five hundred and thirty-seven ; 
Communicants, three hundred and ninety-two thousand, seven hundred 
and twenty-one. 

Of the benevolent contributions of the Church we can only give but 
a partial account. The General Synod, in its report in 1870, gives the 







































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following account of the contributions of that particular body for the 
year: Beneficiary Education, $9,992.01; Home Missions, $14,205.02; 
Foreign Missions, $3,920.20; Local Objects, $282,608.38; General Be¬ 
nevolence, $29,248.27. In regard to the contributions of the General 
Council, the General Synod of North America, and of that larger body 
than either which is not connected with General Synod or Council, we 
have no statistics, but estimating contributions of these the bodies at 
the same rate with those of the General Synod of the United States of 
North America, we reach the approximate total of $1,500,000, as the 
contributions of the whole Church. 

The following are the general benevolent institutions of the Church : 
Parent Education Society; Foreign Missionary Board; Home Mis¬ 
sionary Board; Church Extension Board; Pastor’s Fund Board; Board 
of Publication; Historical Society. 

We have before referred to the zeal manifested by the Lutheran 
Church in the cause of education, and we here give a list of her educa¬ 
tional institutions. 

Theological Seminaries: Hartwick; Theol. Sem. of Gen’l Synod; 
Theol. Dep’t Wittenberg College; Theol. Dep’t Capital University; 
Theol. Sem. of Philadelphia; Theol. Sem. of Gen’l Synod; (Southern) 
Theol. Sem. Missouri Synod; Theol. Dep’t M. Luther College; An 
gustana Seminary; Theol. Seminary, St. Sebald, Iowa; Scandinavian 
Theol. Seminary. Colleges: Pennsylvania; Muhlenberg; Thiel; Wit¬ 
tenberg; Capital University; Roanoke; North Carolina; Newberry; 
Concordia; Carthage; St. Paul’s; Augustana; Mendota; Luther; North 
Western University ; Martin Luther; Colorado. Female Seminaries: 
Lutherville; Hagerstown; Susquehanna Col.; Burkittsville; Mont 
Amoena; Staunton; Lexington; St. Joseph’s; Conestoga; Hartwick; 
St. Matthew’s; Missionary Inst.; Washington Hall; The “Hill” 
School; Conoquenessing; Greenville; Bethel; Swatara; Overlea; 
Tableau; Normal Scientific School; Teacher’s Sem’y; St. Ansgar; 
Marshall; Stoughton; Holden; Classical Seminary, Miss. Eleemosy¬ 
nary Institutions: Tressler’s Orphan Home; Orphans’ Farm School; 
Orphans’ Home, (Rochester); Wartburg Orphans’ School; Passavant’s 
Infirmary; Emmaus Institute; Immigrant Mission; Scandinavian 
Orphan House; Deaconness’ Hospital; Soldier’s Orphan School; In¬ 
firmary, (Milwaukee); and Orphan Homes at the following points: 
Germantown, Toledo, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Wasa and St. Louis. 

The following are the periodical publications of the Church: 

In the English language: The Lutheran Observer; The Lutheran 
and Missionary; The American Lutheran; The Lutheran and Visitor; 
The Lutheran Standard; The Lutheran S. S. Herald; Busy Bee; The 
Quarterly Review. 

In the German language: Der Lutherische Kirchenfreund; Der 
Lutheraner; Die Lutherische Kirchen-Zaitung; Der Lutherische ILr- 
oid; Das Kirchenblatt; Das Lutherische Gemeindeblatt; Das Kireh- 
liches Informatorium; Die Wachende Kirche; Die Lebre mid 'Vehre; 
Das Luth. Schulblatt; Das Lutherische Kirchenblatt; Der Jugcnd- 
Freund; Der Sonntagsschul-Lehrer; Die Lutherische Zeitschrift; Die 
Theologiselle Monatshefte; Der Pilger. 






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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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In the Norwegian language: Kirkelig Maanedstidende; Den Norske 
Lutheraner; Lutheraneren; Missions Bladet; Ebenezer. 

In the Swedish language : Batta Hemlandet aud Augustana Missio- 
naren. 

Outside of the denomination there exists a wide-spread misconception 
of the strength and character of the Lutheran Church, and the fore¬ 
going particulars are entered into to show what a mighty power that 
body is in the land. Through her press, her institutions of learning, 
her churches, she is wielding a vast and growing influence among our 
whole population ; and in her Christian effort she has received signal 
evidences of the Divine favor. 

To render this sketch complete we have now but to notice very briefly 
the doctrines and government of the American Lutheran Church. 

The great and leading principle of the Lutheran Church is that the 
holy Scriptures are the only source whence we draw our religious 
sentiments, whether relating to faith or practice. The books subsidi¬ 
ary to the Bible were the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the 
Athanasian Confession, the Augsberg Confession, the Apology or De¬ 
fence of this Confession, and the Smalcald Articles and Luther’s 
Catechisms. The prominent doctrines taught in these books are: 

First. The Trinity —“ There is one Divine essence which is called and 
is Cod, eternal, incorporeal, indivisible, infinite in power, wisdom and 
goodness, and yet there are three persons who are of the same essence 
and power, and are co-eternal, the Father, the Bon, and the Holy 
Spirit.” 

Secondly. The proper and eternal divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Thirdly, The universal depravity of our race. “All men are born 
with a depraved nature and with sinful propensities.” 

Fourthly. The Atonement. “The Son of God truly suffered, was 
crucified, died and was buried that he might reconcile the Father to us, 
and be a sacrifice not only for original sin but also for all the sins of 
men.” 

Fifthly. Justification , which is through faith. 

Sixthly. A Holy Life or Good Works. “ This faith must bring forth 
good works.” 

Seventhly. The Ministerial Office and the Means of Grace. “Through 
the instrumentality of the Word and the Sacraments as means of grace 
the Holy Spirit is given.” 

Eighthly. The Future Judgment and world of retribution. “At the 
end of the world Christ will appear for judgment; he will raise all the 
dead; that he will give to the pious and elect eternal life and endless 
joys, but will condemn wicked men and devils to be punished without 
end.” 

Dr. Schmucker gives the following points of progressive development 
or improvement of the Lutheran Church. 1. The entire rejection of 
the authority of the Fathers in ecclesiastical controversy. 2. Assent 
to the doctrine of the real presence of the Savior in the Eucharist is no 
longer required. 3. The relinquishment of private confession. 4. The 
entire rejection of everv remnant of papal superstition in the adminis¬ 
tration of baptism. 


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The government and discipline of each individual Church is sub¬ 
stantially like that of the Presbyterians. The Synods in structure and 
powers most resemble their Presbyteries. The General Synod is wholly 
an advisory body, resembling the consociation of the Congregational 
Church. In addition to these regular ecclesiastical bodies constituting 
the system of government the Lutherans have special conferences for 
the purpose of holding stated protracted meetings. These are subdivi¬ 
sions of Synods, containing five to ten ministers each, who are annu¬ 
ally to hold several protracted meetings within their district. This 
feature mainly resembles the quarterly meetings of the Methodists. 


GENERAL SUMMARY. 

I. General Synod. 


Contributions. 

*3DU3IOA3U3g ’U3Q 

$2,066 63 
2,750 00 
1,166 50 
3,298 60 
2,905 06 
988 36 
3,696 85 
2,357 00 
55 00 
1,398 50 
122 50 
355 00 

130 00 

2,490 00 

1,531 26 

590 00 

520 00 

1,163 03 

1,0.54 98 

190 00 

29,428 27 

•spofqo l^oog 

$24,441 64 
27,678 35 
40,721 15 
29,901 75 
12,606 97 
23,840 44 
50,783 14 
16,130 30 
1,000 00 
27,261 07 
4,910 16 
1,757 10 
4,476 00 
34,567 00 
9,936 50 

12,142 00 

5,620 00 

1,211 25 

13,911 56 

19,712 00 

282,608 38 1 

•suoissij^ uSpjog 

$155 15 
1,065 94 
178 14 
235 50 
382 35 
212 02 
865 17 
65 91 
5 08 
193 50 
33 00 
54 88 
42 79 
70 37 
50 00 

225 25 
32 15 

53 00 

3,920 20 

•SUOISStJ^ 3UIOH 

$3,155 73 
1,537 88 
3^0 16 
456 S.’S 
740 39 
1,229 79 
2,914 39 

39 44 

40 06 
585 87 
266 86 
336 35 
671 89 
905 04 
205 75 

33 00 
272 96 

113 78 

289 12 

14,205 02 

•uop.pg iC.pyauag 

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-HTt<GOOICOpH~HpHCOr»iOtOCQCqCq COlO O 

CO OCO OO Tt< 05 Cq <M iO CO''HrH rH 

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$9,992 01 

Sunday 

Schools. 

•sjtqoqag 

QOX^iOiO^CCXOJQOGO^O^ XOOO^f QO 

(N’^COGOLOCOnO^HCO^^OO'li—< ^ Cq Cl CO CO 

CDOOCq IO^OCOHIOhWCI^co CO f-H CO 

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511 

9,613 

•sjoquioj^ SuranuiuicQ 

COCO^lOCOCCCCOOO^CDC50COOC<l-HOO^(NH 
(NCsa^COCd^lON^lOCOGOiO^OCOOiOlOOCO 
ICO O ^CO 00 00 O CO u5O t^^C^CO^t>. 00 CO t>^CO 

oo h*' co »-H ■i> oT co *-?rn' cq cq* co i-T co i-Ti-h ^ 

pH 

91,720 

Additions to full 
membership. 

•3juoypj33 Xg 

»OOqCOTt<’^t>r-<oOCOOCOiO^HCOOCOiOi^OOC^lO 
O5^^56CiW^O(Nt-|>^00NC'lpHrJiCO rH tO 
C1CO rHCOOIrH r-H rH CO Cl f-H 

3,074 

•suoiVEtn-ttjucQ 

CON^JHOOiOiMOOSOi^OlMXiOClH^SlN 
OGCICONOhlO'HKCOHOOOLQiOiMOujOCI 
NOSH CO CO CO rH H CO f-H Tf4 


6,409 

•suispdcg ippy 

05 oo to oo co cq cq 

TJ4 A® ^ HOl^ 

pH NHH 

OtOtOC^^NiO-HHOfM^OiOO 

!>I>COCOCOpHrfCiI>^iOi-HtOJ>- 

cq hh 

1,931 

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C0Cqc0^<M00C<lO0lTf400<Nt^OC0^00(MTf4ll5C^ 

coi^rH05cqcocot^cq»o^ocoi>cocot-oot^coiO 

CC — 1 f-H dt'«HHHHFHCICU>H CO CH 

F-H pH pH 

7,727 

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05 

05 

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CO to Ol fH Ttl Hti IO CO pH CO I-H CO f-H CO CO Ol PH pH <M C4 H 

591 

NAMES 

OF 

SYNODS. 

1. Maryland, 

2. W. Penna., 

3. Hartwick, 

4. New York, 

5. East Ohio, 

6. Allegheny, 

7. East Penna., 

8. Miami, 

9. Central Illinois. 

10. Wittenberg, 

11. Olive Branch, 

12. North Illinois, 

13. Pittsburgh, 

14. Central Penna., 
15 Northern Ind., 

16. Southern Ill., 

17. Iowa, 

18. Melanchthon, 

19. New Jersey, 

20. Franckean, 

21. Susquehanna, 

22. Kansas, 



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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


II. General Council. 


Ministers. Churches. 


Communicants. 


1. New York Ministerium. 50. 50. 13,000 

2. Synod of Pennsylvania. 141. 305. 51,800 

3. Pittsburgh Synod, (Penn.). 68. 103. 8,605 

4. English District Synod of Ohio. 38. 90. 10,000 

5. English Synod of Ohio... 12. 26. 2,2S0 


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6. Synod of Illinois. 35.. 

7. Synod of Michigan. 15.. 

8. Synod of Iowa. 60.. 

9. Synod of Minnesota. 26.. 

10. Scandinavian Augustana Synod. 48.. 

1!. Synod of Texas. 20.. 

12. Synod of Canada. 24.. 


. 4,746 

. 3,300 

. 8,000 

. 3,742 

96. 13,203 

28. 2,920 

60. 7,920 


48. 

27. 

105. 

60. 


627 998 

III. General Synod of North America. 


129,516 


1. Synod of Virginia. 30.. 

2. Synod of South-West Virginia. 21.. 

3. Synod of North Carolina. 18.. 

4. Synod of South Carolina. 33.. 

6. Synod of Georgia. 5.. 

6. Holston Synod, (Tenn.). 14.. 


61. 3,200 

40. 2,179 


34. 

44. 

10 . 

25. 


3,716 

4,817 

750 

2,000 


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121 214 16,662 

IV. Not Connected with General Synod or General Council. 


Joint Synod of Ohio. 

Joint Synod of Missouri. 

. 335 . 

.. 295 . 

. . 362 . 

. 35,500 

. 50,000 

Synod of Wisconsin. 

. 62 . 

. 103. 

. 15,200 

Norwegian Synod, (Wis., etc.). 

. 60 . 

. 220. 

. 31,480 

Tennessee Synod. 

. 30. 


. 7,000 

Eilson’s Synod. 

. 9 . 



Union Synod, (Ind.). 


. 17 . 

. 2,110 

Buffalo Synod, (N. Y.). 

. 15 . 

. 22 . 


German Synod of New York. 

. 10 . 

. 11 . 

. 1,800 

Concordia Synod of Virginia. 


. 15 . 

. 1,000 

Synod of Mississippi. 

. 7 . 

. 11 . 

. 2,000 

Missionary Synod of the West. 



. 700 


687 

1183 

150,640 




Grand Total—52 Synods, 1,926 Ministers, 3,392 Churches, 388,538 Communicants. 


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METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 


THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF AMERICA: 

The name given to a denomination of Christians (Arminian in the¬ 
ology) which sprang from Wesleyan Methodism of England. 


HISTORY. 


1730 


T he “United Societies” arose in England under the Wesleys in 
and although they had preachers traveling over the United King¬ 
dom, it was not until thirty years later, in 1769, that their first mis¬ 
sionaries were sent to the Colonies. The true introduction of Method¬ 
ism in America, however, dates three years earlier, and was in this 
wise: In 1758 John Wesley visited the county of Limerick, Ireland, 
where he found a singular community, settled in several villages, that 
were not native Irish, but of German descent; and being for nearly 
half a century without pastors who could speak their own language, 
had become greatly demoralized and noted for drunkenness, profanity, 
and utter neglect of religion. The Methodist itinerants penetrated to 
their homes and preached to them the Word of God. Many were con¬ 
verted, and the entire community were now a reformed and devout 
people. These German-Irish were called “Palatines,” from the fact 
that they had been driven from the Palatinate on the Rhine, by the 
Papal troops of Louis XIV. They found refuge under the kindly gov¬ 
ernment of Queen Anne. In the spring of 1760 a company of these 
Palatines sailed from Limerick to America. A large company gathered 
on the quay to say farewell for the last time. One of their number, a 
young man with thoughtful look and resolute bearing, is evidently the 
leader of the party. He was their spiritual adviser and helper, and had 
often preached to them the Word of Life; many had been converted 
under his preaching, and now, surrounded by his spiritual children, he 
once more breaks to them the bread of life. His name was Philip Em¬ 
bury, the first class leader and preacher of Methodism in America. The 
company landed at New York August 10, 1760, and were scattered 
abroad. It is not known that any meetings were held by them until 
in 1766 they were joined by other relatives and fellow countrymen, and 
although the religious life of many had declined, Embury, at the earn¬ 
est solicitation of his cousin, Mrs. Barbara Heck, called them to wor¬ 
ship in his own house, on Barrack street, now Park place, where after 
a stirring sermon a class was organized. They continued to meet 
weekly thereafter, and in a short time Embury’s house could not ac¬ 
commodate all the hearers, and he hired a large room in the neighbor¬ 
hood, providing for the rent by gratuitous contributions, and preaching 
to them regularly on the Sabbath. 

In the year following they were visited by Captain Thomas Webb, a 
Quartermaster in the British army, stationed in New York City, who 
was also licensed by Wbsley as a local preacher. 

In 1767 a rigging-loft, sixty by eighteen, on William street, was 
rented, where Webb and Embury preached twice a week to crowded 
assemblies. It could not contain half the people who desired to hear 
the Word of the Lord and to join in the services of his devout com¬ 
pany. 



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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



In 1768 the first effort was made to build a church ; a site was selected 
and leased on John street, and purchased two years later, and a stone 
building, faced with blue plaster, sixty feet by forty-two was erected. 
Embury was chief architect, and also worked on its walls with other 
voluntary or paid workmen. On the 30th of October, 1768, he ascended 
its pulpit, and dedicated the building by the name of ‘‘Wesley Chapel,” 
preaching a sermon on the occasion from Hosea X, 12: “ Sow to your¬ 
selves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground ; 
for it is time to seek the Lord till He come and reign righteousness 
upon you.” 

Thus was Embury the originator of Methodist meetings in the New 
World, being its first preacher, first class leader, first treasurer, and 
first trustee of the first Society organized. Captain Webb made fre¬ 
quent excursions to other parts of the country, preached, and formed 
classes in Philadelphia, Wilmington and New Castle, and extended his 
labors as far as Baltimore. 

While these two local preachers were laying the foundations of a 
great work in New York and elsewhere, Robert Strawbridge, another 
Methodist Irish emigrant, had arrived in the country and settled on 
Sam’s creek, in Frederick county, Maryland. As an Evangelist he 
preached through all that neighborhood, and formed a Methodist Soci¬ 
ety, and not long after built a log meeting-house on Sam’s creek, and 
also founded Societies in Baltimore and Harford counties. The first 
chapel in the county was built near Baltimore, and here Richard Owen 
was converted, who, after laboring as a local preacher for some years, 
entered the itinerant rank and died in it, being the first native Method¬ 
ist preacher in this country. 

Joined by Sater Stephenson, Nathan Perigo, Richard Webster and 
others, they carried Methodism into the heart of Pennsylvania, aroused 
the population of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, thence passed to 
Georgetown and Alexandria, on the Potomac, through Fairfax county, 
Virginia, and winning great victories through Delaware and Mary¬ 
land, and the entire peninsula. 

In 1769 Robert Williams, one of Wesley’s preachers, came to America 
and gave himself up wholly to the work of an Evangelist, and labored 
with great success in Petersburg, Norfolk, and through Eastern Vir¬ 
ginia and North Carolina. John King, a local preacher, came from 
England in the same year and began his labors in the Potters’ field, now 
Washington square, Philadelphia, and extended them through Dela¬ 
ware, Maryland and New Jersey. 

On the third of August, 1769, Wesley announced in their Conference 
in England the cry tliatcame from America for help, and asked “ Who 
is willing to go?” Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor responded 
to the call, and were set apart and returned on the Conference Journal 
as Missionaries to America. They arrived in Philadelphia in 1769, and 
were warmly welcomed by Rev. George Whitefield, who was then 
laboring in that city. They set themselves at once to systematize the 
work, and in 1770 “America” appears for the first time on Wesley’s 
printed minutes, with four preachers, Boardman, Pilmoor, Williams 
and King; and the following year records 316 church members. 


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533 ; t;: 


In 1771 two other regular preachers were sent over by the Confer¬ 
ence, Francis Asbury and Richard Wright. The former, then a young 
man of twenty-six, was destined to be the most influential and success¬ 
ful of laborers, and the most historical of its preachers. 

Oilier ministers arrived in 1772, and on the 14th of July, 1773, the 
first American Methodist Conference was held at Philadelphia, con¬ 
sisting of ten preachers, with a church membership of 1,130. All the 
preachers agreed to labor under the authority of Mr. Wesley, and to 
abide by his doctrine and discipline, and not to administer the sacra¬ 
ments. The Second Annual Conference met again in Philadelphia, 
May 25, 1774, Thomas Rankin presiding, with 17 preachers, and 2,073 
members. 

In the succeeding ten years the Societies were very much distracted 
by the political excitements growing out of our Revolutionary contest. 
The Societies were still identified with the Wesleyans of England, and 
many of the preachers had left the country. In 1776 all had returned 
to England except Mr. Asbury, who found retirement at the home of 
Governor Bassett in Delaware. 

In 1779 the Seventh Annual Conference assembled in Virginia. The 
ordinance question again came up. A former Conference had passed a 
resolution by which they had agreed to “exhort the people to attend 
the established Church and receive the ordinances there only.’’ This 
was very obnoxious to the people; the ministers not being ordained 
could not administer the sacraments; hence in many places they were 
destitute of the Lord’s Supper, and their children were growing up 
without baptism. After much discussion a committee of four of the ^ 
oldest preachers were appointed to ordain ministers. They first ordained 
each other, and then some of the other members of the Conference. 






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Those thus ordained administered the ordinances during the year. The 
question continued to agitate the Conferences until the close of the 
war, when a special Conference was called by Mr. Wesley to take 
measures to adapt this religious Society to the new condition of affairs. 

Up to this time Wesley had enjoined at home and in the Colonies 
the necessity of loyalty to the Church of England. No sacraments 
were received or administered by them outside of the churches of the 
establishment. All the Methodist preachers except the Wesleys and 
a few other clergymen were unordained lay preachers. Episcopal V 






at once set to work to give direction to the important movement that was 
now assuming definite shape in the new Republic. The preachers were 
clamorous for ordination, and satisfying himself that a Presbyter and a 
Bishop were oue and the same order in the Church of Christ, Wesley 
assumed the office of Bishop, and, assisted by other Presbyters of the 
Church of England, he set apart and ordained Rev. Thomas Coke, 
LL. D., already a Presbyter of the Church of England, as “General 
Superintendent” of the American Societies. He arrived in America 
November 3, 1784, and summoned all the preachers to meet him at Bal¬ 
timore on the 24th of December. 




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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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On that day sixty preachers assembled in a special, though not a reg¬ 
ular General Conference. “After some deliberation,” says Mr. Asbury, 
“it was agreed to form ourselves into an Episcopal Church.” Rev. 
Richard Whatcoat, afterwards Bishop, says, “ We agreed to form a 
Methodist Episcopal Church.” 

Here the “ Methodist Episcopal Church of America” was launched 
forth as a separate and distinct church, with Superintendents, Elders 
and Deacons. 

Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury were chosen Superintendents, the former- 
being already in orders, proceeded to ordain Francis Asbury. On Sat¬ 
urday he was ordained Deacon, on Sunday Elder, and on Monday was 
' ' " , set apart as General Superintendent. Three Deacons and twelve El- 

, J<r\) ders were also ordained. Articles of religion were adopted, and a gen¬ 

eral system of government established. The work was divided into 
three Conferences, and the following year, 1785, the Bishops met them, 
h V transacted the usual Conference business, and stationed the preachers. 
Although the church endured severe struggles in later years, and 
Ithere were several secessions from the M. E. Church, its progress has 
c ^ been steadily onward, due very largely to its earnest ministry, its work¬ 
ing membership, its pure doctrine, and its evangelical experimental 
piety. 



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DOCTRINES. 

Its doctrines are embraced in twenty-five “ articles of religion ,” de¬ 
claring :— 

1st. Faith in the Holy Trinity. 

2d. That the Word or Son of God was made very man, possessing 
YY. two whole or perfect natures whereof is one Christ very God and very 
Y; r V Y v man. 

3d. A belief in the resurrection of Christ. 

4th. The Divinity of the Holy Ghost. 

5th. The sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, as containing all things 
necessary to salvation. 

6th. Obedience to the commandments of the Old Testament to be re¬ 
quired. 

7th. A belief in original sin as attaching to the nature of every man. 
8th. A belief in the free moral agency of man. 

9th. A belief in the doctrine of justification through faith in Christ. 
10th. Good works to be pleasing and acceptable to God, though not a 
ground of justification. 

11th. The utter absence of power to perform works of supererogation. 
12th. The possibility of sin after justification. 

13th. The true Church of Christ is declared to be a congregation of 
faithful men in which the pure word of God is preached and the sacra¬ 
ments duly administered. 

14th. Declares purgatory, worshiping, and adoration of images and 
saints as repugnant to the Word of God. 

15th. Requires all speaking in the congregations to be in such tongue 
as the people understand. 


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METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



535 


16th. Declares the sacraments to be signs of grace, and recognizes 
two only as Divinely established. 

17th. Declares Baptism to be a sign of regeneration as well as of pro¬ 
fession of faith. 

18th. The Lord’s Suj)per—a sacrament of our redemption by Christ— 
disclaims all proof of transubstantiation. 

19th. Both the wine and the bread should be received by the laity. 

20th. The perfect oblation of Christ, finished upon the cross. 

21st. Declares it lawful for ministers to marry at their discretion. 

22d. Allows of freedom in its rites and ceremonies. 

23d. Requires respect for rulers of the United States and allegiance 
to all their authority and laws. 

24th. The riches and goods of Christian men are not common prop¬ 
erty ; requires liberality in alms-giving. 

25th. Allows of judicial oath-taking. 

GOVERNMENT. 

The only canon law of the Church is found in the “ General 
Rules,” which are the same as those adopted by Wesley. 

The legislative authority is in the General Conference, which is com¬ 
posed of ministerial delegates from the annual conferences, and holds 
its session once in four years. The General Conference of 18G8 made 
provision for the admission of lay delegates to that body, when re¬ 
quested by vote of the laity approved by a three-fourths vote of the an¬ 
nual conferences. On being submitted, an overwhelming majority 
voted in favor of the change, and hereafter the General Conference will 
be more thoroughly in accord with our republican institutions, being 
composed of one ministerial delegate for every thirty members of the 
annual conferences, and two laymen from each conference, the lay 
delegates to be chosen by an electoral conference of laymen. The 
General Conference meets quadrennially, and now (1871) has subordi¬ 
nate to it seventy-two annual conferences. The annual conferences 
are composed of all the traveling ordained elders and deacons included 
in a district of country defined by the General Conference, and averag¬ 
ing about one hundred and twenty-five members each. Their annual 
meeting, called “Conference Session,” is presided over by one of the 
bishops, who, with the advice of the presiding elders, meet in private 
council, arrange the work for all the preachers, the appointments 
being made every year, and no pastor may return to the same charge 
more than three years in six. The Conference passes every preacher’s 
character under careful examination, and if complaints are made 
against any, a court of investigation or trial is appointed, who may sus¬ 
pend or expel him if found guilty of moral wrong. Reports are re¬ 
ceived from the several denominational interests, and action taken in 
reference thereto. Ministers who have traveled two years, and who 
pass a satisfactory examination before a committee, on general literary 
and theological qualifications, are admitted to membership in the Con¬ 
ference and ordained deacons, and such as have traveled four years 
and passed satisfactory examination are ordained elders. Action is 
also had on many moral and religious questions. 















































































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536 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 




The territory of each annual conference is again subdivided into dis¬ 
tricts comprising several stations or circuits under the superintendence 
of a traveling preacher, denominated presiding elder. He holds a 
business meeting with each charge quarterly, the members of the quar¬ 
terly conference being the traveling and local preachers, exhorters, 
class leaders, stewards, trustees, and Sunday-school superintendents. 
It is from this body that all recommendations of persons to preach 
must originate, so that the laity guard the door of approach to the an¬ 
nual conference, and none are admitted until recommended by them. 

CUSTOMS AND USAGES. 

Class meetings are weekly soc'al meetings for the relation of Christian 
experience, presided over by a layman appointed by the preacher in 
charge, styled the class-leader. It is usual to have from twelve to forty 
persons in each class, and any number of classes required in a church 
to accommodate all the members. In the class-meeting an hour or 
more is spent in the relation of Christian experience by the members, 
responded to by the leader in words of encouragement, reproof, exhor¬ 
tation, or council, as the spiritual well-being of the individual may 
seem to require. It is in no sense analogous to the Romish confes¬ 
sional. 

Love Feasts are held quarterly, in which all the members of a society 
unite; bread and water are partaken of by all, as an evidence of their 
good-will and fellowship, after which the time allotted is spent in the 
relation of religious experience, singing, and prayer. 

Members are received on probation for six months, are placed under 
the watchful care of class-leaders, and at the expiration of the above 
period, if they still give satisfactory evidence of religious character and 
experience, are admitted into full membership. In all questions of in¬ 
terest before the church the female members have equal rights with 
the male, and gave a large vote on the lay delegation question. 

STATISTICS. 

At the close of 1870 there were in the Methodist Episcopal Church: 

Increase over 
1870. 1869. 

Bishops. 8 . 

Annual conferences. 72 . 

Traveling preachers. 9,193 363 

Local preachers. 11,404 1,064 

Total members. 1,388,368 70^260 

Baptisms, adults. 66,481 5,334 

Baptisms, children. 50,453 2,944 

Churches. 13,373 1,325 

Parsonages. 4,179 211 

Value of church buildings. 52,614,591 5,361,524 

Value of parsonages. 7,293,513 431,283 

Number of Sunday schools. 16,912 518 

Number of teachers. 189,412 4 816 

Number of scholars. 1,225,398 45M09 

Beuevolent collections. $967,862 9,927 

The usual estimate of non-communicant adherents, children, and 
other members of Methodist families to each communicant is three, so 




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that the Methodist population (such as the Roman Catholic Church in¬ 
cludes in its statistics) would be 5,408,536. 

This is at least one-third more than the largest estimates of the I o- 
mish population claimed by their own statisticians. 

The net increase in the number of churches for 1870, was 1,325, and 
is the largest ever reported in a single year. It gives an average of over 
four new churches for every working day in the year , a rate of progress 
unparalleled in the history of the churches. 

There was spent on new churches during the same year more than 
five and a quarter million of dollars. In five years the increase of the 
value of churches has been 96.6 per cent. 


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INSITUTIONS. 

Sunday School Union , organized April 2d, 1827. Its collections have 
amounted to $20,000 per year. It publishes 1,574 bound volumes. The 
b unday School Advocate, published semi-monthly, has a circulation of 
320,000. 

Tract Society; to Wesleyan Methodism belongs the honor of organi¬ 
zing the first Tract Society, in January, 1772, its object being “to dis¬ 
tribute religious tracts to the poor.” Every member was expected to 
subscribe half a guinea annually to its support. Annual contribution 
for 1870, over $20,000. 

Bible Collections are given to the American Bible Society and amount 
to an annual offering of $125,000. 

Missionary Society , for Home and Foreign work, $800,000 per annum, 
with flourishing missions in India, China, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, 
Scandinavia, South America and California. 

Its Publishing Interest is in the “Book Concern,” with a capital of 
one million dollars. The profits of the Concern make a fund for the 
support of the Bishops, aged and worn out preachers, and the widows 
and orphans of preachers. There is a branch Concern also at Cincinnati, 
with a capital stock of $380,000. The annual sales of both Concerns 
amount to about $1,500,000. 

Periodicals: The following are published by the denomination: 
Quarterly Magazines, one; Monthly Magazines, two; Monthly Papers, 
three; Weekly Papers, ten. Of 

Literary Institutions under the charge of the M. E. Church, there 
are: Universities, 13; Colleges, 40; Theological Institutes, 4; Semi¬ 
naries and Academies, 160. 

One of the most interesting events in the history of this denomina¬ 
tion was the 

CENTENARY CELEBRATION, 

which occurred in 1866. 

The General Conference of 1864 made careful provision for permanent 
results to the Church from the occasion, and laid broad plans for great 
financial contributions. 

The primary object of the celebration was the spiritual improvement 
of the membership, and a cultivation of a feeling of devout thankful- 

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533 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


ness by a careful review of the great things God had wrought through 
the Church. 

As the gratitude of the heart ever seeks expression in outward acts, 
a spontaneous offering of pecuniary contributions was suggested for 
general Church purposes, that should render more efficient, in tbe 
century to follow, those institutions and agencies to which the Church 
has been so deeply indebted in the past. A central committee, consist¬ 
ing of the board of bishops, with twelve ministers and twelve laymen, 
"were appointed, who laid their plans for great financial results, whose 
largest anticipations were more than realized. 

The first Sunday in January was observed throughout the Church as 
a day of special and united prayer for the Divine blessing upon the 
centenary services of the year; for a general revival of religion, and 
that the year might prove to be an epoch in the spiritual progress of 
the Church. A memorial sermon was preached before each annual 
Conference as their sessions occurred. The celebration proper began 
on the first Tuesday of October, and continued throughout the month. 
Immense meetings were held during the month of a general character 
in all the cities and towns of the country, at which addresses were 
made by leading ministers and laymen. One Sunday of the month 
was set apart as the children’s day of jubilee, and was celebrated with 
great interest and grand results. Appropriate medals weie distributed 
to all contributors. 

The last Sunday of October was observed as a day of thanksgiving. 

The ladies of the Church had a special organization. Their anni¬ 
versary meeting was held in St. Paul’s Church, New York city, and 
was one of the most successful of the year. It was presided over by 
Chief Justice S. P. Chase, who made one of the most eloquent speeches 
of his life on that occasion. He was followed by Bishops Janes and 
Simpson in addresses of remarkable beauty and power. At the request 
of the ladies the historian of the church, Rev. Abel Stevens, LL. D., 
prepared and published a volume of great beauty and interest entitled 
‘‘The Women of Methodism.” 

Dr. Stevens also prepared, and the Central Committee published, a 
succinct history of the Church entitled “The Centenary of American 
Methodism,” which was sold in great numbers for the benefit of the 
fund. 

The contributions of the Church were munificent. Besides the 
amounts reported below, the occasion was seized as a favorable moment 
in which to build, enlarge, or otherwise improve home churches and 
parsonages. The result of which, amounting to several thousands of 
dollars, is not reported here. 

In the contributions the first place was given to Educational Institu¬ 
tions, the chief object being the Connectional. 


Educational Fund, amount.$ 

For Garrett Biblical Institute, Chicago, Ill. 

Boston Theological Institute. 

Drew Theological Seminary. 

Biblical School, Germany. 

Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. 


9,195.36 
3,300.00 
10,526 20 
500,016.00 
1,675.00 
51,500.00 


























































METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCII. 



Wesleyan University.$ 100,000.00 ( 

Sunday School Children’s Fund. 27,840.00 ' 

The Chartered Fund. 15,69".0 : > 

Church Extension. 2,550,290.00 

New York Mission Plouse. 70,000.00 

Irish Connectional Fund. 50,000.00 

German Mission House. 2,00u.0O 

For Connectional Objects, unspecified Contributions, and 

Local Enterprises.. . 3,990,676.00 


Total Contributions for the Year,.$8,032,755.0 

LAY REPRESENTATION. 

The movement in favor of lay delegates being admitted to the legis¬ 
lative councils of the Church excited great interest for many years. 

Twice the General Conference expressed its willingness to legalize lay 
representation as soon as convinced that the membership of the Church 
desired the change. This was in 1860 and 1864. In the latter year the 
question was submitted to a vote of the people, and was rejected by a 
small majority, by far the larger number of the membership declining 
or neglecting to vote. This was thought to be very largely on account 
of the absorbing interest of our national affairs, and the hesitation of 
the people to interfere with any system of government that had, under : I 

God, been productive of such sublime results. The demand still con¬ 
tinued from leading and influential ministers and laymen. Some of > 
the regular church papers strongly urged the claim, while Bishop j>,‘ : > 
Simpson and other prominent ministers strongly urged the change. 

The Methodist , an independent journal edited by Dr. Geo. H. Crooks, 
assisted by Rev. Abel Stevens, LL. D., Rev. John McClintock, LL. D., 

Rev. Drs. Nadal, Foster, Newman, Eddy and others, and supported by 
wealthy laymen, gave great prominence to this subject. It published 
stirring editorials, able communications, and full reports from the many 
great mass meetings that were held throughout the country, and a much 
greater interest was awakened on this subject throughout the Church. 

In 1868 the General Conference again voted in favor of submitting the 
question to a popular vote, and called upon the membership, both lay 
and clerical, to express their preference. 

The lay vote was taken in the month of June, 1869, all members, 
male and female, having the privilege of voting “ for ” or “ against lay 
delegation.” The election was held in each Society, presided over by 
the Pastor. The total vote cast was about 250,000, of which 170,000 were 
cast in favor of the change and about 80,000 against it. This was con¬ 
sidered a large vote, and being above the required majority vote, was 
made an argument in urging all the ministry to vote in their several 
annual Conference sessions for the change. The clerical vote was taken 
in the fall of 1869 and spring of 1870, and resulted in giving the re¬ 
quired three-fourths vote of approval, and the General Conference of 
1872 was authorized to make the change, and lay delegates will be cho¬ 
sen to sit with that body by the electoral conferences of laymen. The 
General Conference of 1872 has yet to give an approving two-thirds 
vote before the change will be complete, and lay delegates may be ad- 



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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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mitted to the General Conference. It is thought that in due time this 
feature will also be introduced into the Annual Conferences. 

SOUTHERN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The secession of the Conferences within the bounds of the slavehold¬ 
ing States occurred in 1845. 

Methodism obtained a strong hold upon the Southern population of 
our country at an early date, and embraced in its membership large 
numbers of the negro or slave population, together with a very fair pro¬ 
portion of slaveholders. They all enjoyed equal rights and privileges. 
The agitation of the slavery question in the Church began early in its 
history, and continued with increasing earnestness until 1844, when the 
inevitable crisis was reached. Rev. Mr. Harding, a member of the 
Baltimore Conference, had been suspended for holding slaves. He pre¬ 
sented an appeal to the General Conference at its session held in New 
York, May, 1844. After much discussion the action of the Annual 
Conference was sustained, and the law of the Church was executed 
against him. 

A complaint was then entered against Bishop Andrew for holding 
slaves. He was a citizen of Georgia, had married a lady possessed of 
at this time held them as his own property. A protracted 
discussion followed, resulting in the adoption of a resolu- 




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slaves, and 
and heated 

tion requiring the Bishop “ to desist from all the functions of his office 
until he had relieved himself from this embarrassment.” Against this 


action Dr. Bascom presented a protest signed by 53 Southern delegates 
and 7 from the border States. 

The representatives from thirteen Annual Conferences, embraced in 
the slaveholding States, presented a declaration setting forth their con¬ 
viction that the continuance of these Conferences under the jurisdic¬ 
tion of the General Conference would be greatly detrimental to the 
general prosperity of the Church in those States, and that a separation 
was imperatively demanded. 

A plan of separation was adopted, according to which there should 
be an amicable adjustment of boundary lines and a fair division of the 
property of the Church, should the Annual Conferences in the slave¬ 
holding States deem it necessary to form a distinct organization. 

Special Conferences were held throughout the South and Southwest, 
and in May, 1845, a convention was called at Louisville, Ky., which 
dissolved their union with the General Conference and created a 
separate ecclesiastical connection, under the title of the M. E. Church 
South. Their first General Conference was held at Petersburg, Va. 
The senior Bishop of the M. E. Church, Dr. Joshua Soule, withdrew 
and connected himself with the Southern branch. It is scarcely to be 
wondered at that bitter feelings were engendered and that a suit in the 
civil courts became necessary before the property question became 
properly settled. A fair pro rata division was enforced by the United 
States courts. 

In this organization no change was made in the doctrine, polity, 





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METHODIST EPISCOPAL CIIURCH 


usages, or form of government peculiar to Methodism. On the divid- 
ing question the Southern branch held that “ slavery, wherever estab¬ 
lished and protected by constitutional law, is a civil question with 
which ecclesiastical bodies have no authority to meddle, and that the 
true function of the Church is to preach the gospel and administer the 
sacraments and discipline of Christ’s religion alike to master and 
slave.” The M. E. Church condemned slavery, proclaimed themselves 
in duty bound to do all in their power for the extirpation of what they 
regarded as a great evil. 

The Southern Church suffered heavy loss during the late war, and 
has not recovered its former prosperity in all respects at the present 
date. Some changes in government have also been made since the war 
closed. In 18GG, lay delegation to the Annual and General Conference 
was adopted, also, four years as the pastoral term and the partial veto 
power of the bishops. 

Recent statistics present the following condition of the Church:— 

Bishops. 10 

Annual conferences. 30 

Traveling preachers. 2,680 

Superannuated. 200 

Local preachers. 4,800 

Membership.620,000 

Educational Institutions— 

Universities, colleges for young men. 15 

Academies for young men. 20 

Academies for females. 28 

The publishing house was established in 1854, and has added greatly 

to the strength of the denomination, and furnished valuable literary 

helps to all the churches, Sunday schools, &c. The General Confer¬ 

ence publishes a Quarterly Review, Ladies’ Magazine, Sunday School 
Journal, and several weekly papers. 


THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH 

was organized in 1830, by a secession from the M. E. Church. 

Disaffected members met in council at Baltimore, (1824,) and styling 
themselves “ Reformers,” organized “ Union societies ” throughout the 
country, their object being to bring about a change in the M. E. 
Church, so as to limit the powers of the bishops and secure the admis¬ 
sion of lay delegates to the councils of the Church. 

Conventions were also held in 1826, ’27, and ’28. In November, 1830, 
a constitution and book of discipline was adopted for the independent 
societies, and the name Methodist Protestant Church was assumed by 
the seceding societies. The Rev. Francis Waters, D. D., of Baltimore, 
was first President of their Conference. 

Their doctrinal tenets were and are still precisely the same as those 
held by the M. E. Church. 

The General Conference meets every seven years and is composed of 
an equal number of ministers and laymen; there being one of each 
class for every 1,000 communicants. It recognizes the mutual rights 
of ministers and laymen, fixes salaries of ministers, regulates bounda- 


































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 


ries, and is the final court of appeal in the Church. The Annual Con¬ 
ference is composed of all the ordained ministers in the traveling con¬ 
nection, who elect and ordain ministers, station the preachers, examine 
character, hear and try complaints against ministers; it chooses its own 
President annually. 

They have the Quarterly Conference, class meetings, leaders’ meet¬ 
ings, &c., as already described in the M. E. Church, but has neither 
Bishops nor Presiding Elders. 

It now numbers about nine hundred (900) traveling ministers; local 
preachers, 800; membership, about 110,000. It has eight colleges, four 
weekly periodicals, and some 1,200 church buildings. 

THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH 

Adopted the same principles of church government as held by the 
M. E. Church. They were formally organized into a separate religious 
body in 1843. Three questions were involved in the discussion that re¬ 
sulted in this secession : slavery, church government, and the use and 
sale of intoxicating drinks, of which the first was the most prominent 
and important. 

They excluded from Church membership and Christian fellowship 
all slaveholders, and all persons who manufacture, buy, sell, or use 
intoxicating liquors, unless for mechanical, chemical or medicinal 
purposes. Each Church has power to act for itself, and ministerial 
equality is declared. They have Annual and Quarterly Conferences. 
Although flourishing for some years, have more recently declined, 
many of their members and ministers uniting with the M. E. Church, 
which came fully up to their platform on the slavery and temperance 
questions. 

THE EVANGELICAL METHODISTS, 

Or Allbrights, are in fact German Methodists. Their first society was 
organized in 1800, under the pastoral care of Jacob Allbright, a con¬ 
verted German, of Pennsylvania. As the society increased, and other 
preachers were raised up, Mr. Allbright was elected Presiding Elder. 
Their first conference was held in 1816. They have the same form of 
government as the M. E. Church, and all its customs and usages. 
They now number about fifty thousand members, almost entirely 
German. 

THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 

Is composed entirely of colored members. They have six Annual 
Conferences, Bishops, Elders and Deacons, with General Annual and 
Quarterly Conferences, and now number about 850,000 members, 1000 
ministers, 5000 local, and $5,000,000 in church property. This was a se¬ 
cession from the M. E. Church in 1787. 


THE ZION AFRICAN METHODIST 

Episcopal Church, seceded in 1820, now numbers 192,000 members, 817 
traveling preachers, 19 Conferences and six bishops, who are elected for 
four years. 











































































METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 


I. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (NORTH.) 

EISHOPS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 


Remarks, 


Died at sea, May 3, 1814, aged 67. 

Died in Virginia, Mar. 31, 1816, aged 71 
Died in Delaware, July 5, 1806, aged 71. 
Died in Tennessee, Mar. 5,1885, aged 78 
Died in Virginia, Aug. 23, 182-, aged 60. 
Died in Indiana, March 28, 1843, aged 65. 
Ent. M. E. Ch. S., 1816; diedMar. 6, 1867. 
D’d, Poughkeepsie,N.Y.Ap. 9, '52, a’d 72. 
Bishop of M. E. Church, South, 1846. 
Died in Maryland, Dec. 16,1835, aged 47. 
Died in Maryland, Feb. 9, 1858, aged 69. 
Residence, Springfield, Ohio. 

Resigned 1852; died in Iowa, Mar. 22, '65. 
Residence, New York, N. Y. 

Residence, Odessa, Del. 

Residence, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Residence, Concord, N. H. 

Residence, Baltimore, Md. 

Died at Baltimore, Md., April 18, 1863. 
Died at Cincinnati, Ohio, June, 187 <. 
D’d, Wheel’g, W. Va., Mar. 22, '70, a'd59. 
Died, Beirut, Syria, April 6,1870, aged 57. 
Residence, Monrovia, Africa. 


f Withdrawn, 


COMPARATIVE STATEMENT. 

By examining the official returns of the Conferences for the whole country, and comparing them by 
decades, from 1776, we have the following table: 


* By the withdrawal and separation of the Southern Conferences in 1844, organizing the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, the Methodist Episcopal Church lost 1,345 traveling preachers, and 
495,288 members; and yet so rapid was her growth during the decade, that at its close (two years 
after the separation) there was a net gain of 654 preachers, and a lack of only 5,8 < 1 members of making 
up the number lost. 


II. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (SOUTH.) 

BISHOPS. 

Rev. JAMES OSGOOD ANDREW, D. D., Summerfield, Ala., 1832. 

Rev. ROBERT PAINE, D. D., Aberdeen, Miss., 1S46. 

Rev. GFORGE FOSTER PIERCE, D. D., Culverton, Ga., 1854. 

Rev. JOHN EARLY, D. D., Lynchburgh, Va., 1854. 

Rev. HUBBARD HINDE KAVANAUGH, D. D., Lexington, Ky., 1854. 
Rev. WILLIAM MAY WIGHTMAN, D. D., Charleston, S. C., 1866. 

Rev. ENOCH MATHER MARVIN, D. D., O’Fallon, Mo., 1866. 

Rev. DAVID SETH DOGGETT, D. D., Richmond, Va., 1866. 

Rev. HOLLAND NIMMONS McTYEIRE, D. D.. Nashville, Tenn., 1866. 




Year. 

Traveling 

Preachers. 

Increase of 
Preachers. 

Members. 

Increase of 
Members. 

1776 

24 

24 

4,921 

4,921 

1786 

117 

93 

20,689 

15,768 

1796 

293 

176 

56,664 

35,975 

1806 

452 

159 

130,570 

73,906 

1816 

665 

213 

214,235 

83,665 

1826 

1,406 

711 

360,800 

146,565 

1836 

2,928 

1,522 

650,103 

289,303 

1846 

3,582 

654 

644,229* 

Decrease, 5,874 

1856 

5,877 

2,295 

800,327 

156,098 

1866 

7,576 

1,699 

1,032,184 

231,857 



Entered Ministry. 

-d . 

V m 

Names. 

Conference. 

Year. 

c o* 

O 

_r« 

ri 

u .ii 

OM 

♦Thomas Coke. 

British Wesleyan. 

1778 

1784 

* Francis Asbury. 

British Wesleyan. 

1766 

17 4 

♦Richard Whatcoat. 

British Wesleyan. 

1769 

18* K) 

♦William M'Kendree. 

M. E. Church. 

178S 

1808 

* Enoch George. 

* Robert Richford Roberts 

M. E. Church. 

1790 

1816 

Baltimore. 

1802 

1816 

♦Joshua Soule. 

New York. 

1799 

1824 

♦Elijah Hedding. 

New England... 

1801 

1824 

tJames Osgood Andrew.. 

South Carolina. 

1813 

1832 

♦John Emory. 

Philadelphia. 

1810 

1832 

♦Beverly Waugh. 

Baltimore. 

1809 

1816 

1836 

Thomas A. Morris. 

Ohio. 

1836 

♦Leonidas Lent Hamline 

Ohio. 

1833 

1844 

Edmund Storer fanes_ 

Philadelphia. 

1830 

1826 

1844 

Levi Scott. 

Philadelphia. 

1852 

Matthew Simpson. 

Pittsburgh. 

1833 

1852 

\ Osmon Cleander Baker... 

New Hampshire.. 

1839 

1852 

Edward Raymond Ames. 

Illinois. 

1830 

1852 

♦Erancis Burns. 

Liberia. 

1838 

1858 

♦ Davis Wasgatt Clark. 

New York. 

1843 

1864 

♦Edward Thomson. 

Ohio. 

1833 

1841 

1864 

♦Calvin Kingsley. 

Erie. •••••••••*••«••••• 

1864 

John Wright Roberts. 

Liberia. 

1838 

1866 






























































































































iik mu:— 



544 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


CONGREGATIONALISM. 

The Congregational form of Church organization is that which re¬ 
cognizes no human authority over the local church or Christian con¬ 
gregation. The term is, however, limited by ordinary usage to Churches 
holding what is called the orthodox system of theology. There are 
also numerous Churches, Congregationally organized, which by their 
own choice, or by common consent, have received some other title, and 
are never included in the term Congregationalists. The Baptist de¬ 
nomination is a notable example of this. With this explanation we 
proceed to give a sketch of those Churches known to each other, and 
more or less associated under the title—the Congregational Denomina¬ 
tion of the United States. 

Congregationalism in modern times had its beginning in the seven¬ 
teenth century. Previous to that time, Christianity had been in most 
countries where it prevailed a State religion, governed as to its forms, 
and influenced not a little, even in its doctrines, by the same power 
that controlled the nation. But separation between Church and State 
was a necessary condition of human progress, an inevitable consequence 
of free thought. The State refused to be governed by the Church, and 
the Church began to learn that if God never organized it for the ad¬ 
ministration of civil affairs, He certainly never placed it in the power 
of the State to destroy individual responsibility, or limit the faith and 
practice of Christians to the uniformity of a State religion. From 
many quarters at once there came a cry for liberty of conscience. A 
cry which was met on the other hand by those who seeing nothing in 
liberty but anarchy, insisted that the State should produce uniformity, 
only they could not agree by whose conscience that uniformity should 
be regulated. But uniformity had then become impossible, and organi¬ 
zations independent of the State began to prevail. 

The advocates of each new system, since they could not but perceive 
the sad consequences of endless division, every one of them sought, 
by some means, to bring all the nation into conformity with their 
system. There were two possible directions which these new organi¬ 
zations could take. The one was to attempt the establishment of 
national Churches, with governments and ecclesiastical powers, similar 
to those formerly exercised in connection with the civil power. The 
other was to renounce all idea of national religious institutions, and 
resolve Church organization into the mere fact of the organized fellow¬ 
ship and co-operation of Christians living near together. Most of the 
Churches which express the former of these tendencies, have been at 
one time or another connected with the State, while the latter tendency 
expressed from the beginning the strongest aversion to State interfer¬ 
ence or control. Episcopacy, Presbyterianism, and the system of the 
Lutherans illustrate the first. 

Congregationalism is the result of the second. The idea of the Church 
as it is now held by Congregationalists, had doubtless a somewhat 















































































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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCII 


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gradual development. The independence of the local Church was first 
recognized, for the notion of it grew naturally out of the existence of 
feeble congregations, who knew no larger body with which they could 
conscientiously fraternize. Afterwards these Churches learned what 
seemed to them almost as important as their own independence—the 
fellowship of Churches; an idea still rejected by some, who are called 
Brownists, or Independents, rather than Congregationalists. As early 
as the year 1562, when the separation of the Church of England from 
that of Rome may be said to have been finally completed, we begin to 
find casual notices of persons called Separatists, and in 1567 a company 
of them meeting in Plummer’s hall, in London, were committed by 
the Lord Mayor to the Bridewell. In that prison they organized what 
seems to have been the first independent Church in England. The 
pastor, the deacon, and several members of this Church died in prison, 
of the plague, but that was the beginning of a movement yet in pro¬ 
gress both in England and America. 

An active persecution failed to repress it. The new Protestant Church 
was scarcely more tolerant of dissent than its predecessor. Nor should 
this seem strange when we know that such men as Richard Baxter ap¬ 
proved of persecution for conscience’ sake, under certain circumstances. 

In the year 1606 at Scrooby, a village in the north of England, there 
was organized an independent Church, probably a branch of one before 
existing at Gainsborough, which proved the germ of Congregationalism 
in America. 


Their second pastor was John Robinson, and among the early mem¬ 
bers were elder Brewster and William Bradford, both afterwards famous 
among the “Pilgrim Fathers,” of New England. This Church, to 
escape from continual annoyances, and the peril of martyrdom, which 
had already come upon several of their brethren, was transplanted in 
the year 1608 to Leyden in Holland. In the year 1620 the same persons 
organized a colony which emigrated, one hundred and two in number, 
to the wilderness of New England, where they landed upon Plymouth 
Rock, on the 21st of December, of the same year. The Church which 
they organized in the May Flower, just before landing, was, with the 
exception of perhaps two or three Episcopal Churches in Virginia, the 
first Church in this country. By this time the doctrines of Congrega¬ 
tionalism, as now understood, were pretty clearly developed. Other 
colonies speedily followed this one, settling in Salem, Boston, and other 
places. 

They were composed for the most part of men of like spirit with the 
Pilgrims. But these new immigrants lacked the advanced views of 
the Pilgrims; and only gradually came under the influence of their 
liberal and enlightened convictions. To them are to be mainly attribu¬ 
ted the deeds of superstition and persecution, the Salem witchcraft 
t rials, and the persecution of Quakers, so often mentioned in connection 
wkh the history of New England. They were not at first prepared for 
such ideas as that of the independence of the local Church. 

But the logic of New England history more and more separated the 








I 













































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


Colonists from the institutions of the mother country, and so favored 
the ideas prevalent in the Plymouth Colony, that they soon pervaded 
nearly all the religious institutions of the region. New England became 
generally Congregational, and has remained so to a great extent ever 
since. One vigorous attempt early made to render the community 
Presbyterian entirely failed. 

With such a foothold in a part of the country prolific in emigration 
and influential from the beginning, especially through its institutions 
of learning, which are still the most prominent in the land, and still 
for the most part in Congregational hands, the denomination might 
naturally have been expected to fill a larger place than it does in the 
religious statistics of America. The fact is that for several years it 
made little progress toward the West. When, near the commencement 
of the present century, the New England emigrants, who were rapidly 
filling up the State of New York and establishing there churches of 
their own order, found in the same region a simultaneous emigration 
from Maryland and Pennsylvania—where Presbyterianism had taken 
root about the year 1790—it was felt that denominations so similar in 
their views of theology should be practically united. Various discus¬ 
sions finally produced a plan of union which influenced the movements 
of the two denominations for several years, not only in New York but 
farther west. Both parties entered upon this plan in an honest and 
Christian spirit. But when we consider that with one party the 
church meant only the local body, while the other was thoroughly 
imbued with the idea of a national organization which their convictions 
compelled them as far as possible to realize, and that the union was to 
be only such as the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church would 
admit, and especially when we consider that the New Englanders were 
educated to think little of forms, it will not seem strange that the plan 
of union tended for the most part to build Presbyterian churches. 
Congregationalists found what was for them the essential thing—living 
local churches—among the Presbyterians, and the desire for more per¬ 
fect union continually drew them toward the centralized system of 

Twenty-five years later Congregationalists, who had 


their brethren 

by this time many churches scattered in the West, began to take a 
different view of the relation of their polity to the ecclesiastical history 
of America. They began to see that centralized church governments 
might be multiplied indefinitely without bringing us any nearer to the 
much-desired union of Christians. They came to believe, on the other 
hand, that, in the independence of the local church—the union of 
Christians simply on the ground that they are Christians—they saw 
the final cure for the divisions of Christendom. A general council of 
Congregational churches, held at Albany in the year 1852, did much to 
spread these ideas and to promote sympathy between the different 
churches of the denomination throughout the land. The same move¬ 
ment was strengther ed, six or seven years later, by the separation of 
the New School Presbyterians from the American Home Missionary 
Society, in which the two denominations had co-operated ever since 
the early days of the plan of union. Since that time Congregationalism 






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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 


has been far more progressive and earnest. Its friends claim that it has 
the polity taught in the New Testament, and that it is peculiarly 
adapted to American ideas, and especially fitted to harmonize the dis¬ 
cordant religious elements of our land. Another general council was 
held at Boston in the year 1865. This council sought to effect a more 
perfect union of the denomination, and while it studiously avoided all 
centralization of power and put forth no claim of authority, it did 
much to give practical efficiency to the Christian efforts of those who 
are united by their membership with churches holding the same faith 
and order. It is expected that similar councils will, from time to time, 
be held. 

A few statistics of the denomination will here be in place. The 
number of churches, ministers, and church members, with the rate of 
increase, will appear from the following table, which is taken from the 
“ Congregational Quarterly.” These figures show the state of the 
denomination for the year previous to their publication. 


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No. of Churches. 

No. of Ministers. 

No. of Members. 

1861,.. 

.2,583 

2,634 

253,765 

1866,.. 

.2,773 

2,802 

263,296 

1871,.. 

.3,121 

3,098 

306,518 






Congregationalists are most numerous in Massachusetts, where there 
are five hundred and two churches, and eighty thousand members. 
The largest Church is Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, of which Rev. Henry 
Ward Beecher is pastor, numbering over two thousand members. As 
our purpose is to speak only of the United States, we omit the statistics 
of Canada, as we have also omitted all mention of the very large num¬ 
ber of Congregationalists in England and Wales. 

Congregationalists have no ecclesiastical machinery by which they 
are able to control institutions subordinate to the Church, and they 
think it safer that colleges, theological schools, and publishing estab¬ 
lishments should be managed by individuals for the benefit of the 
Church. There are six Congregational theological seminaries, located 
at Andover, New Haven. Hartford, Bangor, Oberlin and Chicago, 
under the management of Boards of Trust, all of which, excepting the 
one at Chicago, have power to fill their own vacancies. 

The trustees of the latter institution are appointed by a triennial 
convention of Churches. Congregational periodicals and newspapers, 
such as the “Congregational Quarterly,” the “ Congregationalist” 
and the “Advance,” are owned and managed entirely by indi¬ 
viduals. Even their benevolent operations are under the care of 
voluntary societies, controlled by their contributors, such as the 
American Home Missionary Society, the American Board, and the 
American Missionary Association, all of which, though organized as 
Union Societies, have now fallen entirely into Congregational hands, 




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ii 
















































































DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES, 


through the withdrawal of those at one time co-operating with them. 
It remains to give a more particular account of what Congregationai- 
ists believe. 

1. In respect to theology. They are universally recognized as ortho¬ 
dox and evangelical, and they hold with great uniformity that system 
known as “New England theology,” which is neither “ Arminianism,” 
on the one hand, nor “High Calvinism” on the other. Yet there 
exists among them, as with most other denominations, considerable 
diversity in shades of opinion and modes of statement, while in refer¬ 
ence to matters considered non-essential they encourage entire fre edom. 
For example, some Churches use a liturgy which gives no offence to 
the majority of their brethren who do not. It has been assumed by 
many that a denomination with no authoritative creed and no central 
government must of necessity be loose and variable in respect to doc¬ 
trine. Congregationalists, on the other hand, contend that no such 
creed can be sufficient for the varied wants of the Churches, and that 
such a creed has never kept the Church from lapsing into error. They 
claim to find greater safety in the sense of individual responsibility 
which comes through an organization all of whose members are upon 
an equality, and where the question of faith continually comes up as a 
matter of personal conviction. They assert that the denomination ex¬ 
hibits substantial unity in all essentials, and a history of remarkable 
consistency and harmony But they consider this in part due to the 
liberal use they have made of creeds as testimonies for the truth, and 
as grounds of Christian fellowship. While they neither impose nor 
receive creeds as a matter of authority, they are greatly given to making 
what they prefer to term confessions of faith. General councils or 
synods were held in 1648, 1680, 1852 and 1865, each of which made a 
confession of faith, or re-affirmed those of its predecessors. Councils of 
Churches recognize each new organization on the exhibition of its 
articles of faith. Churches are received to local associations, and 
ministers are installed, not in view of assent to standards of belief, 
but after reading their creeds or making verbal confession of their 
faith. In the same way persons are received to Church member¬ 
ship. 

2. In respect to polity. They define a Church as a society of pro¬ 
fessed believers, united by covenant (expressed or implied) with the 
Lord and each other, to maintain Christian ordinances and worship, 
and to promote spiritual religion in themselves and others. They hold 
that all Christians are bound, if possible, to associate themselves with 
those around them, and to receive all who seem to be Christians to 
their own fellowship. A society thus organized is an independent 
Church subject to no external human authority. It may need, and 
should gladly receive the advice of the brethren, and if it departs from 
the faith other Churches are bound to admonish, and finally to with¬ 
draw fellowship from it, but it does not need government from without. 
It does not even need a higher court of appeal in cases of discipline, 
because in such cases the real question is shall the transgressor continue 












































































CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 


549 






to receive fellowship as a Christian, and that is a question for his 
Christian neighbors to answer. 

To a Church thus constituted belongs the right to exercise all Church 
functions, to make its own confession of faith, to choose its own officers, 
to determine for itself whom it will receive and whom it wiil exclude, 
and finally to manage all its internal affairs. And since to the local 
Church alone belong all these proper church functions, to it alone 
should the term Church be applied. There are matters of fellowship 
and co-operation which should combine all the Christians of a State or 
a nation, but this combination does not constitute a national Church. 
These views Congregationalists defend as scriptural, by insisting that the 
New Testament use of the word Church accords with them. It speaks 
of the Church in Ephesus, and the Churches in Asia, never of the 
Church in Asia, and it never uses the word church in a sense which 
conflicts with their view. 

They also claim that Church discipline is in the New Testament the 
act of the local body, not of its officers or of any higher court. In 
accordance with these views they are careful to speak of Congrega¬ 
tional Churches, never using the phrase, the Congregational Church. 
They arrange their systems of co-operation by the consent of the 
Churches, and are careful by no means to interfere with their inde¬ 
pendence. The same idea also accords with their theory of Church 
officers and Christian ministry. All Churches which have been at one 
time connected with the State, and others modeled after the same 
forms, have a class of clergymen who are members, not of the local 
bodies, but of the national Church or some of its subdivisions, and 
amenable only to its discipline. They differ among themselves in that 
some of them hold the equality (parity) of the clergy, while others 
(sometimes called prelatists) divide the clergy into two or more orders. 
Congregationalists differ from both quite as much as they differ from 
each other. They hold the equality of the brotherhood. They have, 
it is true, an order of ministers, but they are members of the Churches, 
and subject to their discipline. Consecrated to a particular work these 
ministers are esteemed for its sake; but they have neither office nor 
authority, except as they are chosen by some Church to the Pastorate, 
and they hold that office only during the pleasure of the Church. The 
system of Church officers is very simple. They find in the New 
Testament only two classes of officers, the elders or bishops, (called 
also Pastors,) who administer the spiritual affairs of the Church and 
are its religious teachers, and the deacons who are charged with its 
temporal interests. In former times it was customary to have several 
elders in each Church, some of whom were executive officers but not 
public teachers. Of late, however, these offices are for the most part 
concentrated in one elder, or as he is generally called Pastor. A Pastor 
may be called from the membership or even the Pastorate of another 
Church, but when he is installed he becomes a member of his own. 
In practice the Deacons have usually a large share of spiritual 
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DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES. 


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The doctrine of the independence of local societies is, however, 
limited by that of the fellowship of the churches, which is thus stated : 

“ Although churches are distinct, and therefore may not be confounded 
one with another, equal, and therefore have no dominion one over 
another, yet all the churches ought to preserve communion one with 
another, because they are all united to Christ as integral parts of His 
one catholic Church militant against the evil that is in the world, and 
visible in the profession of the Christian faith, in the observance of the 
Christian sacrament, in the manifestation of the Christian life, and in 
the worship of the one God of our salvation, the Father, and the Son, 
and the Holy Ghost.” And although the attempt to unite all Chris¬ 
tians into one church has caused the divisions of Christendom, this 
fellowship should find all proper expression and may do so without 
peril. It is expressed in part by ordinary courtesies between churches, > 


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and in part by stated meetings of pastors and delegates, called Asso¬ 
ciations or Conferences. But it is more definitely expressed by the 
system of ecclesiastical councils. In view of any important matter of jV 
common concern any church may call an ecclesiastical council. In all f 
the more important events in their own history, such as the establish- I fO (q j 
ment of a new church, and the settlement or dismission of a pastor, 
churches are expected in that way to advise with their brethren. 

Also in cases of special difficulty or trial, such as serious differences 
among the members, or between the church and its pastor, or a knotty 
case of discipline, a council may be called. And even a single member, 
if he deems himself aggrieved,, may request the church to unite with 
him in calling a “ mutual” council, and in case of their refusal he may 
himself call an “ ex parte ” council. The party calling a council makes 
choice of what churches shall compose it. The churches are invited 
by “letter missive” to be present on such a day, by pastor and delegate, 
with the others named, and deliberate on the matter in hand. The 
decision of a council is only advisory and failure to accept the advice 
of council does not necessarily subject a church to loss of standing W w 
in the denomination. In extreme cases, however, a council may 
advise the churches to receive a member who has been, in their 
judgment, unjustly disfellowshiped, or even to refuse fellowship to 
a church because of its persistence in serious errors of doctrine or 
practice. 



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SEC. V.—CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS. 


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About the beginning of the present century there arose a remarkable re¬ 
vival of religion among a portion of the Presbyterian church in Kentucky, j £ 
Meetings were held in the open air; and multitudes flocked together from ; 
the distance of fifty and even in some instances a hundred miles. This 
was the origin of camp-meetings. As the number of converts was great j\ 
and religion was extended into destitute and neglected regions, a strong 


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CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS. 


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necessity was felt for a more rapid multiplication of Christian ministers. 
This led the Cumberland Presbytery, in 1801, to encourage four laymen, 
without a classical education, to prepare written discourses with a view to 
the receiving of license to preach the gospel. In 1803 Mr. Alexander 
Anderson, and Mr. Finis Ewing, were ordained to the work of the ministry. 
Others were licensed as probationers, and several candidates were received 
under the care of the presbytery. 

In 1805, the Synod of Kentucky, in reviewing the book of records of the 
Cumberland Presbytery, took notice of their having introduced men into the 
sacred office who had not acquired a regular education, and who were 
understood to have taken exceptions to the doctrinal standards of the 
church. This led to the appointment of a commission, with full powers to 
act in the place of the synod, both in holding a friendly conference with the 
presbytery, and in judicially terminating the case. 

The commission demanded that all those persons who had been ordained 
or licensed without an examination on all the branches of learning and 
doctrine required in the Confession of Faith, should appear before them¬ 
selves, and submit to a full and regular examination. To this demand the 
presbytery declined to submit. 

The commission then passed a resolution that those who had been thus 
licensed or ordained without a full examination should be prohibited from 
the exercise of official functions, until such times as they should submit 
themselves to their jurisdiction. 

The members of presbytery continued to exercise their ministry, but not 
without making various efforts during a period of five years to obtain 
through the General Assembly a “redress of grievances.” Having failed 
in all these endeavours, the Rev. Messrs. Ewing, King, and McAdam, in 
1810, declared themselves independent, and constituted the Cumberland 
Presbytery, which was the germ of the present Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church. In their constitution the following statement is made as defining 
their position: 

“ We, Samuel McAdam, Finis Ewing, and Samuel King, regularly 
ordained ministers of the Presbyterian Church, against whom no charge 
either of immorality or heresy has ever been exhibited before any judica¬ 
ture of the church, having waited in vain more than four years, in the 
mean time petitioning the General Assembly for a redress of grievances, and 
a restoration of our violated rights, have and do hereby agree and deter¬ 
mine to constitute ourselves into a presbytery, known by the name of the 
Cumberland Presbytery, on the following conditions: 

“All candidates for the ministry, who may hereafter be licensed by this 
presbytery, and all the licentiates or probationers who may hereafter be 
ordained by this presbytery, shall be required, before such licensure ant 
ordination, to receive and accept the Confession of Faith and Discipline o 






























































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


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the Presbyterian Church, except the idea of fatality that seems to be taught 
jeder the mysterious doctrine of predestination. It is to be understood, 
however, that such as can clearly receive the Confession or Faith without 
an exception, will not be required to make any. Moreover, all licentiates, 
before they are set apart to the whole work of the ministry, or ordained, 
shall be required to undergo an examination in English Grammar, Geogra¬ 
phy, Astronomy, Natural and Moral Philosophy, and Church History. It 
will not be understood that examinations in Experimental Religion and 
Theology will be omitted. The presbytery may also require an examina¬ 
tion on any part, or all, of the above branches of knowledge before licen¬ 
sure, if they deem it expedient.” 

So rapid was their growth, that three years after, in 1813, they became 
three presbyteiies, and constituted a synod. At the sessions of the synod 
in 1828, three new synods were erected, and measures were taken for the 
organization of a general assembly. The first meeting of the General 
Assembly occurred at Princeton, Ky., in 1829. 

The doctrines of this church are a modification of the Westminster Con¬ 
fession. The chief point of difference is their rejecting the doctrine of elec¬ 
tion, as in their view tending to fatality. They are strictly Presbyterian in 
government and order. 

Soon after the colonization of Texas by Austin, there were Cumberland 
Presbyterian preaching stations and small churches planted there. They 
increased in size and numbers. In the process of time a presbytery w r as 
organized. Now a flourishing synod, composed of several presbyteries, 
exists. In it there is a religious periodical, well conducted, and promises 
to exert a considerable religious and moral influence. 

On the authority of the Assembly, which met in May, 1847, at Lebanon, 
Ohio, there were 17 synods, 68 presbyteries, 800 congregations, 650 minis¬ 
ters, 200 licentiates, 150 candidates for the ministry, and over 100,000 
communicants. The number of communicants in some estimates has been 
placed considerably higher than this. The lowest has here been stated. 
Reckoning four children, and other adherents, to each communicant, which 
it will be acknowledged is a very low estimate, there will be found 500,00C 
persons connected with this branch of the Redeemer’s kingdom. 

In 1871 it reports 100 presbyteries, 1,116 ministers, 195 licentiates, 222 
candidates, 43,411 communicants, 451 congregations. From 45 presby¬ 
teries there is no report of communicants. The whole number of com¬ 
municants, it is believed, is more than 80,000. 

































































MORAVIANS 


MORAVIANS. 

The Moravians or Unitas Fratrum are generally said to have arisen 
under Nicholas Lewis, Count of Zinzendorf, a German nobleman of the 
last century, and thus called because the first converts to the system 
were some Moravian families. 

From the society’s own account, however, they derive their origin 
from the Greek Church in the ninth century, when, by the instrumen¬ 
tality of Methodius and Cyrillus—two Greek monks—the kings of 
Bulgaria and Moravia were converted and, together with their subjects, 
united with the Greek Church. After many struggles between the 
Greek and Roman churches, however, the greater part of the brethren 
were compelled to submit to the See of Rome. A few, however, adher¬ 
ing to the rites of their mother church, united themselves, in 1170, to 
the Waldenses and sent missionaries into many countries. In 1547 
they threw off all reverence for human compilations of the faith, and 
professed simply to follow the doctrines and precepts of the Word of 
God, from which they were called Brethren of the Law of Christ. In 
1523 they opened a friendly correspondence with Luther, and afterwards 
with Calvin and other leaders of the Reformation. For this they were 
persecuted and their existence for a time threatened, but in 1575 the 
persecution ceased and the Brethren obtained an edict for the pub.ie 
exercise of their religion. 

In 1612 civil war broke out in Bohemia, and a violent persecution 
which followed it in 1621 dispersed the ministers and brought great 
distress to their cause. Many submitted to Rome; some fled to Eng¬ 
land, and others to Saxony and Brandenburg One colony of those 
who adhered to their principles removed, in 1722, to Upper Lusatia, 
where they put themselves under the protection of Nicholas Lewis, 
Count of Zinzendorf, and built a village upon his estate. In 1735 the 
Count was ordained one of their bishops, and in 1760 he died. The 
Church honors his memory, and regards him as the instrument by 
which God restored and built up its cause. Much has been said and 
written in regard to Count Zinzendorf calculated to throw doubts upon 
his sincerity and piety, but, upon the whole, if we look at the fruits of 
his life, it will be found that they all tended to encourage humble piety, 
Christian love, and a self-sacrificing devotion to the Master’s work. 
By their fruits ye shall know them. The Moravians in the Unit' d 
States have not increased to any great extent since the beginning of 
the present century. 

They live in distinct communities, and unite their interests very 
closely, but do not hold to a community of goods. In their separate 
communities they do not allow the permanent residence of any persons 
as householders, who are not members in full communion. Their dis¬ 
cipline allows no balls, dancing, or plays, and forbids all promiscuous 
assembling of the youth of both sexes. Public religious meetings are 
held every evening. On Sunday morning the Church Litany is read, 
ami sermons are delivered. The festival days, such as Easter and 
Christmas, are celebrated. Music holds a prominent place in their 





























































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


devotions. They partake of a “love feast” of coffee, tea, and light 
cakes, with instumental music and hymns, previously to celebrating 
the Lord’s Supper. Funerals are attended by bands of music, without 
any external badges of mourning. 

The ecclesiastical church officers are the bishops, through whom the 
regular succession of ordination, transmitted to the United Brethren 
through the ancient Church of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren, 
is preserved, and who alone are authorized to ordain ministers, but 
possess no authority in the government of the church, except such as 
they derive from some other office, being most frequently the presidents 
of some board of elders ; the presbyters, or ordained stated ministers of 
the communities, and the deacons. The degree of deacon is the first 
bestowed upon young ministers and missionaries, by which they are 
authorized to administer the sacraments. 

Females, although elders among their own sex, are never ordained ; 
nor have they a vote in the deliberations of the Board of Elders, which 
they attend for the sake of information only. 

The Moravians have been distinguished for their zeal in propagating 
Christianity among the heathen. The number of their converts among 
Pagans is about 40,000. They have no symbol of faith but the Bible; 
yet they adhere mostly to the Augsburg Confession. 

Count Zinzendorf came to America in 1741, and preached at German¬ 
town and Bethlehem. On February 11th, 1742, he ordained at Oly, Pa., 
the missionaries Rauch and Buetner; and Rauch baptized three Indiana 
from Shekomeco, east of the Hudson, “the firstlings of the Indians.” 
He soon, with his daughter Benigna, and several brethren and sisters, 
visited various tribes of Indians. 

The Moravians have separate communities at Bethlehem, Nazareth, 
and Litiz, in Pennsylvania, and at Salem, North Carolina. The first 
named of these is their largest establishment in America, and they 
have here an educational institution which enjoys a large patronage 
and an enviable reputation. The education of youth is regarded by the 
Brethren as worthy of the greatest attention, and, therefore, wherever 
their communities are located the most thorough and excellent schools 
will be found. At Litiz, Nazareth, and Salem, Moravian schools are 
located which, although not enjoying the extensive patronage of the 
Bethlehem institution, are deservedly popular and well sustained. The 
whole number of their congregations is twenty-six, embracing 5,680 
communicants. 


UNITARIANS. 

Unitarians are so called from their belief in the personal unity of 
God. They believe in only one supreme, self-existent God, the Father, 
who exists as one person, one being, infinite in His attributes, and the 
only proper object of the highest love and adoration. 

They regard Jesus Christ as a person distinct from God, and depend¬ 


ent on God, from whom He derived His being and power. They accept 
literally His saying: “ My Father is greater than I.” 






































































While agreeing in the doctrine of the subordination of Christ to God 
they differ very much in their views of the nature of Christ and of H is 
precise relation to God. Some regard Him as simply a man, distin¬ 
guished for His goodness and spiritual endowments, the son of Joseph 
and Mary; others, as the son of the Virgin Mary by supernatural gene¬ 
ration, especially enlightened, empowered, and sent into the world by 
God; others as the highest representative of humanity and of God; 
others, again, believe in His pre-existence, and super-angelic nature. 
This last theory was held by some of the early fathers of the third and 
fourth centuries, who had been initiated in the latter Platonic philoso¬ 
phy before they embraced Christianity, and who were familiar with, 
or who had accepted, the doctrine of the pre-existence of all souls. 
Many of the earlier Unitarians in this country were Arians, believing 
in the pre-existence of Christ, and a few still hold to this doctrine. 

Unitarians have never believed in the Holy Hpirit as a person, but 
regard it as an attribute or influence of God, or God Himself acting on 
the spiritual nature of man. 

But there are other doctrines and principles to which Unitarians, 
considered as a denomination or a class of Christian believers, attach 
great importance. They believe especially in the fatherhood of God, 
that His government is paternal, and that His mercy and love are 
never withheld from His children. As a consequence of this belief, 
while they maintain that there will be a sure and just retribution for 
sin, they believe that the punishment for sin which the soul suffers, 
both in this life and in the future life, is sent in lovo, not in wrath, is 
disciplinary in its nature, and is intended to purify the soul and bring 
it back to holiness and happiness. 

They reject the doctrines of native and total depravity, and deny 
that the human race has become corrupt and guilty in consequence 
of Adam’s fall. They hold that every child born into the world is 
born in a state of innocence. They admit that in the soul there are 
capacities for evil as well as good, and that in some children strongly 
developed tendencies to evil may be inherited, but these rather j^alliate 
than deepen the guilt of actual transgression. Then the doctrine of 
the dignity of human nature, and of the unlimited capacities of the 
soul for progress in truth and goodness, has been one of their deeply 
cherished tenets. 

They reject the doctrine of the vicarious atonement of Christ, and 
deny that he died to make it just and possible for God to pardon man, 
by satisfying the claims of the law, appeasing the divine wrath, or 
bearing Himself the punishment which the sinner otherwise would 
suffer. Their theory is that Christ saves men by His truth, by the in¬ 
fluence of His example and life, by generating in them His spirit of 
faith, of love, of obedience, and of self-sacrifice; by bringing them to 
repentance, and to new and holy living. 

A very brief sketch only can be given of the history of Unitarians. 
The Jews at the coming of Christ were believers in the strict unity of 
God, and no other doctrine was taught in the Old Testament. Unita¬ 
rians maintain that Christ, the apostles and the evangelists taught the 


555 

























































i 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


same doctrine, according to their interpretation of the New Testament. 
They believe that, as the Jews have ever been tenacious defenders of 
the unity of God, if Christ had taught a contrary doctrine a violent 
opposition would have been excittd, a record of which would have 
been preserved in the New Testament writings. In support of the 
position, that only Unitarianism was taught in the Christian Church 
before the date of John’s Gospel, which is supposed to have been written 
after the other Gospels and after the Epistles of Paul, in the year 68, 
they claim that the early Christian fathers knew of no doctrine of the 
deity of Christ in the Church before John wrote his Gospel. In ac¬ 
cordance with this admission, all who were converted to Christianity 
for nearly forty years by Christ and His apostles, were converted to 
Unitarian Christianity. 

Then they find historical evidence for believing that for the first two 
centuries the Jewish converts held to the doctrine of the simple hu¬ 
manity of Christ, and were not regarded as heretics, and that the 
common people, speaking both the Greek and Latin tongue, in large 
numbers, if not the majority, were Unitarians in their faith. 

But some of the Church fathers who have left records of their opin¬ 
ions, who lived in the first four centuries, had been instructed in the 
latter Platonic philosophy before they embraced Christianity, and all 
were more or less familiar with its principles. They were acquainted 
with the Platonic doctrine of the Logos, which by Philo was regarded 
as a real person; they were not strangers to the theory of the pre-ex¬ 
istence of human souls, and the heathen ideas of Gods of different 
grades were not foreign to their thought. They, therefore, easily 
applied their philosophy to Jesus Christ; regarded Him as the Logos, 
taught that He was created or begotten by God, in time, “the be¬ 
ginning of God’s ways to His works.” Arius taught that he was cre¬ 
ated out of nothing, not from the Logos or reason of God. But all 
these Arian-Nicene fathers, even the most orthodox, believed in Christ 
as a being distinct from God, deriving His existence from Him, and 
dependent on Him; and though they called Him God, yet to them He 
was a second or subordinate God, not the supreme God. This was 
essentially a Unitarian theory, yet it was the most orthodox theory of 
the early Church. The Nicene creed, adopted in the year 325, was an 
attempt to raise the dignity of Christ, yet it did not make Him equal 
with God, nor did it assert the personality of the Holy Spirit. During 
the fourth century the Arian and the Nicene doctrines of the nature of 
Christ struggled for the mastery, aud the doctrine of the trinity took 
shape, till at length it was made the doctrine of the Church, and oppo¬ 
sition to it was suppressed by force. 

Although Arianism afterwards became predominant for a time in 
the Western Empire, yet it finally yielded to the pressure of the 
Romish Church, which stifled all free expression of thought in its 
endeavor to enforce uniformity of faith. 

But in that awakening of free thought, and in the renewed study of 
the Scriptures, which accompanied and followed the Reformation, 
Unitarian opinions began to be adopted and expressed. Tiny were 





































































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avowed and defended by Cellarius, at one time an intimate friend of 
Luther and Melancthon. Several learned men in Germany and Swit¬ 
zerland embraced the same sentiments. In Italy two learned men, 
Faustus and Lelius Socinus, became Unitarians. They taught that the 
doctrine of the trinity was no more a doctrine of the Bible than that of 
transubstantiation. They gained many followers, of whom two were 
put to death for their faith, others were banished or imprisoned, and 
they themselves were obliged to flee the country. They finally took 
refuge in Poland, where Unitarianism had been planted by a Dutchman 
of the name of Spiritus, in 1546. Poland was the only country at that 
time where religious liberty was enjoyed, there being severe edicts in 
other countries, even where the Reformed religion prevailed, forbidding 
the denial of the trinity. Here Unitarians became very numerous, 
and their academy or university at Bacon at one time had more than 
one thousand students from different countries. 

But this prosperity excited the jealousy of both Catholics and Calvin- 
is tic Protestants. Decrees were passed depriving the Unitarians of the 
rights of citizens, and closing their churches, schools and printing 
offices. Their pastors and professors were banished, the profession of 
Unitarianism was forbidden on pain of death, and every Unitarian 
was obliged to quit the kingdom within three years. They fled, some 
to England, some to Transylvania, where a large and flourishing com¬ 
munity of Unitarians still exist, and others to Holland, where now a 
majority of the Protestants are Unitarians. 

At the same time Servetus, who had been an earnest advocate for the 
Unitarian faith for twenty years, was condemned to be burned alive 
through the influence of Calvin. 

In England there were severe laws against Unitarians. Joan Bacher 
was put to death by burning, Edward the Sixth signing her death 
warrant. Under Elizabeth a number of persons were burned alive for 
being Unitarian Anabaptists. In the reign of James two Englishmen 
and a Spaniard were burned for being Unitarians. These were the last 
executions in England for this cause, though an act of the Long Par¬ 
liament, in 1648, makes the denial of the doctrine of the trinity felony, 
punishable with death; and a Mr. Biddle, for his Unitarianism, was 
cast into prison, where he died in 1662. 

But legal prohibition did not prevent the growth of Unitarianism. 
Milton and Lock were Unitarians, and afterwards Sir Isaac Newton, 
Lardner, Dr. Samuel Clark, and many other men distinguished for 
their scholarship and learning. 

Since religious freedom has prevailed in the Protestant countries of 
Europe there has been great progress of Unitarianism. It prevails 
extensively in Holland, Germany, Switzerland and France, where it is 
embraced and openly professed by many pastors and congregations 
connected with the national Churches. 

In the United States, the Puritan settlers of New England were 
Calvinists in their theology, yet they were diligent students of the 
Scriptures, defenders of the rights of private judgment, and supporters 
of religious liberty as it was then understood. 

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DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES. 


The Pilgrim fathers, who settled at Plymouth, had resided for more 
than eleven years in Leyden, the seat of a famous university to which 
Arminius, Grotius, and other distinguished thinkers had belonged, and 
' without doubt shared in the more liberal sentiments which there found 
expression. The parting address of their pastor, Robinson, warning 
them not to be bound by the theology of Luther or Calvin, and exhorting 
them to receive whatever further truth God should reveal to them, he 
“ being very confident the Lord had more truth and light yet to break 
forth out of His IToly Word,” must have had a permanent influence on 
their minds. The seeds of Unitarian thought were thus early sown in 
the minds of the Pilgrim fathers, the covenants of their Churches were 
so indefinitely expressed that they allowed much liberty of interpreta¬ 
tion, and, although for more than a hundred years there was no open dis¬ 
sent from Calvinism, yet the parishes of the Old Colony were ready to 
sympathize with the Unitarian or liberal movement which showed 
itself about the middle of the eighteenth century. At the present 
time, of the twelve original parishes now extant, from Barnstable to 
Plymouth, situated nearest to Massachusetts Bay, including the first 
Churches founded by the Pilgrims, eleven are Unitarians. 

Unitarianism grew up in New England imperceptibly, not so much 
because the ministers preached its doctrines, as because they ceased to 
preach Calvinism. The early Unitarians were called Moderate Calvin¬ 
ists and Arminians. Edwards dates in 1734 the beginning “of the 
great noise in this part of the country about Arminianism.” President 
John Adams asserted that in 1750 Jonathan Mayhew and a number of 
other ministers, whose names he gave, were Unitarians. In 1756 Em- 
lyn’s Scripture account of Jesus Christ was re-published in Boston, and 
extensively read. During the latter part of the eighteenth century many 
became Unitarian in their theology. During the first fifteen years of 
the present century the drift of thought in most of the Congregational 
Churches in Boston, and in the Eastern part of Massachusetts, was 
towards Liberal Christianity, as Unitarianism was then called. In 
1805 a controversy arose of considerable violence between the Orthodox 
and Liberal Congregationalists, on the appointment of Dr. Ware to 
the Hollis Professorship, of Harvard College. 

But there was no open division in the churches, or final severing of 
fellowship and interchange of pulpits till 1815, when, after the re¬ 
publication in Boston of Belsham’s article on “ The progress and state 
of the Unitarian Churches in America,” party lines were more strictly 
drawn, the liberal churches were compelled to occupy the position of a 
sect, and the name of Unitarian was bestowed upon them, but by 
which many of the older parishes have never consented to be called. 

Another controversy, occasioned by a sermon preached by Dr. Chan- 
ning in Baltimore at the ordination of Mr. Sparks in 1819, arose, in 
which Professor Stuart and Dr. Woods, of Andover, and Dr. Miller, of 
Princeton, in behalf of the Orthodox, and Mr. Norton and Dr. Ware, 
of Cambridge, and Mr. Sparks, of Baltimore, on the side of the Unita¬ 
rians, took a prominent part. 


. 


Since that time the separation between the Orthodox and Unitarian 






































































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Churches has been complete; except that for the administration of cer¬ 
tain charities the ministers of the two denominations in Massachusetts 
meet annually in convention as Congregationalists. 

The religious societies classed as Unitarian in the Year Book of the 
denomination for 1871, were 336 in number. Of these 236 were in the 
New England States, 34 in the Middle States, 5 in the Southern States, 
53 in the Western and Pacific States, and 2 in Canada. 


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UNIVERSALISM, 

So far a3 has been ascertained, was first preached in this country by 
Dr. George DeBenneville, of Germantown, Pa., in 1741 In 1754-9, it 
was preached by Rev. Richard Clark, of the Episcopal Church, Charles¬ 
ton, S. C. In 1762, Dr. Jonathan Mayhew preached it in Boston; and 
prefacing his “Dialogues,” Rev. Elhanan Winchester speaks of a law¬ 
yer and of an Episcopal minister, each of whom, without knowledge of 
the other, had advocated it “ a few years before” 1773, in Virginia. The 
movement originating the Universalist Church was definitely fixed by 
the celebration of its Centenary in 1870. There is a question of priority 
between Adam Streeter, in New England, and John Murray, in New 
Jersey, as its pioneer. But the priority is usually conceded to the lat¬ 
ter, and the Church dates its history from his first sermon at Good 
Luck, N. J., September 30, 1770. Thomas Potter dwelt there. Hold¬ 
ing peculiar opinions, he had years before built a house of worship, 
saying that God would send him a preacher. The house was opened 
for any who wished it, but time passed and the expected one came not. 
At length, seeing a vessel in Cranberry Inlet, Potter was impressed 
that his preacher had arrived. Murray was the man. A Wliitfieldian 
Methodist in England, he had become a Universalist under Relly, and, 
bereaved and beset by various discouragements, had taken passage for 
this country, resolved to hide himself among strangers and never to 
speak in public again. Providentially, the craft in which he made the 
voyage was thrown into the Inlet, and on its becoming necessary to 
transfer a portion of her cargo to a sloop, he was put in charge, and by 
a change of wind was left behind. Going ashore for provisions, he 
was led to Potter’s door, to be told that he had been sent there to preach 
the next Sunday. He protested and refused, but was assured by Potter 
that he would not be able to leave until he had delivered his message. 
And so it proved. Murray preached, and thus began the career which 
made him one of the most distinguished religious pioneers of this 
continent. If Adam Streeter had not preceded him, he commenced at 
about the same time. Caleb Rich followed in 1775, knowing nothing 
of Murray, and Elhanan Winchester in 1781, also independent of Mur¬ 
ray. To them others slowly joined themselves—among the rest, in 
1791, Plosea Ballou. 

I. ORGANIZATION. 

At first, those who preached Universalism did so in widely sepa¬ 
rated districts, solely upon their individual responsibility, without per- 


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560 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


sonal acquaintance, or the slightest concert of action. But as ministers 
and congregations increased, the necessity for acquaintance and co¬ 
operation asserted itself, and attempts at organiz ition ensued. The 
first society was formed in Gloucester, Mass., January 1, 1779. Not far 
from 1780, the believers in Warwick, Mass., and Richmond and Jaf- 
frey, N. H., associated themselves as a society, establishing church dis¬ 
cipline, and ordaining Caleb Rich to be their minister. The General 
Convention—or rather the body which became the present General 
Convention—was formed in September, 1785. Since that time, and 
especially during the last thirty years, the elements have been grad¬ 
ually crystallizing, and through various plans and amendments, the 
Church has been developing towards an effective and harmonious eccle¬ 
siastical system. The problem has been to combine individual free¬ 
dom and congregational independence with denominational method 
and Church unity and authority. This problem, those interested think, 
was solved at the late Centenary session of the General Convention at 
Gloucester, where a plan, reported by a committee, was adopted by a 
virtually unanimous vote, providing that— 

“The ecclesiastical organization of the Universalist Church in the 
United States shall be constituted as follows : 

“1. The General Convention, having jurisdiction over all Universal¬ 
ist clergymen and denominational organizations. 

“2. State Conventions, exercising within State limits a similar juris¬ 
diction, subject to the General Convention. 

“3. Parishes, composed of persons associated for religious improve¬ 
ment and the support of public worship.” 

Some difference of opinion still exists as to the best method of organ¬ 
izing the primary bodies. Some prefer but one, the Church. Others 
prefer two—the parish, and within this the Church. This diversity of 
opinion will probably lead to a diversity of practice in this particular 
for some time to come. But the General Plan will doubtless be ratified, 
aud thus become, in substance, the permanent form under which the 
Church will henceforth work. 

II. DOCTRINE. 

Murray, Winchester and all the early Universalists were in substan¬ 
tial doctrinal accord with the existing churches of their time except as 
to the extent of salvation. But in 1795, Hosea Ballou began to preach 
the strict unity of God and the corresponding doctrine of the Atone¬ 
ment ; and under his lead the opinions of the entire body soon became 
modified accordingly. In 1893, the General Convention framed a 
Statement of Faith which has ever since stood as the basis of fellow¬ 
ship, known as the “ Winchester Confession,” because adopted at Win¬ 
chester, N. IT. It is as follows : 

“Art. I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the 
duty, interest and final destination of mankind. 

Ait. IT. We believe that there is one God, whose nature is Rove, 
revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who 



































































UNIVERSALISM. 


561 


will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and hap¬ 
piness. 

“Art. ITT. We believe that holiness and true happiness are insep¬ 
arably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain 
order and practice good works, for these things are good and profitable 
unto men.” 

This Statement is so general as to admit of numerous differences in a 
common loyalty to it; but agreeing in its substance, whatever their 
other differences, Universalists are a unit on these points, viz: the 
authenticity of the Bible; the absolute unity and universal Father¬ 
hood of God; the universal brotherhood of man; the sonship and de¬ 
pendence, but none the less the infallibility and Divine efficiency of 
Christ; the impersonality of the Holy Spirit, but its necessity and 
power as Comforter and Sanctifier; the unescapable certainty of Retri¬ 
bution ; the readiness of God to forgive sin; the reality of the Atone¬ 
ment as the process of man’s reconciliation to God through Christ; the 
necessity of faith, penitence and the new birth as the indispensable 
conditions of salvation; and the certain ultimate triumph of Christ in 
the victory of good over evil, as God shall be “ all in all.” 

Universalism is commonly supposed to be synonymous with the doc¬ 
trine of no future punishment. But such is not the fact. Until 1816-17, 
very little was heard of this doctrine among Universalists. About 1817, 
Mr. Ballou reached the conclusion “ that the Scriptures begin and end 
the history of sin in flesh and blood;” and for ten or fifteen years subse¬ 
quent to 1824, on account of his great personal influence, his theory 
that all punishment is confined to this life became the predominant 
sentiment of the denomination—resulting, in August, 1831, in the 
secession of eight ministers, headed by Revs. Adin Ballou, Paul Dean 
and Charles Hudson, for the organization of a new sect, under the 
name of “ Restorationists.” But Universalism never became identical 
with this theory of Mr. Ballou; nor has the Universalist Church, as 
such, ever been committed to it, or responsible for it. Even when most 
prevalent, many in the denomination, including some of the most 
esteemed and prominent of its leaders, never accepted the theory. They 
discountenanced it, and condemned the secession (which soon came to 
nought) fomented because of it, confident that time would bring its due 
reactions. Their anticipations have not been disappointed. Person¬ 
ally, Mr. Ballou is held in the highest honor as the patriarch of the 
Church, and his theory as to punishment still has its believers; but for 
the last thirty years the movement of opinion has been very decidedly 
away from it, and a considerable majority, both of ministers and peo¬ 
ple, now hold to the continuity of character, insisting that those who 
die in sin must take their character and its consequences with them, 
and that they are to be saved only because they will at some time com¬ 
ply with the conditions of salvation. 

It should also be said that no Church has set itself more persistently 
than the Universalist Church against all the influences of German 
Rationalism in this country. Claiming that its interpretation of 
Christianity is eminently rational, in the true sense of that word, it 
























































DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES. 


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has steadily maintained one position, viz: that there can be no Chris¬ 
tianity without the Christ of the Bible ; and that, while there must be 
the largest liberty of interpretation, no person can be recognized as a 
Universalist except upon a profession of faith in the genuineness and 
authority of the Scriptures and the supernatural mission and authority 
of Christ. This position—the definitely stated position of the Church 
from the outset, was first formally emphasized against “ Parkerism ” by 
the “ Boston Association,” in 1847, and, repeatedly reiterated since, is 
now understood to be the ground upon which, come what may, this 
Church is immovably fixed. 


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III. POSITION WITH RESPECT TO MORAL REFORM. 

So early as May 25, 1790, “ the representatives of sundry societies be¬ 
lieving in the salvation of all men,” convened in Philadelphia, bore 
testimony against offensive War and against Slavery, recommending 
u a total refraining from the African trade, and the adoption of prudent 
measures for the gradual abolition of the slavery of the negroes in our 
country, and for the education of their children;” and ever since, while 
it has not been without the usual differences of opinion among its indi¬ 
vidual members, the Universalist Church, as a Church, has been with 
those most advanced and emphatic in its utterances and labor against 
Slavery, Intemperance and Capital Punishment, and in favor of Peace, 
Prison Reform, Christian Legislation against the Liquor Traffic, and 
all efforts looking to the Relief of the Poor, the rescue of the Perish¬ 
ing and the Triumph of Justice and Purity in the world. Its record, 
also, during our fearful struggle with rebellion, was one of conspicuous 
loyalty and of patriotic and Christian fidelity. 

IV. STATISTICS. 

The Universalist Church has one General Convention ; 19 State Con¬ 
ventions ; 74 Associations; (probably about) 1,000 parishes, with an esti¬ 
mated membership of 30,000 families, and an estimated total attend¬ 
ance of 60,000; 625 ministers; 700 meeting houses, valued at $5,560,000, 
with an annual current expense of $600,000; 500 Sunday schools (re¬ 
ported at Gloucester as “ known to exist”), with 40,000 scholars, 5000 
teachers (estimated), and from 110,000 to 115,000 volumes in their 
libraries; 20,000 communicants (probably); three colleges (with two 
others in process of erection); seven academies; two theological schools, 
and one law school—these several educational institutions having a 
corps of 80 professors and teachers, assets of $2,000,000, and an aggre¬ 
gate of 2,000 pupils. Of periodicals, it has one quarterly; three monthly 
magazines, one of which is especially for ladies, and one for Sunday 
school teachers; six weekly journals, with an estimated aggregate cir¬ 
culation of 35,000; two children’s Sunday school papers, circulating 
(probably) 20,000. The year 1870 being the Centennial, Centenary Offer¬ 
ings were made to the amount of more than $1,000,000, in the payment 
of church debts, building and improvement of church edifices, &c., 
including something more than $100,000 towards the Murray Fund of 
$200,000, which is to be the special Memorial of the year. 

This sketch of the Universalist Church would not be complete with- 






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SWEDENBORGIANS. 


563 



out the remark that the fact most gratifying to its friends is its evident 
growth in spiritual sensibility and religious life. It was born of pro¬ 
test and argument, and its history hitherto has, of necessity, been one 
of struggle and warfare. As the demand for these ceases, attention is 
turned to the more interior and experimental conditions on which 
alone any church can have permanent increase and power; and learn¬ 
ing the lesson of systematic giving and doing for Christ’s sake, it is 
applying itself with increasing zeal to personal Christian culture and 
to effort to extend itself as a spiritual power. 

SWEDENBORGIANS. (NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH.) 

Those who compose this body of Christians are popularly called 
Swedenborgians from Emanuel Swedenborg. They hold to the doc¬ 
trines of the supreme divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the full inspi¬ 
ration of the Sacred Scriptures, and the necessity of a good life. 

To understand their system of religious belief, something ought to 
be known of Swedenborg. 

This remarkable man, the son of Jesper Swedberg, Bishop of Skara, 
in Sweden, was born in Stockholm, January 29th, 1688. His father 
was highly esteemed as a man of piety and learning, and held import¬ 
ant positions in the Church. His son early received a good education, 
and careful religious training, and exhibited, at a very early age, a 
strong inclination towards pious and holy meditations, which seemed 
to foreshadow his subsequent remarkable spiritual experiences. He 
w*as not, however, educated for the ministry, but graduated in his 
twenty-second year, as Doctor of Philosophy in the University of 
Upsalp,. He early manifested a strong taste for mathematics, and soon 
began to publish works on scientific subjects, after spending four years 
in travel in Europe, and becoming distinguished as a man of science. 
Charles XII appointed him Assessor of the Board of Mines, of Sweden, 
an office which was regarded as one of great importance, requiring an 
extensive knowledge of metallurgy and mechanics. 

From this time Swedenborg devoted himself to science, pursuing 
various studies and publishing valuable treatises on different subjects, 
which embraced Algebra, Mechanics, Metallurgy, Mining, Chemistry, 
Anatomy and Physiology. His largest work, entitled “ Opera Minera- 
lia et Philosophica,” was published at Leipsic and Dresden, 1733, in 
three volumes, folio. Two other works which have attracted the atten¬ 
tion of the learned are “The Animal Kingdom,” and “The Economy 
of the Animal Kingdom.” These works were written in Latin. The 
last two have been translated into English, and one volume of the first 
named. After receiving various marks of public favor, having with 
his family been ennobled by Queen Ulrica—the name being changed 
from Swedberg to Swedenborg—he resigned his office of Assessor in 
the year 1747. As a further mark of esteem, the Queen continued his 
salary during life. His retiring from public office was in order that he 
might devote himself to the study of spiritual and divine subjects. He 
declares that the Lord called him to a higher office, and that in the 

































































564 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


year 1745 his spiritual senses were opened so that he could see and hear 
things in the spiritual world and converse with angels. In justice to 
Swedenborg, it may here be stated, that it does not appear that he 
sought intercourse with the world of spirits, and he solemnly affirms 
that the privilege was granted to him that he might communicate to 
the world a knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Divine Word, and 
of the philosophy of the future state, in order that ignorance might be 
removed and infidelity overcome. 

In the year 1749 he published at his own expense, at London, in 
Latin, the first volume of the “Arcana Ccelestia,” or “Heavenly Mys¬ 
teries;” the whole work was completed in 1756, making eight 4to 
volumes. It is an explanation of the spiritual sense of Genesis and 
Exodus, with intervening chapters on various subjects relating to the 
future life. This was followed by several other works, published 
either at London or Amsterdam, of which the following are the titles 
and dates: “An Account of the Last Judgment and the Destruction of 
Babylon;” “Concerning Heaven and its Wonders, and concerning 
Hell;” “ On the White Horse mentioned in the Apocalypse;” “Earths 
in the Universe;” “On the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine.” 
All of the above were published during the year 1758, in London. In 
1763-4, he published the following at Amsterdam; “The Doctrine of 
the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord;” “The Sacred Scripture;” 
“Faith;” “Continuation respecting the Last Judgment;” “The Di¬ 
vine Love and Wisdom;” “The Divine Providence.” In 1766, at 
Amsterdam, “The Apocalypse Revealed” appeared. “The Apocalypse 
Explained” was published after his death from his MS. In 1768, 
“ Conjugal Love;” in 1769, “A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the 
New Church,” and “The Intercourse between the Soul and the B§dy;” 
and finally, in 1771, his last great work appeared, called, “The True 
Christian Religion, containing the Universal Theology of the New 
Church.” All of the above works have been translated into English 
and some of them into the German, French, Swedish and Italian lan¬ 
guages. Others were printed after his death from his MSS., which 
were deposited in the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, of which he 
was a member. 

Swedenborg never attempted to establish a Church or found a sect, 
and never preached. He printed his works at his own expense, with¬ 
out profit, and seemed to entertain no doubt of the ultimate reception 
of his doctrines by large numbers; although, he said, their reception 
would be very slow. He died in London, March 29th, 1772. He was 
never married. Before his decease, a few distinguished scholars and 
divines of Sweden, Denmark and England, received his doctrines, but 
it was not until some years afterwards that any considerable number of 
persons openly espoused them, or made efforts to propagate them. 

These doctrines may be summed up as follows: He maintains the 
absolute unity of God and the identity of Jehovah with Jesus. The 
Lord Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh, having a human 
nature like other men, but a Divine nature within, as the soul in the 
body. The human nature was assumed that the work of redemption 





















































SWEDENBORGIANS. 


5G5 


might be accomplished, which was done through temptations admitted 
into the human nature, and combats and victories over the powers 
of darkness, collectively called in the Scriptures, “Satan” and the 
“Devil.” He arose from the dead a glorious Divine Man, “God over 
all, blessed forever.” Swedenborg does not deny the trinity in a proper 
sense, but says there are not three persons but three essential princi¬ 
ples in one Divine Being, all centered in the person of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. These three he distinguishes as the Divine Love, or essential 
Divinity, called the Father; the Divine Wisdom or Word, or the 
Humanity, called the Son; and the Divine proceeding life or influence, 
called the Holy Ghost or Spirit. 

As to the Atonement, he teaches that it was not the sacrifice of one 
being to satisfy the wrath of another; but the reconciliation of man to 
God, through the power of the truth by which evil was overcome and 
a way opened for man to approach God, the humanity of Jesus being 
the medium or mediator through which the reconciliation was effected, 
according to the saying of the Apostle, “ God was in Christ reconciling 
the world unto Himself.” (2 Cor., v. 19.) 

As to the Sacred Scriptures, he teaches that £uch books of the Bible 
as contain a spiritual sense are the very Word of God, and, conse¬ 
quently, Divinely inspired and holy. These are the five books of Moses, 
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, the Psalms and the Prophets in the 
Old Testament, and the four Gospels and the Book of Revelation in 
the New. The others, he says, are good books of instruction for the 
Church, but are not inspired in such a sense as to form a part of the 
very Word of God. The spiritual sense lies concealed within the 
letter, as the soul in the body, the Word having been written by cor¬ 
respondences of natural things with spiritual. The science of corres¬ 
pondences was known to the ancients, hence arose the hieroglyphics of 
Egypt and the mythologies of Greece and Rome. To restore this long 
lost science and thus to reveal the hidden or spiritual meaning of the 
Word, is declared to be the main object of his mission. Indeed Swe¬ 
denborg says that by the second coming of the Lord is not meant a 
coming in person, but a coming in the spirit and power of His Word. 
This is what is meant by the “ Son of Man coming in the clouds of 
Heaven, with power and great glory;” (Matt, xxiv,) the “clouds of 
1 reaven ” denoting the literal sense, and “ power and great glory ” the 
spiritual sense of the Word. 

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a primary principle, but salvation 
depends not on a mere profession of belief, but upon a life of obedience 
to the commandments. The old dogma of Justification by Faith alone 
is rejected, and charity and good works are insisted upon as necessary. 

As to the Resurrection, Swedenborg teaches that when man dies, he 
puts off the material body never to resume it, and rises in a spiritual 
body He is then judged in an intermediate state, called the world of 
spirits, the judgment consisting in an unrolling of his book of life, in 
which all his secret motives are written. After this, his state is fixed 
either in heaven or hell, according to his life in the world. The last 
judgment, he says, has already taken place in the world of spirits, 














































5G6 


DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES. 


having consisted in a separation of the good from the evil, who were 
gathered there from the time of the Lord’s first coming. The date is 
fixed at 1757. When this judgment was effected a new order of things 
began to prevail in heaven and on earth. A new heaven and a new 
earth (that is, a new Church,) began to be established, and the New 
Jerusalem began to descend. The effects of this judgment, it is said 
by believers of these doctrines, may be seen in the vast changes that 
have taken place during the past century in the civil, social and relig¬ 
ious condition of the Christian world. For particulars respecting Swe¬ 
denborg’s philosophy of the future state, the reader is referred to his 
work on Heaven and Hell. It may be stated here that there is little 
sympathy between the members of the New Church and Modern 
Spiritualists, as Swedenborg teaches that seeking intercourse with 
spirits is attended with danger to a man’s soul. As to forms of worship 
he prescribes none, but teaches that Baptism and the Holy Supper are 
Divinely appointed ordinances. The members of this Church are 
baptized “ into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” 

At the time of Swedenborg’s death but few had received his doctrines, 
but believers gradually increased, a number of the clergy in Sweden 
and England openly or secretly teaching them. No attempt was made 
to form a separate organization until the year 1787, when Robert Hind- 
marsh and others formed a Society for worship in London. Soon 
afterwards twelve men were made ministers by the laying on of hands, 
the choice being made by lot. In 1789, the General Conference, com¬ 
posed of representatives from different places in Great Britain, first 
met and has continued ever since. The New Jerusalem Church in 
that country numbers between four and five thousand registered mem¬ 
bers, and fifty or sixty ministers and licensed preachers. They have 
established Sunday Schools and Day Schools, and have several institu¬ 
tions for missionary and publishing operations. 

The doctrines were introduced into this country by means of books 
brought by James Glen into Philadelphia, in the year 1784. The 
“True Christian Religion” was reprinted in that city in 1788. The 
first permanent Church was formed in the City of Baltimore in 1798, 
under the pastorship of the Rev. John Hargrove, formerly of the 
Methodists, who was re-ordained by the laying on of hands. Other 
Societies or Churches afterwards sprang up in Philadelphia, New York, 
Cincinnati and Boston. There are now about eighty-five ministers in 
the United States and Canada, and a membership of between six and 
seven thousand, with numerous believers scattered through other 
Churches; but the influence of Swedenborg’s teachings cannot be 
estimated by the number of avowed believers. They have a General 
Convention, meeting annually, and State Associations in some of the 
Eastern, Middle and Western States. They have a College at Urban a, 
Ohio, and a Theological School, at Waltham, Massachusetts. They 
publish a weekly newspaper in New York, called “ The New Jerusalem 
Messenger,” and several other periodicals. 

































































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


567 


THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES. 

From the discovery of the New World by Columbus, who was a 
member of its communion, and took possession in the name of the 
“ Church, the Queen and Sovereign of the world,” the Roman Catholic 
Church has been favored by the best opportunities, and has not neglected 
them. Its increase and rapid development has been owing chiefly to 
immigration of Catholics, the church not having been able to retain all 
the new comers even, for a large proportion of them stray away; and, 
to use the words of one of their own Archbishops, (Hughes,) “ are igno¬ 
rant, others careless, others in time become ashamed of their religion, 
and hundreds of thousands of the descendants of the Catholic immi¬ 
grants fall away from their religion after their arrival in the United 
States.” 

The additions by conversion have always been few, and in the clear 
light of a Protestant education are not likely to increase. 

Missionaries, priests, and Jesuits were at work in many of the early 
settlements, scattered along the Atlantic shore, from St. Augustine to 
Maine, and along the lakes in Canada, some few even reaching the 
Mississippi and the Gulf. Their impression on the Indians was in 
almost all cases but momentary, scarcely turning them even for a time 
from their ancient Pagan rites, except in a very few cases, as in that of 
the Hurons and St. Regis tribes, which have persevered in the faith to 
the present time, although there are a very few of them left. 

The convent of St. Helena, in St. Augustine, Florida, was for a long 
time a centre of their efforts, which were extended in every direction 
by Spanish, French, Irish, and English priests and monks, some of 
whom have left their names to cities or rivers, as Marquette, on Lake 
Superior. 

The first important movement was the settlement of Maryland, in 
1634, which was the result of the designs of Sir George Calvert, a mem¬ 
ber of the privy council of James I, who, on becoming a convert to 
Romanism, resigned his place, and accepted as a favor from the kiug 
the title of Lord Baltimore, a peer of Ireland, with a grant of land in 
New Foundland. On being subjected to a test oath of the supremacy 
of the king in civil and religious matters, he left the colony, and was 
afterwards granted a charter in Virginia, subject only to the yearly 
homage of two Indian arrows, and one-fifth of the gold and silver from 
the mines. 

The second son of Lord Baltimore, Leonard Calvert, carried out the 
objects of the enterprise, and landed with 200 English Catholic families, 
from two ships, the Ark and the Dove, on March 25, 1634. 

The first priest of the colony was Father White, a Jesuit, who was 
educated at Doway, France. 

About this time the Acadians were driven from Nova Scotia by the 
English, some of whom found homes in Maryland, and added to the 
numbers of the communion, building a church near Baltimore, under 
the pastorate of Leelerc. 





















































568 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


The union of all ranks of men in the colonies against England in the 
Revolution, gave the Romanists increased liberties by laying aside 
many restrictions which the prudence of the rulers had thought neces¬ 
sary to guard against the encroachments of popery. In 1776 there were 
twenty priests in Maryland, and probably a hundred in the whole 
country, scarcely any one of whom has left his name attached to any 
share of fame, except the first bishop of the Roman Church in this 
country, John Carroll, who was also the first Archbishop. 

He was a native of Maryland, but was educated partly at home, and 
finally at St. Omers, France, where he was ordained in 1759. After an 
extensive tour in Europe, he returned to his home, and entered with 
zeal into the cause of the Revolution, and was appointed on the mission 
to Canada with Franklin, Charles Carroll, and Chase. 

On the conclusion of peace, and the establishment of religious tolera¬ 
tion in the United States, Rome saw its opportunity and hastened to 
profit by it. The first move was to appoint a Superior of the Romish 
clergy in America, to which office John Carroll was called, with many 
of the powers of a bishop, in 1784; and in 1789 he was advanced to the 
full dignity of bishop, and the See of Baltimore, the first in the United 
States, was founded. 

His first efforts as a bishop were directed towards the building up of 
schools and monastic institutions. 

How well he succeeded and to what an extent the system is carried 
out in the present day may be seen by a glance at the table near the 
close of this article, where the number of schools, convents, &c., will 
be seen to be very great, considering that they are in the midst of a 
people whose early education and prejudices are opposed to the dark 
seclusion of the monastic cell and habit. The first convent in the 
country was of the Ursulines at Port Tobacco, in 1790. 

These orders now include in the United States nearly every one 
known to the church in the old world, which have been invited across 
the ocean from time to time, to assist in spreading among the people 
the peculiar ideas of Romanism. A very few American born boys and 
girls have entered these institutions, their numbers being recruited by 
immigration, or from the children of Roman Catholics, and orphans. 

Several of these religious orders have been imported, tried for a while, 
and finally abandoned, as not adapted for our society. 

Among them is one, the Sisters of Charity, which recommends itself 
by its services to the sick and poor, an order which was founded in 
the United States by an American woman, Mrs. Seton, wife of a Scotch 
Episcopalian of New York, and a convert to Romanism in 1805. The 
first building occupied by them was at Emmetsburg. 

Early attention was given to the foundation of colleges in which 
Romanists could feel secure that their youth might “imbibe principles 
of faith and morality along with human knowledge.They have now 
several colleges and a large number of schools under their exclusive 
control, where, among others, young men are trained up for the 
priesthood. 

Books, newspapers, and other publications were also added to their 

























































HOMAN CATHOLIC CHTJRCII. 


569 


machinery for reaching the public; and every effort has been made to 
supply the demand of their congregations, especially the young, with 
books entirely of their own make, w r hich should carefully exclude all 
references to any other faith, or practice, or church, but the Church of 
Rome. Cummiskey in Philadelphia, and Doyle in New York, were 
the leaders in Catholic publications, in 1823, followed by Lucas in Balti¬ 
more, in 1830, and Saddlier of New York. 

The right of electing bishops in “ America as in Ireland,” was granted 
by the Propaganda at Rome in 1833, since which time there have been 
bishops appointed and distributed throughout the country in sixty-three 
dioceses, which are included in seven provinces, each governed by an 
archbishop (details of which are given at the end of this article.) 

The machinery of the Church of Rome is now extended like a vast 
net-work all over the Union, thoroughly organized for its peculiar pur¬ 
poses, and in active and vigorous operation, as a glance at the table in 
this article will show. Their constant efforts to exclude the Bible from 
the public schools, and to secure the use of their share of school money 
apart from the public schools, shows their intention to control and 
depress all educational enterprise which does not' directly feed their 
church, in this country as they have in others, where they have had 
the power to carry out these designs against human intelligence. This 
disposition in favor of the church is also seen in their persistent use of 
a dead language in the church services, only a very small part of which 
is permitted to be said in English. The mass is and must be always 
said in Latin. 

In the year 1846 the idea of religious liberty was at its greatest height 
in this country, and all parties sought to win the Catholic vote by con¬ 
cessions and laudations, such as permitting the appointment of two 
Romish priests to be chaplains in the army in Mexico ; the enthusiastic 
public meetings in honor of Pope Pius IX; the vote of several cities of 
gratulatory addresses on his election to the chair of St. Peter; the invi¬ 
tation to the Archbishop of New York to preach in the halls of Con¬ 
gress ; and in the President and Cabinent walking in the funeral pro¬ 
cession of the Archbishop of Baltimore. 

In 1853 the Archbishop of Baltimore was specially invested with the 
functions of an Apostolical Legate, and held the First National Council 
of the Roman Church in the United States. 

While the Pope was in exile in the city of Gaeta (1848), the Roman 
Archbishop Eccleston, of Baltimore, invited the Pope to visit the 
United States, and there was a tribute raised and sent him of about 
twenty-six thousand dollars. The invitation was not accepted. 

In answer to some inquiries from England, William Penn reported 
that there were a few Romanists and an old priest in the new colony; 
and in 1686 there was reported a chapel on the north-west corner of 
Front and Walnut Streets, where “mass was publicly celebrated.” 
There was another in 1736, on the corner of Chestnut and Second 
Streets, and a third on the Frankford Road, where services were held 
under the law which restricted the Romanists to private residences. 

The first active worker in the cause in Philadelphia was a Jesuit, 
Josiah Greaton, who, having been assigned to the mission by the Bishop 




























































V70 DENOMINATIONS IN TITE UNITED STATES. 


of Baltimore, entered the city in the disguise of a Quaker, and found a 
ready assistant in a wealthy widow, who aided him to build a Romish 
chapel on Fourth Street, in 1730, which was really the authorized 
foundation of the church in that diocese. No time was lost in spreading 
their works into the neighboring towns, and a few years after there 
were missions in nearly a dozen different localities. 

The first administration of the sacrament of confirmation in the 
Catholic Church in this country was by John Carroll (then Superior, 
and afterwards Archbishop,) in 1784. About that time the prejudice 
against the Romanists was declining somewhat, on account of the 
presence and friendly aid of Frenchmen of that communion; which 
favorable impression was increased during and just after the Revolu¬ 
tionary war, because of the services of such eminent Catholics as 
Lafayette and Commodore Barry, together with their soldiers and 
sailors. This feeling appears in a report of a speech of Washington 
when first President. 

There were then about 7,000 communicants in the diocese of Phila¬ 
delphia. 

The administration of the church has not always continued without 
difficulty, for in the matter of the bishop and the church trustees, and 
the ownership of church property by the trustees instead of by the 
bishop as Rome claims, Bishop Conwell contended with a priest named 
Hogan, until the troubles culminated in bloodshed, in 1822. Hogan 
afterwards left the Catholics and published several books against Popery, 
Nunneries, and Auricular Confession, which were widely circulated. 

In 1833-4, the anti-Catholic movement stirred up the people all 
through the Union against nunneries and convents, some of which 
were destroyed, while many volumes were published, exposing the 
peculiar system and working of the Romanists. 

Pittsburg was set apart into a separate see in 1843, the first bishop 
being Michael O’Connor. 

Lord De la Ware, Governor of Virginia, was honored by having his 
name given to the river and the State of Delaware. The State was 
settled in 1638, by the Swedes, and afterwards passed into the hands of 
the Dutch in 1655, and of the English in 1664, and finally formed into 
a separate colony in 1703. 

Each of these nationalties left its impress on the people, and there 
are still in the State churches which keep up a connection with their 
origin in Europe; the Swedes with Stockholm, the Dutch with the 
classis in Holland, and the Episcopal with the Anglican Church. 

The Catechism of Luther was translated into the dialect of the 
Indians who lived along the Delaware, by Campanius, in 1690, and cir¬ 
culated free by the King of Sweden. 

The first efforts there were about the year 1798, and were the work of 
the various religious orders, whose success was not very promising. 

The first edition in the United States of the Doway Bible was pub¬ 
lished in Philadelphia in 1790 by Carey. 

The Romanists have been represented from the earliest times in New 
York and Canada, but in the beginning, and for a long series of years, 
their numbers were very few, and their work not successful. Their 





















































ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 


571 


missions among the Indians on the shore of the Onondaga Lake date 
from 1654, when the Jesuit Le Moyne built a bark hut only a few rods 
from the famous salt springs, which it is claimed that he reported, but 
which he certainly never made any use of. They have since been 
developed into a vast industry producing millions yearly. Their mis¬ 
sion among the Indians was abandoned after a few years, and has been 
revived by the Protestants with almost complete success, as may be 
witnessed on any Sunday at the little chapel near the chief’s residence 
on the reservation, a few miles south of Syracuse, N. Y. 

In 1683 Colonel Thomas Dongan,was appointed by the King of Eng¬ 
land Governor of New York, when an impetus was given to the immi¬ 
gration of Catholics, but it appears that not many remained in New 
York, for in 1696 there were reported for the census only seven families. 

The first bishop of the Romish Church in New York was Luke 
Concanen, a Dominican monk, who was consecrated at Rome, in 1808, 
by Cardinal Antonelli, but who never visited his diocese, being cut off 
by death on the way. He had set on foot the monastic order of 
Dominic in Kentucky, which movement was carried out by others, 
aided by his contributions. 

The corner-stone of St. Patrick’s Cathedral was laid June 8, 1809, by 
Anthony Kohl man, who was Vicar General in the absence of Bishop 
Concanen, and it was opened for worship by Bishop Cheverus, of Boston, 
in 1815. The affairs were managed by trustees, a system that seriously 
galled the bishops, who wished to carry out the Romish system of 
having absolute control of all church property and church affairs, 
denying any rights or privileges (except prompt payment) to the people. 

Bishop Hughes, in 1838, almost completely established the claims of 
Rome to the control of church property in America. 

The question of revealing the secrets of the confessional in evidence 
before the courts, for purposes of justice, was decided, after much agita¬ 
tion, in favor of the church, and a law was passed defining the matter, 
enacting that “ no minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination 
whatsoever, shall be allowed to disclose any confessions made to him in 
his professional character.” 

This law applies only to the State of New York, but has been practi¬ 
cally adopted in Virginia in a case in point before the courts. 

The first priest who was allowed to officiate publicly in New York 
city w r as Father Ferdinand Farmer (alias Steenmayer,) who came from 
Philadelphia for that purpose occasionally ; some of whose services 
were held over a carpenter’s shop near Barclay Street, and in the parlors 
of the Spanish consulate and the Spanish ambassador, in 1785. The 
city was then the capital of the United States. 

The first building erected as a Romish church in New York was in 
Vauxhall Garden, near the North River, between Warren and Cham¬ 
bers Streets. St. Peters’ was built in 1785 on land bought from Trinity 
Church (Episcopal,) corner of Barclay and Church Streets. 

A summary of the Catholic Church in the United States will give 
some idea of the extent and number of its active membership, and 
their division of labor in training the youth of the country to familiarity 
with its faith and practices. 































































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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATE3. 


7 


There are seven Provinces: 

1. Baltimore, which extends over the States of Delaware, East Florida, 
Georgia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
and the District of Columbia. 

2. Cincinnati, including Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. 

3. New Orleans, comprising Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missis¬ 
sippi, and Texas. 

4. New York, embracing New England, New York, and New Jersey. 

5. Oregon, extending over Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. 

6. St. Louis, including Arizona, Colorado, Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, 
Indian Territory, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ten¬ 
nessee, and Wisconsin. 

7. San Francisco, comprising California, Nevada, and all the territory 
east to the Colorado River. 

In these seven provinces there are sixty-two dioceses. 


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V9 




7 Provinces. 

Baltimore. 

Cincinnati. 

New Orleans. 

New York. 

Oregon. 

| 

St. Louis. 

San Francisco. 

Totals. 

Churches. 

504 

780 

217 

927 

49 

292 

84 

2,853 

Now building. 

* 

27 

9 

71 

* 

18 

* 

125 

Chapels. 

284 

105 

24 

150 

56 

284 

185 

1,088 

Stations. 

* 

158 

25 

141 

* 

24 

70 

600 

Priests. 

476 

771 

311 

1,112 

51 

1,223 

138 

4,082 

Theo. Students. 

295 

104 

421 

225 

* 

165 

8 

918 

Academies 1 

53 

1 

34 

23 

4 

13 

* 

128 

( Orll’lS. 

* 

35 

20 

37 

5 

61 

* 

158 

Convents. 

13 

50 

22 

45 

2 

50 

9 

189 

Parochial Schools. 

158 

284 

17 

251 

1 

216 

2 

959 

Select “ 

* 

118 

15 

80 

7 

6 

3 

229 

Colleges. 

* 

5 

4 

9 

* 

6 

2 

26 

Hospitals. 

10 

10 

16 

25 

* 

21 

1 

83 

Orphan Asylums. 

11 

21 

2 

30 

1 

11 

8 

84 

Charitable Inst. 

* 

16 

15 

37 

4 

18 

* 

90 


V 




For the places in the columns marked with a star there were no 
reports, and it may be that the matter is included under some other 
item, as select schools may have been returned as parochial schools. 

There are also several minor religious orders not mentioned in the 
table, both for men and for women, whose work is directed to the 
same end. 

In Canada there are 959 churches, 437 chapels and missions, 1,507 
priests, 25 colleges, 184 convents, 11 nunneries, 15 hospitals, and 35 
orphan asylums in the Catholic Church organization and control. 

Several monasteries are not included in this summary in Canada. 

Recent events in Rome, since the closing of the so-called Oecumenical 
Council, have borne testimony to the very low estimation in which the 
papacy is now held in Italy, and in all Europe. The proposition has 
been made by Bismark to establish the Catholic Church in Germany 
by law, independent of Rome, with the Kaiser at its head. If this is 
carried out it will be a serious blow to Catholicism in Europe. 

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THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 


573 


THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 

In the time of Queen Elizabeth of England, about 1647, the Reformers 
whom Queen Mary had driven out of the country returned to find 
Archbishop Laud striving to introduce the peculiar forms and tenets of 
the Church of Rome into the Church of England, and the Scotch 
Presbyterians growing powerful, and all parties mistaking the nature 
of Christianity, when a large number, grieved at this corrupt condition 
of things spiritual, sought to remedy the evil in a quiet and prayerful 
manner. 

They did not originally design to form a sect, or establish a new reli¬ 
gion, or even lay claim to having discovered a new truth, but they did 
propose a revival of primitive Christianity. 

George Fox is the first eminent name among them, who having been 
summoned before a magistrate at Derby, bade him “ to quake at the 
word of the Lord,” when the name Quakers was at once given them in 
ridicule. Some also called them Seekers. 

They sent out preachers all over England and the Continent, who 
met with great success. 

In Cromwell's time they were persecuted, and with greater severities, 
in systematic, legalized efforts in the reign of Charles II. Four thou¬ 
sand two hundred of them were in prison at one time in England. So 
attached were they to each other in the faith, that many sound persons 
offered to take the places in prison of those that were feeble from con¬ 
finement. 

They profess a belief in the only wise, omnipotent, and everlasting 
God, the Father, the Creator of all things in heaven and earth, and 
Preserver of all that he hath made; who is God over all blessed forever. 

And in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord; conceived by the Holy 
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; in whom is redemption for man, and 
the forgiveness of sins. 

And in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. (John i, 9; 1 Cor. xii, 7; Titus 
ii, 11-14.) 

Jesus is alone man's Redeemer and Saviour; a perfect example and 
pattern to all his followers; and none can be saved without repentance 
towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus the Christ. Pie also ascended 
upon high, and sitteth on the right hand of God, and ever liveth to 
make intercession for us. (John iii, 16; Acts iv, 12; 1 Tim. iv, 5; 1 John 
iv, 10.) 

They believe in the Divine inspiration and authority of the Old and 
the New Testaments, and that they are “ able to make wise unto salva¬ 
tion, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.'' (2 Tim. iii, 16, 17; 2 
Peter i, 21.) 

The public worship of Almighty God is an inestimable privilege, as 
well as a bounden duty; and they therefore meet publicly “ on the first 
day of the week,'' and on some other day of the week. Their meetings 
are not conducted after certain forms of singing, prayer, or preaching, 
for the business of these meetings is the Lord's, who declared, “ where 
37 




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DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst 
of them.” (Ps. xxv, 5; xxvii, 14; xlvi, 10; lxii, 5; cxxiii, 2; Is. xxv, 
9; John xxiii, 23, 24; vi, 63; Rom. viii, 26; 1 John ii, 27.) 

None will speak without feeling a direct call of the Holy Spirit for 
the service, the Gospel ministry being regarded as peculiarly precious. 

Prudent persons, gifted with a discerning spirit, are appointed as 
elders, whose duty it is to counsel, foster, and aid the ministers, and to 
encourage or restrain the vocal offerings according as they believe they 
see evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit in the speakers. 

They consider that the payment of money to ministers is contrary to 
the example of Christ’s apostles. (Mat. x, 8; Acts xx, 33-35; 1 Peter 
iv, 10, 11; v, 2, 3.) 

Friends do not baptize with water, but believe in the “ One Baptism 
of the Spirit,” as the only one that can save the soul. 

The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is not to be had by eating bread 
and drinking wine, or any outward performance, but is to be enjoyed 
in a spiritual sense, and that a man must eat and drink the flesh and 
blood of the Son of Man spiritually, if he hope for eternal life. They 
teach that the eating of the passover supper by Jesus and his disciples 
was the fulfilment of a Jewish ordinance, and that it is no longer 
binding. 

They hold the same opinion of “washing the disciples’ feet.” Both 
of these are to be observed spiritually, and not outwardly. (John vi, 
32-35, 51-56, 63.) 

Theologic training after a system could not be permitted, but educa¬ 
tion of all, rich and poor, is a duty. The Holy Spirit selects his own 
ministers, and instructs them what to say. 

They favor and assist in the distribution of the Bible, their efforts in 
this matter dating before the formation of any Bible Society. 

The duty of prayer, vocal and silent, is regarded as of the highest 
importance, as a part of worship; counselling to omit vain words and 
repetitions, and avoid the use of any set form. 

Friends object to the use of oaths, even in a court of law, they making 
an affirmation instead, holding that Jesus and the apostles positively 
forbade them. (Mat. v, 33-37; James v, 12.) 

War is believed to be utterly opposed to the Gospel, and unlawful to 
the Christian, holding that “no weapons of defence will be found so 
effectual in promoting the good of all mankind as the exercise of 
Christian meekness, kindness, and forbearance in the suffering of 
injuries, the absence of revenge, the return of good for evil, and the 
ever operating love of God and man.” (Mat. v, 43, 44; vii, 12; Luke 
x, 27; Romans xii, 19-21; James i, 20; 1 John iv, 21.) 

Their plain speech, using “thee” and “ thou,” instead of “you,” is 
believed to be according to Scripture, wherein it is enjoined by the pre¬ 
cept and example of our Lord Jesus and his apostles. They do not 
prescribe a form of speech or of dress as a condition of membership, 
but they do require of their members the practice of simplicity and 
truthfulness, becoming the Christian, and to avoid flattery, exaggera¬ 
tion, and untruthfulness, vain compliments and superfluous or gay 


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THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 


apparel. (Mat. xxiii, 8; Rom. xii, 9; Eph. y, 9; Phil, iv, 5; 1 Peter 

iii, 3, 4.) 

They do not apply to the months and days the names given in honor 
of the Pagan gods, preferring the numbering as used in the Scriptures. 

They have always relieved their own poor, in a quiet way, so that 
none of their members come upon the public for support or education. 

Friends also believe in the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead, 
and of eternal judgment, (Heb. vi, ii,) and that the soul of man was 
created immortal, and never dies. (On the Resurrection, see Mat. xiii, 
43; xxii, 30, 31; Mark, xii, 25; Luke xx, 36; John v, 29; 1 Cor. xv, 19, 
&c.; Phil, iii, 21; Colos. iii, 4; 1 John iii, 2; 1 Thes. iv, 16; Rev. xx f 
12-15: on the Judgment, see Mat. xiii, 39-42; x, 15; xi, 24; Mark viii, 
38; Luke ix, 26; Acts xvii, 31: on Immortality, see Gen. i, 27; ii, 7; 
1 Kings xvii, 21; Mat. xvi, 26; Mark viii, 36, 37; Eccles. iii, 21; xii, 7; 
Luke xvi, 22, 23 ; 2 Cor. v, 1, 2.) 

The duty of private admonition rests on all true believers, as occasion 
may require, yet it is also a special duty of the most experienced mem¬ 
bers of the church. The first church was taught to submit to the 
government of Christ, and to exercise a mutual care among themselves, 
and it was also supplied with elders, who watched for their souls, as 
they that must give an account. (Heb. xiii, 17.) It was the Chief 
Shepherd himself who called these elders or overseers to their office. 
(1 Peter v, 1-3.) They believe also that God has appointed in the church 
in all ages, apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors. (Eph. 

iv, 11; 1 Cor. xii, 11.) 

On all subjects connected with the interests of religion, and the wel¬ 
fare and good order of the members, the ultimate authority rested with 
the community of believers. 

They find many records of such meetings in the history of the early 
church, when even the apostles acted with the body as simple members. 
When a new apostle was to be appointed in the place of Judas, the 
whole company of believers united in the election of Matthias. (Acts 
i, 15-26.) Deacons were set apart by all the brethren. (Acts vi, 3.) 
Stewards were appointed in the same manner. (2 Cor. viii, 19.) 

When an unfaithful professor is to be separated from the church the 
whole membership are charged with the duty of deciding. (1 Cor. vi, 
3-5.) By an act of the same body a penitent offender was restored. (2 
Cor. ii, 6, 7.) 

Women had their part of the duties; especially in the instruction of 
the younger sisters, “to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their 
children; to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, obedient to their own 
husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” (Titus ii, 4, 5.) 

Select conferences may be held by the elders and overseers, and other 
gifted members of the church, on subjects concerning themselves or 
the body at large, but without authority as against the church itself. 
The act of the church in binding or loosening will be confirmed in 
heaven by Christ according to the merits of each case. 

Discipline was maintained on certain principles: 1. That Christ is 
the Supreme and only Head of his Church; 2. That Christians are to 


A 










































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


minister to the temporal and spiritual needs of each other, in privacy 
and love; 3. Elders and overseers are to be guardians of the flock, dis¬ 
tinct from those who preach; 4. No one (or class) is to make himself 
iji lord over God’s heritage, which power belongs to the people in their 
collective capacity; 5. The Holy Spirit has immediate control of all 
affairs in the church, from the time that the church was established by 
a most extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Ghost. 

The form of the church government was settled as early as 1666, under 
the lead of George Fox, who advocated the setting up of women’s meet¬ 
ings, which very soon were held as regularly as those of the brethren. 

The chief authority is in the yearly meeting of the body at large, by 
their representatives, men and women meeting separately. 

Minor matters are arranged at the monthly meetings, such as the 
care of the poor, visiting of the afflicted, and in prison, marriage and 
burials, births and deaths, education, and the settlement of legal 
matters (appeals to courts not being allowed.) 

Certain inquiries respecting the moral and religious state of each 
body (church or meeting), are circulated periodically, and returned for 
the information of the Quarterly Meetings. These inquiries concern 
the observance of worship, discipline, and decorum; growth in the 
truth; differences, and the care to heal them ; talebearing ; training of 
children in the church, speech, and dress; reading of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures ; dealings; amusements; public houses and intemperance; against 
paying tithes, priests’ demands, and church-rates; war, including the 
dealing in prize-goods; poor; education of the poor; discipline; new 
members; marriage; overseers; private accounts; duties to the govern¬ 
ment; registration of births, marriages, and deaths; titles; legacies; 
to which are added such advice and counsel as may seem fit at the time. 

In case of a breach of discipline, (for a crime or other wrong doing,) 
the first duty is private admonition , (Eccles. xix, 13, 15); the next is 
the duty of the official overseers to inquire into the matter, (1 Peter v, 
5); and the object in both these acts is to restore the erring, not drive 
away, (2 Tim. ii, 21-26); the third step is to inform the meeting, when 
a temporary separation is to be decreed, and efforts to reclaim put forth. 

The Society grew rapidly into favor in America under William Penn, 
who founded Pennsylvania in 1680, and who was a minister in their 
church. 

George Fox, traveling here in 1672, found meetings of Friends in 
North Carolina (Perquimans County,) where the membership still 
numbers over three thousand. 

In New England the Quakers were cruelly persecuted, three men 
and a woman having been hanged on Boston Common; the jail, the 
whip, and other means of persecution were only given up on a royal 
mandamus. 

In 1827 a schism occurred, on doctrinal and personal matters, and 
there are now two distinct societies, each claiming the right to the 
same name, Friends. Six out of ten Yearly Meetings (in Europe and 
America,) joined the new party, which bore the title of “Hicksite,” 
from Elias Hicks, a leader, though they rejected the name. 












































































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There are twelve Yearly Meetings now held, the oldest of which is 
that of London, dating from 1672; from which is issued an annual 
address, as from the Mother of the Yearly Meetings, and this is repub¬ 
lished by all the others. The members in England number about 
14,000, with an additional attendance of non-members of nearly 4,000. 

The Society of Friends have members in France, Germany, Norway, 
and Australasia, all reporting annually to London. There is a Yearly 
Meeting in Ireland. 

In America there is one Yearly Meeting in Canada, and nine in the 
United States, which are known as the Yearly Meeting of New Eng¬ 
land, of New York, of Philadelphia, of Baltimore, of North Carolina, 
of Ohio, of Indiana, of Western Indiana, and of Iowa. There are also 
settlements in Kansas and Missouri. The total membership is reckoned 
at 80,000. 

There are First Bay Scriptural Schools in many of the meetings, 
well managed, exerting a wide evangelical influence. 

There are several colleges under the control of Friends: Haverford 
College, Pennsylvania; Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana; Whit¬ 
tier College, Salem, Iowa; besides many large boarding schools, the 
most noted of which are at West Town, Pa., Providence, R. I., Union 
Springs, N. Y., and New Garden, N. C. 

SHAKEBS. 

The term Shaker is given in mockery and reproach to “ The United 
Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.” Their original 
locality is at Mount Lebanon, near Lebanon Springs, New York, where 
they follow very closely the rules of the ancient Essenes, tilling the 
soil, and living in celibacy. 

Their origin was in a protest against the Apostolic Church in Eng¬ 
land as having gone out of the true way, and a belief that this sect was 
especially raised up to restore the true faith and practice. James 
Wardley, a tailor, and his wife Jane, Quakers, of Bolton-on-the-Moors, 
England, joined some French Quakers in this movement in 1747. In 
1757 Ann Lee (a blacksmith’s daughter,) joined the society by confessing 
her sins to Jane Wardley, and at once began a series of surprising 
assumptions. The first was that she was the “ elect lady ” mentioned 
in Rev. x, 11, the Bride of the Lamb, and claimed that her proper name 
was “ I am Ann, the Word,” which meant that she was the mother of 
all the elect or saints, and equal to Jesus the Christ, head of all women 
as he was head of all men. In her it is claimed that the second coming 
of Christ was realized. She lived apart from her husband from that 
time, but he took another wife. 

Their creed is based on three grand ideas: The kingdom of heaven 
has come; Christ has actually appeared on earth the second time; the 
personal rule of God has been restored. 

Therefore the old law is abolished, and the command to multiply; 
Adam’s sin has been atoned; the intercourse of heaven and earth has 
been restored; the curse is taken away from labor; the earth, and all 





































































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 


that is on it, will be redeemed; angels and spirits have beeome, as of 
old, the familiars and ministers of men. 

Only the elect are aware of these great changes; for all others are 
blind and deaf, as they were of old. On being called by Him men and 
women die to the world, forgetting its rivalries, pleasures, and passions, 
in the new heavenly existence. No soul can be born into the society, 
and no members can marry. They live as souls will in the society in 
heaven, where the sexes must dwell apart; love must be celibate, in 
spirit and in fact 

The Shaker is a monk, and the Shakeress a nun, and young men and 
girls join the society, who, if they were in Italy or Spain, would go into 
monasteries and convents. They do not proselyte, believing that none 
but God can draw the saints into His rest. 

The people are soft in speech, demure in bearing, gentle in face; 
seeming at peace with themselves, with nature, and with God. 

The men dress in a plain sack, with a linen collar, and no neck-tie, 
with a vest buttoned to the throat, and reaching below the thighs, short 
loose trowsers, and a broad brimmed straw hat. 

The women wear a small cotton cap, a white handkerchief folded 
around the chest and shoulders, a skirt, narrow and straight down from 
the waist to the ankle, white stockings and shoes. Each one chooses a 
color to suit the taste. 

The men are grave in aspect, easy in manner, and the women have 
an air of calm repose. 

Order, temperance, frugality, and worship make an Eden filled with 
peace and innocence among them in contrast to the turmoil of the out¬ 
side world. 

They have no police, no judges, no soldiers, and law and courts are 
unknown. They subdue their passions, and are never angry, peevish, 
or unjust. 

To the looker-on tneir worship appears to be a moral craze, a religious 
comedy, a ritual of jerks, a church of St. Vitus, but to the “saints” 
themselves it has a singular attraction and magnetic power. 

Their worship consists in dancing, or springing from the floor, three 
or four inches up and down, continued for a long time, by the men in 
one room, and the women in another, keeping time by clapping hands, 
or by singing. 

They also whirl rapidly, like the Dervishes among the Mohammedans, 
as a more perfect means of worshiping God, suggested by the Scripture 
account of David. 

Sometimes the Spirit moves one of them to speak, when all the others 
keep quiet for a little while, after which they dance again. 

They eat in a common room, at tables ranged side by side, a few feet 
apart, at 6 in the morning, at noon, and at 6 in the evening; coming in 
at the sound of a bell, the women at one end of the room, and the men 
at the other ; when they all kneel and pray in silence. 

Not a word is spoken at the table except to ask for something, and 
then in a whisper, and no one thanks another for service at any time. 

The food is always simple and well-cooked, and almost entirely the 





















































































SHAKERS. 


579 










iA 




'e) 


produce of the garden and field. Meat is furnished in small quantities 
(perhaps only to visitors). The drinks are water, milk, and tea. 

About twenty minutes is the usual time of meals. A few minutes 
more and the table is swept bare of dishes; the plates, knives, forks, 
and glasses are cleaned and put in their places, and order is restored. 
Wine is not used, and tobacco is never touched by their lips. Tea and 
coffee are used, (it may have been in compliment to the visitor.) Pork 
is never touched. 

Their bed-rooms are furnished simply but well, with two beds, that 
slide, one under the other, out of the way in the daytime; and there 
are looking-glasses, but no pictures. 

The men and women sleep in separate rooms, the men have each a 
room, the women one room for two, but a bed for each. 

Their stairways are ventilators, and stoves of a peculiar pattern are 
used in winter in all the rooms. 

A husband and wife who join the society become brother and sister, 
only ceasing to be husband and wife, living for God alone. 

Before a person can be received the convert must separate honorably 
from the world; pay all debts, discharge all bonds and trusts, renounce 
all contracts, cancel all wills and settlements, give up all friends and 
kinsmen, as though it was the grave that opened instead of their doors. 

As the world fell by human passions, so by human love it must be 
redeemed; every chosen one of the Father has the privilege of aiding 
in this redemption, by his hands, his brain, and his soul; covering the 
earth with verdure, filling the air with perfume, storing the granary 
with fruit. The earth was before this a servant only; now it is a part¬ 
ner, bound by celestial ties. Whatever they produce bears the stamp 
of excellence—of those who put their souls into the soil, and give it all 
the affection which others bestow on wife and child, and money and 
honors. 

They hold to the dogma that those who die, only leave their bodies, 
but do not go away, out of the sight of those who are purified and 
exalted by the gift of grace, which enables them to see the world of 
spirits, moving about in the air, invisible to all others. 

This is also a belief of the Spiritists, although the Shakers claim to 
have been first in its discovery. They believe that this spirit-seeing is 
to increase as souls become pure, until many all over the world will see 
the spirit forms of those who have lived before them. In that time the 
real resurrection will have come, in the change from blindness to 
spiritual sight. 

Every Shaker settlement is a school, scattering ideas on all sides; 
teaching that the church of the future will be an American Church; 
the old law is abolished; the new dispensation is begun; intercourse 
between heaven and earth is restored ; God is king and priest; the sin 
of Adam is atoned, and man is free except as to his own acts ; every 
human soul will be saved; heaven is to be on this earth when it is 
purified by men’s labor and love into its original Eden state. 

Every great revival of religion results in a new union of saints, and 
there are eighteen now in the United States. (1) Water Vliet, Albany 



































































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


County, (the original society); (2) Mount Lebanon; (3) Groveland, 
Livingston County, in New York State; (4) Hancock, and (5) Tyring- 
ham, Berkshire County; (6) Harvey, and (7) Shirley, Middlesex County, 
in Massachusetts; (8) Enfield, Grafton County, and (9) Canterbury, 
Merrimac County, in New Hampshire; (10) Alfred, York County, and 
(11) New Gloucester, Cumberland County, in Maine; (12) Enfield, 
Hartford County, Connecticut, (the birth-place of Meacham, the Shaker 
Moses); (13) White Water, Hamilton County; (14) Water Vliet, Mont¬ 
gomery County; (15) Union Village, Warren County, and (16) North 
Union, Cuyahoga County, Ohio; (17) Pleasant Hill, Mercer County, 
and (18) South Union, Logan County, Kentucky. 

The whole number is about seven thousand. 

They seem to have no interest in the outside world; reading no news¬ 
papers, and few books, scarcely more than the Bible. They have no 
political meetings, and never vote. God is their only right, and obedi¬ 
ence to his will their only freedom. 

The members sign a covenant, and submit to the direction of an 
Elderess, and the present one is named Betsy Bates, Elderess Betsy, 
the title Mother being reserved for Ann Lee, who is visible to spiritual 
eyes among them. The chief Elder is Daniel Boler. There are two 
orders, Probationers and Covenanters. The first stage of the celestial 
trial allows the use of the private fortune and other little indulgences, 
but the second is a vow of chastity, and a community of goods. 

They do not teach that celibacy is right in every person and in every 
place, but as marriage is a great source of temptation to do evil (as wine 
leads to intemperance,) this temptation must be put away by those who 
would become saints, and aid in redeeming the world from sin. 

They teach that there are two orders in the world, of Generation and 
of Resurrection. The saints are in the resurrection order. 

The present danger to the peaceful flow of the society is that there is 
a man among them who has new ideas, Elder Frederick W. Evans, 
who is the official expounder of their doctrines. Elder Boler represents 
the divine principle among them, and Frederick the art and govern¬ 
ment of their society. 

Their agriculture is perfect, always improving while using the soil. 
Their architecture is scientific, every building being provided with fans, 
flappers, drafts, and ventilating shafts. 

They have no need of doctors or medicine. They say that they ‘‘ have 
had but one case of fever in forty years, and that was wholly their fault. 
Fresh air is the only medicine needed by Shakers . 11 

The art of music is cultivated with great success, some of their tunes 
having spirit and fire, electrifying the hearers, most especially the 
saints. 

In poetry their success is not so apparent to others, although the 
saints seem to regard their poetic efforts as the direct inspiration of the 
“ spirits.” 

Their eloquence has been heard in nearly every State in the Union, 
and if we regard the numbers convinced and drawn into the society, 
the art has not yet been cultivated to a very great perfaction. 


Or\ 

■ * 




12 














































































In painting and all decorative arts they have as yet found but little 
to engage their attention. 

A cultivated man of the world, busy with its activities, earnest in 
the walks of science and art, “ posted ” in the progress of society, would 
pronounce them a dull, indifferent, lazy-witted, ignorant, superstitious, 
visionary set of imitation monastics, who are never acceptable in any 
light. 

One of the best signs of the real progress of grand and true ideas of 
human freedom from old exploded ideas in America is found in the 
fact that there are so few who can sell themselves body and soul, to 
such wild and weird illusions. 

JEWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 


Congregations. 


The first appearance in our country of a community 
of men professing Judaism dates from the year 1694. 

They who formed it were a number of wealthy families of Spanish and 
Portuguese descent. Having emigrated from some of the West India 
islands, they settled in Newport, B. I. The Synagogue they erected 
and the burial ground they purchased are still objects of considerable 
interest. Though no longer in use by reason of the absence of any 
Israelites, care is taken that they be always kept in perfect order. In¬ 
structions were left to that effect by Judah Touro, an American born 
of the Hebrew persuasion. Among his munificent legacies to Jews must 
and Christians, he bequeathed the necessary means to carry out his 
intentions respecting the preservation of those two places associated 
with the establishing of his brethren in this land. 

The next settlement of Jews was in New York, in the year 1729. 

Before that period scarcely any of the ancient faith could be met in 
that city. But since then the influx of foreigners has been remarkably 
perceptible in the increase of Israelites. Their number is said to reach 
at present seventy five thousand, which, if those residing in Brooklyn 
be calculated together, will probably amount to one hundred thousand. 

Their synagogues are very many, and they compare well in architec¬ 
tural beauty and elegance with the handsomest churches adorning that 
State. 

Savannah, Ga., had formed in 1733 a religious body, which, till 
recently, remained the only congregation. But ritual differences gave 
rise to the establishment of another Synagogue, more in consonance 
with the customs and taste of the worshipers. 

In Charleston, S. C., the Jewish congregation has records going as 
far back as 1765. And up to 1843 there was but that first established. 

About that time, however, a division of opinions touching certain 
ritual questions occasioned a separation, and another was formed by 
those who disapproved of changes in the Synagogue service. In late 
years mutual concessions effected a reconciliation, and the two cougre- 
gations merged into a flourishing one. 

The oldest congregation in Philadelphia was organized in 1782, prin¬ 
cipally—as usual in those days—by men of Spanish and Portuguese 




6 " 














































































582 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


extraction. But in the course of years, persons from the North of 
Europe constituted themselves into separate bodies. At present eight 
synagogues are open for worship to the Jewish population. The latter 
is variously reckoned. But ten thousand would seem to approach 
the correct number. Congregations of Hebrews can be found also in 
smaller cities of Pennsylvania, increasing in proportion to the advanta¬ 
ges that the respective places offer to industry; for, it may be safely 
asserted, that wherever commerce flourishes there Israelites take up 
their abode. 

Richmond, Va., had one Synagogue, during a period of nearly half a 
century. But within the last thirty years the settling of foreigners in 
that city added considerably to the number of Jewish houses of prayer. 

A State whose Hebrew citizens rival those of New York and Penn¬ 
sylvania in standing and wealth is Ohio. Cincinnati especially con¬ 
tains several congregations noted for the commanding influence of their 
members. Fifty years ago a person in search of a synagogue might, 
perhaps, have found a few worshipers in a hired room. Now structures 
of imposing stateliness and grandeur will meet his vision in various 
localities. 

Maryland, since the year 1823, in which a congregation was organ¬ 
ized, has witnessed a vast increase of Jewish inhabitants. Baltimore 
alone counts five synagogues, some of which are thronged with wor¬ 
shipers on each revolving Sabbath, and on the festivals. 

New Orleans, La., which the opulent Judah Touro had chosen for 
his residence, has a Synagogue largely endowed by his liberality. It 
is not quite so old as that which German Israelites founded in 1828; 
nevertheless, its status has not been impaired by the progress which 
the last named has attained. 

Number of Jews To offer a detailed account of Jewish congregations 

in the u. s. which have sprung up in our midst within the last half 
a century would be to allow this article a space exceeding the limits we 
purpose assigning to it. Indeed, so rapidly do those religious organiza¬ 
tions increase, that it might baffle the endeavors of giving correct sta¬ 
tistics. Suffice to say, that the descendants of the patriarchs can be found 
through the length and breadth of the Union. Whether we travel in 
the New England States, or in the distant regions of the West, houses 
of worship will be met which resound with prayers uttered by the out¬ 
casts of Judea. Possessing no other data than the aforesaid to form a 
criterion, we may, in the aggregate, put down the number of Jews in 
the United States to about half a million. 

Rituals P rece ding pages, the name of Spanish and 

Portuguese, in contradistinction to that of German Jews, 
has been mentioned. The reader may feel curious to know in what 
they differ. With regard to the tenets of their faith, they hold pre¬ 
cisely the same views. They both accept the thirteen creeds laid down 
by Maimonides, (see the first article on this subject,) and conform like¬ 
wise to the traditional rules embodied in the Talmud. The long dis¬ 
persion, however, and the interruption of communication consequent 
thereupon, caused a notable diversity in the liturgy, but specially in the 




















































































J'ii&T'-'fr. 


JEWS, 


pronouncing of the Hebrew language; those whose ancestors dwelt, 
previous to the expulsion of 1492 by the edict of Ferdinand and Isa¬ 
bella, in the Iberian land, giving to it a softer sound than their co-re¬ 
ligionists, who are of Teutonic origin. It would be impossible at this 
distance of time—and since the language has ceased to be spoken—to 
ascertain which accent is the most correct. Grammarians appear to 
favor, if not in toto, partly at least, that of the Spanish and Portuguese 
Jews. 

With respect to the liturgy, that of the Germans, for ordinary occa¬ 
sions, contains the traditional prayers in a more condensed form. But 
for the festivals and fast days it abounds in poetical compositions of 
little merit and of obscure meaning. 

Reform and This fact has furnished the ground for the introduction 
Orthodox. 0 f radical changes in the Synagogue. It was argued 
that to detain the congregation with the recital of that which requires 
a comment to understand, would be to estrange them from the worship. 
That the absence of mind exhibited by many, during the reading of 
that portion of the ritual, was detracting from the sanctity of the ser¬ 
vice. And that unless it be expunged the rising generation would join 
religious communions more congenial to their feelings. 

The pruning knife was then unsparingly used, but, as it often 
happens, no sooner was the natural reluctance of altering what had 
stood for centuries overcome, than a desire for changes of a different 
nature found strong advocates. 

Heretofore simplicity had characterized the Jewish worship. A 
Reader (Hhazan,) chosen by the congregation, chanted the established 
prayers, and the audience made the responses. Either that individual, 
or another possessed of the requisite knowledge, delivered an occasional 
lecture explanatory of the Biblical lesson of the week, or instructive of 
the duties connected with some approaching holiday. But that system 
was declared by Jews of the modern school incompatible with the 
wants of the age. First vocal music was introduced, and soon after 
instrumental music echoed in the synagogue. Hymns in English and 
German superseded Hebrew psalmodies; and preaching, which had 
been, however welcome, a mere adjunct, became the most indispensa¬ 
ble part of the service. 

These innovations, to which many Israelites object, because they 
divest the synagogue of the venerable appearance which antiquity 
gives it, and because they dress it in a garb foreign thereto, would 
nevertheless have been tolerated, as not encroaching absolutely upon 
the tenets of Judaism; but when the innovators went further, and 
erased from the ritual every mention of the restoration of their people 
to Palestine, every allusion to the resurrection of the dead, and taught 
in their sermons the abrogation of the dietary laws, then a schism 
divided the Jews into two camps; so that at present they are dis¬ 
tinguished in almost all cities by the name of orthodox and reformers. 

But, notwithstanding this diversity of opinions, they 
Charities. g ene rally unite in objects of benevolence. It is the 

acknowledged merit cf Israelites that they are very solicitous for the 











































































Secret Societies. 


welfare of their needy brethren. They will never suffer the destitute 
to be an incubus upon society at large. Rarely is any of their faith an 
inmate of the alms-house, and more rarely is any arrested as a vagrant 
or an outlaw. Charitable associations supplying food, garments, fuel 
and house-rent; loan societies, to encourage the industrious; hospitals, 
orphan asylums; foster-houses, and homes for the invalid and the 
decrepit, are supported wherever a Jewish community exists. In¬ 
calculable is the sum yearly spent upon the maintenance of these 
institutions, and the effect thereof can be seen in the general absence 
of Jewish mendicants. Indeed, the facility with which assistance 
may be obtained, has doubtless encouraged, in various instances, idle 
habits. Sensible of this fact, and anxious to prevent imposition, the 
directors of beneficial associations have been endeavoring of late to 
correct the evil by a fusion of all charities, under the guidance of a 
Board of Managers. These are men that have the capacity to discrimi¬ 
nate, and leisure to examine into each case coming under their notice. 
Chicago took the lead in the matter, Philadelphia followed, and other 
cities are active to bring it to a successful completion. 

Within the last decade three secret societies have been 
started, and they are rapidly spreading among our Jew¬ 
ish population. The first, called “The Sons of the Covenant,’’ is the 
oldest, and consequently the largest. Under its auspices several public 
charities had their origin. The second, named “ The Free Sons of 
Israel,” has been divided into two orders, “ The Independent S. of I.,” 
and “ The Improved S. of I.” The third, styled “The Iron Band,” 
bids fair to become very popular, for, in a short lapse of time, one 
hundred and fifty lodges were installed. 

All the three are founded upon the same principle, and they aim to 
reach the same end. An amount, varying with the age of the appli¬ 
cant, is demanded before his initiation, and he is likewise bound to pay 
a fixed yearly subscription. That entitles him, if unable to follow his 
habitual vocation, because of sickness, to five dollars a week. At his 
death his funeral expenses are defrayed, and his heirs receive a thou¬ 
sand dollars. 

Should any member in good standing be in need, a grant is made by 
the lodge to which he is affiliated, for his temporary relief; and in a 
manner to spare his feelings. 

Schools Not ^ ess l iee( ^ u l than in dispensing charity, the Jews 
of our country are in affording education. Recent sta¬ 
tistics show that the average attendance of their children to schools 
exceeds that of other denominations. The majority, recognizing the 
advantages of our admirable system, avail themselves of our public 
schools, and have their sons and daughters taught there. But some 
parents, wishing to combine religious with secular instruction, prefer 
those institutes where a portion of the time is given to studying the 
Hebrew language and the ritual. Institutions of that kind, however, 
are neither popular nor numerous; the Israelites of the United States 
evidently preferring to blend with the rest of their fellow citizens in 
all things which do not immediately appertain to their peculiar belief. 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 












































































JEWS. 


555 




\ 


But to facilitate the acquiring of the ancient tongue, almost every con¬ 
gregation has a school attached to it, where that branch of education is 
imparted during the afternoon or evening. 

Sunday Schools Edition that, Sunday Schools are frequented by 
’ children of both sexes. A Philadelphia lady, highly 
accomplished, and devoted to her people, started the idea, about thirty 
years ago, of establishing such an organization. Her exertions were 
crowned with success. Sunday Schools have spread everywhere, and 
they command the hearty support of the community. Hundreds of 
pupils attend with regularity, and their gratuitous teachers take pride 
in the task voluntarily assumed. 

Colleges ^ & rea t wan t yet felt, and not easily supplied, is the 
existence of colleges for the training of ministers. To 
this day none of the Readers and Preachers at the Synagogue can 
claim the United States of America as their birthplace, or as the nur¬ 
sery of learning in which their minds were shapen. Foreigners fill all 
positions in the Jewish Church, and some of them too far advanced in 
life to become conversant with the vernacular, others unable to learn 
it by reason of their surroundings and occupations; so that the Ger¬ 
man is the vehicle of religious teaching in most of the pulpits. An 
effort to establish colleges was made in Cincinnati and in New York, 
but it proved abortive. One has been in existence for the last four years 
in Philadelphia, but it has not met with due encouragement. An idea 
seems to prevail that as long as Europe can furnish America with 
Rabbis, the means necessary for the support of seminaries and acade¬ 
mies may be bestowed on other objects. A few years will reveal the 
extent of an error so generally entertained. The youths of the Hebrew 
faith, having grown to manhood, will demand to be guided by indi¬ 
viduals identified with them in language and national feelings. 

_ , Papers mainly devoted to the interest of the Jewish 

Church are still few. New York publishes four weekly, 
one entirely in English, (the Jewish Messenger,) two in English and 
German, (the Hebrew Leader and the Jewish Times,) and another in 
Hebrew, (the Observer.) In Brooklyn, one entitled the Era has just 
begun to appear. Cincinnati issues one in English, (the Israelite,) 
and another in German, (the Deborah.) In San Francisco, Cal., two 
periodicals called “The Gleaner” and “The Hebrew” are printed, 
and occasionally we hear of some ineffectual endeavors to give there 
and elsewhere the Jewish press a larger scope. A severe loss journalism 
sustained in the cessation of a monthly magazine named “The Occi¬ 
dent,” ably conducted for upwards of a quarter of a century in Phila¬ 
delphia. After the decease of its editor and proprietor, an attempt was 
made, for a time, to prevent its extinction, but it failed. 

Literary Asso- A n increasing taste for polite literature is evinced by 
tioiis. the rising in our midst of associations which aim at the 
mental improvement of their members. Various subjects are debated, 
short essays prepared, select portions of the classics read, upon all of 
wLich the sharp criticism of appointed judges is passed. 
































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


586 


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Publication So- But what bids fair to promote the cause of learning, 
ciety. but specially of Jewish literature among the Hebrews of 
this land, is the project recently set on foot of forming a pubiication 
society. Properly speaking, it might be termed a revival, because 
some twenty-five years ago it existed, and gave to the public pamphlets 
and volumes as valuable as they were interesting. But it was suffered 
to die out. Now a new spirit has exhibited itself in various circles, 
and the promises for a speedy accomplishment of that design are very 
flattering. It is proposed that a translation of the Old Testament, 
more agreeable to the text than the authorized version, shall be the 
first fruit offered to American Israelites. That all-important work 
is to be followed by others, which multitudes may read with profit and 
procure for a nominal sum. 

Board of Dele- The credit of having imparted a fresh impetus to the 
gates. undertaking, is vastly due to the Board of Hebrew Dele¬ 
gates. That body lent its influence, and offered its support in this 
instance, as it has in many others, since its organization. Sixteen years 
ago a few prominent men of the Jewish persuasion, met to consult how 
they could effectually redress any public wrong done them, as a relig¬ 
ious body, and how they could cast a protecting shield around the life 
of millions of their fellow believers continually exposed to persecution 
in benighted countries. They issued a circular, urging each congrega¬ 
tion to send two delegates to a meeting which would be held in New 
York. The response was not at first encouraging, yet it did not deter 
those zealous few from carrying out their intentions. They formed an 
association whose inherent vigor has been displayed in many a case of 
emergency. Through its energetic remonstrances injustice against the 
Hebrews, even in our midst, was prevented. By its strong appeals the 
government of the United States interposed on behalf of the oppressed. 
It likewise seasonably rebuked narrow-mindedness and prejudice 
among high officials, and forced such before the bar of public opinion. 
The Board of Delegates joined similar organizations originated in 
Europe, for the mental and moral elevation of the scattered members 
of the Hebrew race. It has encouraged agricultural schools in the 
Holy land, the introduction of a better system of education in the 
Barbary States; the sending of a missionary to rescue the Falasha 
Jews from heathenism. It has encouraged emigration to this country 
of freedom among the Hebrews still weighed down by relentless despot¬ 
ism, and whenever and wherever the hand of tyranny was raised to 
strike, it strove, though not always effectively, to parry the blow. 
That young but energetic association, alive to the advantage of foster¬ 
ing love for ancient literature, and a strong desire to rear Ministers “to 
the manner born,” is now actively engaged in working out these two 
objects. It will shortly be seen whether the time is yet ripe for the 
consummation of such an enterprise. 

standing of the It would be superfluous to say that the Jew labors 
Jews in the u. s. un der no disability, political or civil, in our Union. All 
avenues to greatness are open equally to him as to any member of the 
community. He is in every sense of the word the peer of his fellow 


i 


\ 















































































MORMONISM. 


MORMONISM 


Joseph Smith, Jr., was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, 
Vermont, December 13th, 1805. In 1816 his parents, then living in 
Itoyalton, Vermont, moved to Palmyra, New York. There were nine 
brothers and sisters: Alvin, Hyrum, Sophronia, Joseph, Samuel H., 
William, Catherine, Carlos, and Lucy. 

They were poor, living from the sale of “ cakes and beer,” and street¬ 
peddling, until they took a farm two miles south of Palmyra, in Man¬ 
chester, where they lived in a log-house of their own make. A frame 
house begun by them was never finished. In its garret Joseph “ trans¬ 
lated” the “Mormon Bible.” 

The family gained but little real friendship among the neighbors, 
being more noted for their skill in the use of “ mushrat” traps, the gun, 
and fishing-tackle, than for farming; while tradition is well stocked 
with accounts of various night expeditions among hen-roosts and sheep- 
folds, smoke-houses, and other movable property, which somehow 
“ became scarce,” and all of which losses were charged in the general 
account against the “ lazy, whisky-drinking Smiths.” 

Joseph was aroused by a “revival,” joined a class in a Methodist 
church on probation, but fell away after a short trial, when he was 
about twelve years old. 

Schemes of money-digging were started by him over and over again for 
several years, which were carried on at midnight, with many solemn 
mummeries, always drawing whatever gold there was in the case from 
the pockets of his dupes. 

He was also gifted at telling fortunes, and describing the whereabouts 
of lost property, by the use of a seer-stone, which was found in digging 
a well, and was a piece of milky-quartz, rudely shaped like a baby’s 
foot. 

These matters having been often ridiculed in papers, Joseph Smith, 
Jr., became known for his impostures, and was visited by Higdon, who 
suggested the scheme of producing a new Bible, or “ Book of Mormon,” 
the foundation for which should be the “Manuscript Found.” This 
was the work of Rev. Solomon Spaulding, who had retired from the 
pulpit on account of ill health, and to while away the time engaged in 
the study of archaeology, visiting many of the Indian mounds in the 
West. 


-I ASMS 











































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 


He conceived the idea of writing a romance which should pretend to 
give a history of the ancient inhabitants of the American wilderness, 
and account for the mounds that have so long baffled the researches of 
scholars and archaeologists. His theory was that the Indians were 
descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israelites, and a lively imagination, 
aided by a classical education, developed this into a very entertaining 
romance, full of mythical and legendary inventions. 

The work was not kept secret, the author delighting m reading parts 
of it to friends, at different times, during three years, when, in 1812, he 
offered it to Mr. Patterson, a printer in Pittsburg, Pa., for publication. 
“The Manuscript Found” was declined, but not returned at once to 
its author, and one of Patterson’s employees, Sidney Higdon, made a 
copy of it for himself. Mr. Spaulding died in 1827, leaving the work 
with hi3 widow, who was then living in Amity, Otsego County, N. Y. 
Higdon then ventured to use his copy, and called on Smith, near 
Palmyra, where the business of making the Book of Mormon was soon 
begun. 

The additions and changes copied or imitated from the Bible, were 
probably the work of the three, Higdon, Cowdery, and Smith. The 
“visions” were first announced soon after these “assistants” (Rigdon 
and Cowdery,) had been at work with Smith in the garret of the house 
on the farm. 

Soon after the visits of Rigdon and Cowdery to Smith’s house, Joseph 
announced that he had seen “ a vision,” in which all his sins had been 
forgiven, and he had been instructed that “all present religions were 
false, and none of them acceptable to God; and that the true Gospel 
should be revealed to him in a history which was engraved on metallic 
plates, which were hidden in a certain place, where they had been 
buried by the American Indians, who were a remnant of the Israelites, 
and that he was the chosen prophet to make this known, and translate 
the Gospel to the world.” 

He also said that the angel “commanded” him to dig at a certain 
place, the time and manner being very particularly described, where 
he was to find a metallic book, whose leaves were covered with mystical 
characters, which he alone of all mankind could translate, or even “ see 
without instant death.” 

This wonderful metallic book was the topic of conversation far and 
near for some time, but as no one had seen it, and as it was seriously 
doubted that any such thing existed, Joseph found it necessary to have 
another revelation , permitting him to show it to eleven witnesses, who 
were found among his associates, and who signed their names to a 
paper, stating that they had seen the plates. 

The hint for the invention of the “plates” (if there ever were any,) 
was derived from the discovery of some metallic plates bearing written 
characters, in the mounds of the West, and in Mexico, which had been 
known for some years, were kept in some private museums, and were 
described in the Asiatic Journal in 1832. The letters on these plates 
were arranged in columns from top to bottom, the columns standing 





































































MORMONISM 


side by side. Those found in Pike County, Illinois, were flat, bell 
shaped, having a hole at the small end, through which a ring was put, 
holding six together, and two clasps at the lower end; the plates being 
of brass, and the ring and clasps of iron. Joseph may have seen 
these, or had a description of them, for the page of characters which 
Martin Harris showed to Professor Charles Anthon, the Greek scholar 
of New York, was an imitation of them, not quite literal, but very 
close. 

Martin Harris was a farmer of some means, very superstitious, 
anxious to get rich and notorious suddenly, and furnished the money 
to publish the “translation.” Before actually doing so, he thought it 
best to show a page of the work to Professor Anthon, asking his opinion, 
who described it as “a singular scroll. Consisting of all kinds of char¬ 
acters, in columns, and had evidently been prepared by some person 
who had before him at the time a book of various alphabets; Greek and 
Hebrew letters, crosses, flourishes, and Roman letters inverted or side¬ 
ways, the whole ending in a rudely drawn circle divided into compart¬ 
ments, full of strange marks, evidently copied from a Mexican calendar 
in Humboldt’s works.” This was in 1832. 

These “records,” although each character was distinct and well 
known, really meant nothing, being a mere string of letters and signs, 
having no order founded on language, and no more meaning than any 
accidental or fanciful arrangement or jumble of letters. The inventors 
were probably not aware of the fact that the Hebrews from the earliest 
times have had a reverence for their language, which, among the 
Scribes, amounted to a superstitious idolatry, believing it to have been 
given to Adam by God himself, and that they probably never used any 
Egyptian chsrracters, and certainly never wrote any books in the 
Egyptian language, for they said that the mysterious plates were written 
in the Egyptian language, which was also said to have been spoken by 
the “ remnant of the Israelites in America.” 

There is another point against them, of which they were probably 
not aware; that the materials used by the Hebrews for writing upon 
were never metallic plates, but were either stone, waxed tablets, linen 
sized with certain gums, leather, vellum, parchment, or papyrus ; spe¬ 
cimens of which, of every kind, dating from 1000 years before Christ, 
are found in the Abbott Egyptian Museum (in the Historical Society, 
New York,) and in the British Museum, London, but not one “ metallic 
plate of gold.” 

The “saints,” Joseph, Cowdery, and Rigdon, say that the plates 
were actually found by Joseph, and translated by him, being aided only 
by a very large and curious pair of spectacles, made of precious stones, 
which were the Jewish Urim and Thummim, which have been so long 
lost. (The Urim and Thummim was the name given to the twelve 
engraved stones in the breast-plate of the Jewish high-priest; con¬ 
taining each one a name of one of the twelve tribes.) 

The title will give an idea of the style of the work. 
















































DENOMINATIONS IN.THE UNITED STATES, 


“ THE 

BOOK OF MORMON; 

AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY THE HAND OF MORMON, UPON PLATES TAKEN 

FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI. 

Wherefore it is an abridgment of the Record of the people of Nephi; 
and also of the Lamanites; written to the Lamanites, which are a 
remnant of the House of Israel,” &c., (including a long sketch of the 
contents, with an apology and an injunction to charity towards its 
errors.) 

“ By Joseph Smith, Junior, 

Author and Proprietor. 

Palmyra: 

Printed by E. B. Grandin, for the Author. * 

1830.” 

The contents are: 1st and 2d Books of Nephi, his Reign and Ministry 
(7 and 15 chapters); the Book of Jacob, the brother of Nephi (5); of 
Enos (1); of Jarom (1); of Omni (1); the Words of Mormon (1); the 
Book of Mosiah (13); of Alma, the son of Alma (30); of Heleman (5); 
of Nephi, the son of Nephi, which was the son of Heleman (14); the 
Book of Nephi, which is the son of Nephi, one of the disciples of Jesus 
Christ (1); of Mormon (4); of Ether (6); of Moroni (10). Making 588 
pages, 12mo., small pica. 

By a special agreement (according to a revelation,) Mr. Harris was to 
control the entire sale and profits of the book, the price being fixed at 
$1.25 a copy. After a few weeks of very slow sales the Smiths were 
permitted, by a special revelation , to assist in the sale, and use a part of 
the funds. 

The “ translator” neglected to give his work the appearance of design, 
which is so valuable in historical writings, and also allowed himself to 
overlook the chronology and geography, which are so carelessly noticed 
that much confusion is the result. 

The theory adopted by the writers was, that at the dispersion from the 
Tower of Babel, after the confusion of tongues, some tribes found their 
way into America, by divine guidance, where their history is traced for 
1,500 years, in what they call the bountiful land, when for their sins 
in forsaking the true religion they were utterly destroyed, 600 years before 
Christ. The prophet Ether wrote an account of these things, (it would 
seem that Ether lived 1,600 years,) leaving his “plates” hidden by 
divine direction, where they were found by a prophet who came to the 
bountiful land with a second colony, composed of Israelites (of the tribe 
of Joseph,) 6)0 years before Christ, from whom the country was re¬ 
peopled. They in time divided into two rich and powerful nations, the 
Nephites and Lamanites. The Lamanites became idolatrous and bar¬ 
barous, and were the ancestors of the American Indians. 

The Nephites were spiritually very perfect, having visions, angels’ 
visits, prophesy, and finally a visit from Jesus Christ after his resur¬ 
rection, who taught them the true Gospel, and gave them the power of 
foretelling the future. Falling into temptation and sin, the Nephites wero 



(C; 1 








































































MORMONISM. 


591 



destroyed by the Lamanites in the 4th century after Christ. Their most 
noted prophet was Mormon, who wrote the history of his people, and 
left it with his son Moroni, who hid the metallic (gold) plates in a hill 
(Camorah,) near Palmyra, N. Y., A. D., 420. On September 22d, 1827, 
Joseph Smith, Jr., being directed by the Lord, found the plates, which 
he was instructed to keep secret, for his instruction only, there being a 
penalty of “instant death” threatened by the “angel” in the vision 
for any other mortal seeing them. 

The theory is developed in a very careless and incomplete manner, as 
a few specimens will show. 

Mormon finishes and buries all the plates in one chapter, but a little 
further on Moroni fills up the plates, “until there is no more room,” 
and after that even there are 47 more pages in the published work. 

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses sinners a hundred years before the 
date of the crucifixion, and the Holy Ghost is credited with works 800 
years before the Pentecostal Feast Day. Lehi is divinely directed to 
leave Jerusalem in one chapter, which he does, and is driven out by 
the people in another. 

The Nephites build a temple, more magnificent than Solomon’s, in 
the wilderness, but its location is not given, nor have any ruins or re¬ 
mains of the edifice or foundation been found. High-Priests and Priests 
are mentioned, with their duties. Baptism was practiced 400 years before 
Christ. Scalping is said to have been a divinely ordered thing, and in¬ 
troduced by a prophet. The mariner’s compass, and animal magnetism 
were known to the Nephites 600 years before Christ. 

The American Revolution is mentioned (in a prediction?) several 
hundred years before it took place. 

The imitations of the Scriptures are very numerous, a few of which 
will give an idea of the style and poverty in invention of the writers. 

Daniel and the “writing on the wall;” the Apocalypse in many 
places, especially those passages that are usually applied to the Church 
of Rome; Paul’s conversion; Peter’s escape from prison; the incident 
of Ananias and Sapphira; Moses watering Jethro’s flock; many mira¬ 
cles, such as those of Shadrach and the fiery furnace; Elijah, and the 
widow’s son; healing the dumb, &c. 

It is remarkable that the ancient people on this continent had names 
(as the Book of Mormon says) of noted men precisely similar to the 
modern orthography of well known names in ancient Europe and Asia, 
Hebrew, Greek, Roman, &c. 

Many passages are copied entire from the Bible; as the march of the 
Assyrian King to attack Jerusalem (from Isaiah, x.); almost the whole 
of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, vi.); and many others. 

There are several sentences which are peculiar to this book in con¬ 
struction; as “silence to reign;” “all eternity is pained;” “that I 
might engraven”; and indicate carelessness if not ignorance of Eng¬ 
lish grammar. 

The whole book, from the title page to the end, bears the marks of the 
meddling of incompetent hands with a work of but ordinary merit; 
and its only claim to notice is that it is the basis for a religious system. 























































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


Born in the very lowest walks of life, reared in poverty, educated in 
vice, having no claims even to ordinary intelligence, coarse and vulgar 
in deportment, Joseph Smith, Jr., succeeded in establishing a religious 
creed, the tenets of which have been made known throughout the 
civilized world. The ministers of “The Church of the Latter Day 
Saints” have been welcomed in every continent, by every people to 
whom they have come, where they have displayed their standard, even 
on the banks of the Nile and Euphrates, over the hills of Palestine, and 
among the profound students of Europe. Joseph built a city of 25,000 
people, in one of the most beautiful places in the Western world, at 
Nauvoo, on the Mississippi river. 

He claimed to be Vicegerent of God, and was a tavern-keeper; he 
claimed to be a prophet, and was a libertine; he was a minister of peace, 
and a general; a preacher of righteousness, and a profane swearer; a 
worshiper of Bacchus, and mayor of a city, and a bar-room fiddler; a 
judge on the bench, and an invader of the civil, social, and moral re¬ 
lations of men. 

Without learning, means, or experience, he met the learned world, 
a rich century, and “ a hard-hearted and wicked generation,” as his fol¬ 
lowers claim, “with truth that could not be resisted, facts that could 
not be disproved, revelations whose spirit had so much God in them 
that the servants of the Lord could not be gainsayed or resisted. The 
pages of his history, though his enemies never ceased to persecute him, 
and hunt for offences against him, are as unsullied as the virgin snow.” 

His first journey as preacher was into Northern Pennsylvania, where 
he found his wife, Emma Hale, and was married by Higdon. Mr. Hale 
did not become a Mormon. 

About thirty persons in the vicinity of Manchester professed belief in 
the pretensions of Joseph, and some few from a distance, among whom 
was Parley P. Pratt, of Lorain County, Ohio, where there was a con¬ 
gregation under the charge of “Rev. Sidney Rigdon.” The first one 
who was “called” to preach, besides Rigdon and Joseph, was Calvin \ : ' 


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A 


Stoddard, who was called in the night by two young men, who did it 
for fun, expecting to make a sensation; the call being shouted at the 
door in slow and solemn tones. Stoddard heard and went to work the 
next day. 

The first church gathered in form under Joseph Smith, Sr., the first 
patriarch and president, was at Kirtland, Ohio. Here, in answer to the 
preaching of several missionaries sent out to preach the Gospel of Nephi, 
many converts gathered, and it seemed to some reflecting minds that 
the last days were really at hand, when men and women of character 
and influence, could be found to believe such “revelations.” The 
“prophet” Joseph was credited with the power of “speaking in un¬ 
known tongues, performing miracles, and healing the sick.” 

Brigham Young joined the Mormons at Kirtland, in 1832, with his 
father, four brothers, and six sisters. He soon became the real leader, 
and in 1836 was made president of the Twelve Apostles (organized in 
1834); the absolute rulers of the Church. From that day to this he has 
been the accepted chief of The Latter Day Saints, 






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A U ) 






asm 




f 




MORMONISM. 


M 


The fortunes of the Church at this time seem to have been advanced 
by the expulsion of some of the early assistants, such as Harris, Cow- 
dery and Wliitmer; and also by unwise persecution by their neighbors. 
Joseph and Rigdon escaped on horseback in the night, to Independence, 
Missouri, where the “ saints ” were soon gathered to the number of 
about twelve hundred. 

Here violence again made them martyrs and increased their numbers. 
Their printing-office was destroyed, several of the “ saints ” tarred and 
feathered, and a few killed by the mob, and the prophet Joseph with 
forty others lodged in jail. 

The Mormons at this time were charged with every crime in the 
criminal code, and were finally driven from Missouri, in 1839, the main 
body going to Hancock County, Illinois, where they founded the city 
of Nauvoo in 1840, (chartered in 1842.) Preachers were sent out in 
every direction, and proselytes came in great numbers. 

A large hotel was built, a temple commenced, and a military legion 
organized. Joseph in addition to his dignitaries as prophet, mayor, 
general, and hotel-keeper, aspired to the presidency of the United States, 
on which topic he corresponded with Clay and Calhoun. The converts 
at this time numbered about 100,000. 

It was at Nauvoo that Joseph announced the “ revelation” in favor 
of spiritual wives and polygamy, the prophet setting the example by 
“sealing” to himself ten spiritual wives. 

In a few years they were driven out of Nauvoo by mobs, Joseph with 
several having been killed in the jail at Carthage, while in the custody 
i> of the authorities. 

The killing of the prophet and violent persecution of his people made 
them friends and sympathizers, and converts flocked to Nauvoo. The 
temple was finished in 1844, a few months after Joseph’s death. It was 
built of white limestone, 128 feet long by 88 wide, and 60 high. 

From Nauvoo they were also driven, and led by Brigham Young, set 
out on the journey across the plains, with scanty provisions and few 
animals. This march has not been equaled since the exodus from 
Egypt, and the distance is six times that from Cairo to Jerusalem. 
/~ They found an asylum in a sterile valley, watered by creeks of brine, 
ind fields sown with salt. 

They left their pleasant homes in Illinois, with all they contained, 
and all their surroundings, and began the march across the Mississippi, 
on the ice, in the winter, and they defended themselves against the 
[ndians and wild beasts along the entire route. 

Young’s energy soon put the colony into a prosperous condition, say¬ 
ing that “ the first duty of a saint, when he comes to this valley, is to 
learn to grow a vegetable, then how to rear pigs and fowls, to irrigate 
is land, and build up his house.” 

They began another city and another temple, and a newspaper, and 
aid out gardens and fields which were watered by the melting snows 
of the Rocky Mountains. 

“The Church of the Latter Day Saints” is a theocracy, having a 


(® 
































































C^gy : 


DENOMINATIONS IN TIIE UNITED STATES 


person for its head who claims and is believed to be a prophet and 
apostle of God. 

This prophet demands perfect obedience, in virtue of the authority 
of divine revelations, which are handed down, from time to time, as 
occasion demands. From his decrees there is no appeal, and against 
his will there must be no resistance. 

The creed and the theology are subject to change by new revelations. 
Their present condition is: 

That there are many gods, of both sexes; but to Mormons there is 
but one God, the Father of mankind and Creator of the earth. 

Men and women are literally the sons and daughters of God; and 
are spiritually begotten by God, in the heavens, and sent into this 
earth. 

God has a form, of which the human form is an image; His body 
being of spiritual substance. Spirit is only matter of a finer degree. 

God is omnipotent, but not omnipresent. He is every where present 
by His Holy Spirit. He has a body, parts, and passions. His residence 
is at the centre of the universe, near the planet Kolob, which revolves 
once a day (a day is 1,000 years.) (This planet has not yet been noticed 
by astronomers.) 

Jesus Christ was the Son of God, literally begotten by the Father, 
and had the Spirit of God in the body of a man. After his resurrection 
he had a body of flesh and bones only, typical of man’s resurrected 
body. He differs in nothing from the Father, except in age and 
authority. 

The Holy Spirit is a subtile fluid, like electricity, and pervades all 
space. Electricity is the subtlest form of matter. By the agency of the 
Holy Spirit all so-called miracles are performed, which are simply the 
effects of natural laws of a higher character than those known to us. 
The Holy Spirit is communicated by laying-on of hands, by one of the 
properly authorized priesthood, the recipient being able to perform 
wonderful things, either of prophesy, of healing, or of speaking in 
unknown tongues, &c. 

There are three Heavens, the telestial, the terrestrial, and the 
celestial. The telestial and the terrestrial heavens are to be occupied 
by those who have neither obeyed nor rejected the gospel. The telestial 
is typified by the stars, and the terrestrial by the moon. The celestial, 
or highest heaven, has for its type the sun, and is reserved for those 
who received the testimony of Jesus, believed on his name, were bap¬ 
tized by one having authority from him, and who afterwards lived a 
holy life. 

The earth, as purified and refined, after the second coming of Christ, 
is to be the final habitation of those entitled to the glories of the celes¬ 
tial kingdom. 

Jerusalem is to be rebuilt, and Zion, or the New Jerusalem, is to be 
built in Jackson County, Missouri (whence the saints were expelled in 
1833.) 

The fourth class of persons are those who sin against the Holy Ghost 
(which is apostacy after receiving the laying-on of hands,) and these go 
















































































MORMONISM, 


away into everlasting punishment, to remain with the devil and his 
angels. 

For Membership it is required to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son 
of God, and in his authorized priesthood; to repent of all sins; to be 
baptized by immersion; to receive the laying-on of hands. 

The Faith and Doctrine. 

“ 1. We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus 
Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, who bears record of them, the same 
throughout all ages and forever. 

“ 2. We believe that all mankind, by the transgression of their first 
parents, and not by their own sins, are subject to eternal banishment 
from the presence of God, their bodies never to rise from the dust, and 
their spirits to remain under the power of Satan, with no power of their 
own to escape therefrom. 

“3. We believe that through the sufferings, death, and atonement of 
Jesus Christ all mankind, without one exception, are to be completely 
and fully redeemed, both body and spirit, without any condition on 
their part; the most righteous man that ever lived, and the most wicked 
wretch, without any agency of their own, were placed under the same 
curse, and they both alike will be redeemed. (Rom. v, 18; John xii, 
32.) Jesus hath destroyed the effect of the original sin; hence eternal 
life will be theirs if they themselves are not found transgressors of the 
law. 

“4. We believe that infants are incapable of knowing good and evil, 
and that therefore there is no law given to them ; hence they are inno¬ 
cent, and if they should die would enjoy eternal life. 

“5. We believe that those who grow up to years of understanding 
know good and evil, in consequence of Adam’s sin; and are capable of 
obeying and disobeying a law; and the penalty for sin is a second 
banishment from the presence of God. 

“6. We believe that this second law only affects those who have done 
evil, having a knowledge of the law, in this life, or if they sin in igno¬ 
rance, and afterwards come to know the law, they will be punished in 
the world to come. They are prisoners shut up in this world, waiting 
with awful fear, for the judgment, and cannot devise any way of escape; 
but Jesus has opened a way on conditions. 

“ 7. We believe the first condition is to believe in God, the sufferings 
and death of his Son, Jesus Christ, his resurrection and ascension, and 
in the Holy Ghost. 

“ That the second condition is to repent humbly before God, and con¬ 
fess their sins with a broken heart and contrite spirit, to turn away 
from them, and make restitution to all whom they have injured, as far 
as it is in their power. 

“The third condition is to be baptized by immersion in water, in the 
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for remission of sins, by one 
who is called and authorized of Jesus Christ to baptize. 

“ The fourth condition is to receive the laying-on of hands, in the 
name of Jesus Christ, for the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the apostles or 




























































































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


\ 








4 




'l 

JiHll 






elders, and to be received only by those who believe, repent, and are 
baptized into this church. 

‘ These are the first conditions ; all who comply with them receive 
forgiveness of sins, and are made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and be¬ 
come the adopted sons and daughters of God, being born again, first of 
water, then of spirit, and become children of the kingdom, heirs of God, 
saints of the Most High, the church of the first-born, the elect people, 
and heirs to a celestial inheritance, eternal in the presence of God. 

“8. It is the duty and privilege of the saints to believe in and enjoy 
all the gifts, powers, and blessings which flow from the Holy Spirit, 
such as revelation,^ prophesy, visions, the ministry of angels, healing 
the sick by laying on of hands, the working of miracles, and all the 
gifts mentioned in Scripture. Inspired apostles and prophets are 
necessary to be in the Church in these days.” 

They also believe in the Millenium in a certain way, and they teach 
that the latter days are now passing. 

The church services are conducted on the model of the Methodist 
Church, with the variation of giving the sacrament of water and bread 
during the sermon. 

All members of the church are required to assent to the belief in one 
God, and one Christ; in the prophet Mormon, in the prophet Joseph 
Smith, Junior, and in the Church of the Latter Day Saints. 

The ceremony of admission to membership includes a stripping, 
anointing with spiced and perfumed oil, the recitation of passages of 
[Scripture from the Bible and from “Mormon;” robing in a peculiar 
dress, giving a new name, and the rehearsal of a kind of drama which 
symbolizes the creation, man’s fall, Christ’s atonement, and the whole 
Mormon plan of salvation. 

The church organization consists of: 

1. The Presidency of three, chosen from among the high-priesthood 
and apostleship, who are a President and two Counsellors. The Presi¬ 
dent is also seer, revelator, translator, and prophet. Absolute ruler in 
both spiritual and temporal affairs. 

2. The Apostles, who organize, build up, preside and minister. 

3. The Seventies, who are to preach the Gospel and administer its 
ordinances and blessings. The Patriarch blesses the fatherless, and 
prophesies their future. 

4. The Elders and High Priest. The high priest has care of the 
churches abroad. The elders preach and baptize, and ordain other 
elders, teachers, and deacons. These are all of the Melchizedek priest¬ 
hood, and they are hedged about with holy sanctions and sublime mys¬ 
teries, which awe the minds of simple persons. They hold the key 
by which all heavenly mysteries and spiritual blessings are locked up 
and unlocked, only by the duly authorized agent. 

5. The Aaronic priesthood, including bishop, priest, preacher and 
deacon. The High Council consists of twelve high priests, with a 
president, who settle all important difficulties. They hold the keys of 
the ministering of angels, and are to attend to outward ordinances; the 
letter of the Gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 

I 




XV 



















































MORMONISM 
























































DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


adds to his former creed a new truth, accepts the prophet Joseph in 
addition to his original faith. 

The Church teaches that God is in constant, daily and hourly con¬ 
tact with his saints, in all their occupations, from sealing a wife to 
leading an army. ~ 

“ True worship is true enjoyment; a blessing from on high ; a sense 
of duty being done, of service accepted, of life refreshed.” 

Work is honorable; the whole earth being regarded as a waste to be 
redeemed by labor into the future heaven. Blessed by labor, the earth 
becomes a paradise for man’s enjoyment. To be a toiling and pro¬ 
ducing man, is to be in a state of grace. 

The Mormons, if they could have remained isolated in their “ happy 
valley,” and controlled their people and their resources, would have 
carried out their original intention of founding a separate nation, dis¬ 
tinct in religion, fenced in by the Rocky Mountains, rich and powerful, 
and the whole people, with all their wealth, the slaves of one absolute 
master, in what they intended should be called “ The Kingdom of 
God.” 

The principal causes why this result was not reached, were, the dis¬ 
covery of silver mines in the territory, the opening of the Pacific Rail¬ 
road, and the Reform movement in the Mormon Church. 

When the movement to Utah was first designed, the territory was out 
of the Union, and if it could have been carried forward to a success 
before the Mexican war, which resulted in annexing a part of Cali¬ 
fornia, including Utah, to the United States, the Mormons would have 
been independent of the Government at Washington, but the Union 
extended its jurisdiction to the Pacific, and the Mormons were com¬ 
pelled to recognize its authority, and applied for admission under the 
title of the “ State of Deseret.” On account of the peculiar institution 
of polygamy, Congress still governs the country as the Territory of 
Utah, refusing it admission as a state. 

Brigham Young has been the actual ruler of the Mormon State until 
a very recent time, although several governors have been appointed by 
Congress, and have resided in Utah. Young has been the appointee of 
Congress, and also the Indian Agent. When he was not governor he 
was actual ruler, and his wishes were law at Washington, removing 
any of the officers of the United States in Utah at his will. 

The first military force sent out to support the authority of Congress 
among the Mormons was under the command of Colonel Steptoe, who 
was favorable to the “saints,” and did not effect its purpose, Young 
continuing his disloyal speeches and conduct, and his priesthood by 
their arrogance and defiance succeeded in driving the United States 
judges from the Territory. 

The first vigorous measures were begun under Buchanan’s adminis¬ 
tration, when Albert Sidney Johnston was sent out with a force, but at 
the wrong time of the year, when they had to go into winter quarters 
at Ham’s Fork, which delay gave the Mormons time for action. 

Young was careful to announce that he was governor by the appoint¬ 
ment of Congress; had not been removed; did not need the army for 

















































































MORMONISM. 


599 


any purpose, as his district was in peace, and the laws obeyed; and, 
moreover, the apostles declared that they would burn and destroy every 
city and farm in the valley, leaving it the wilderness it was when they 
found it, and, as Brigham said, “ Make a Moscow of every settlement, 
and a Potter’s Field of every canon,” if the United States army should 
enter his territory. When the special commissioners, with the newly- 
appointed governor, Cumming, arrived in Salt Lake City, the threat¬ 
ened exodus was actually begun, when Governor Cumming, by judicious 
management, averted the evil, and restored peace, and Camp Douglas 
was established in sight of Salt Lake City. 

This conduct of the Mormons caused a general reaction in their 
favor in this country and in Europe. 

When the rebellion broke out in 1861, Young declared in favor of 
secession, probably hoping the Union would go to pieces and give him 
a chance to erect his “ Kingdom of God.” 

The Reform movement began to call attention to itself by asserting 
in its newspapers the absurd idea that Mormonism was essentially 
republican, and gained friends among the Gentiles as well as the 
“ Saints,” including several leading elders. 

When the Pacific Railroad became a certainty, Young secured a large 
contract for the construction of the section in Utah (the last spike was 
driven Jan. 10, 1870,) and introduced the telegraph in 1866, connecting 
the different settlements, centralizing and organizing his power. 

A means of increasing the power of the church, and especially of its 
leader, was devised in the system of co-operation among Mormon mer¬ 
chants, known as “Zion’s Co-operative Mercantile Institution,” ex¬ 
cluding the Gentiles; to which it was intended to add the “Celestial 
Order of Enoch,” which, by a skillful arrangement, was to supersede 
the law of tithing, and in effect “consecrate” the entire property and 
the persons of the Saints to the sole use and control of the “prophet, 
priest and king,” Brigham Young. The persistence of Young in push¬ 
ing this scheme, aroused opposition in his church, caused a schism 
among his elders, and provoked the passage by Congress of the “ Cul- 
lom ” bill, and was one of the incentives to the visit of Vice President 
Colfax, whose calm, clear, truthful eloquence left an indelible impres¬ 
sion on the minds of the Saints which has already resulted in hopeful 
signs of progress towards a solution of the Mormon difficulty, aided by 
such men as Harrison and Godbe, and their friends. 

Young also attempted to control the price of labor, by threatening to 
bring in Chinese laborers, but he was defeated in this movement by the 
press, especially the Utah Magazine, and when the autocrat had really 
been once firmly checked in one of his pet schemes, his rage was fierce, 
but useless, for the Reform was now fairly and boldly under way. His 
claim to infallibility was put to the test of facing his bad policy and 
blunders; one of the most important of these being his neglect to open 
up and popularize the mineral resources of the territory. 

As an offset to this movement, the “prophet” attempted a peculiar 
work, no less than prophesying, in the “ School of the Prophets,” con¬ 
cerning the danger that was threatening his “ Israel,” denouncing by 



















































































600 


DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


name Godbe, Harrison, Stenhouse, Watt, Tullidge, and others, and 
/} Summoning them to appear for trial. 

The prophet made another blunder, for instead of silencing a few 
telders he created a party against himself in his church, and had his 
jsupremacy denied by Godbe in a plain, sensible, and powerful speech, 
before several thousand “ Saints,” followed and seconded by Elder Har- 
irison, when the Reform was advanced to a public recognition, respect, 
and power, in an organized movement of protest and reform, which, as 
an event of rebellion, may be dated from December 19, 1869. 

On February 12,1870, a bill of the Utah Legislature was approved by 

which 




President Young, granting the right of suffrage to women, 

Iproved to be another assistant to the reform movement. 

Still another mistake was made by Young in packing the political 
meeting just preceding the city elections, and defeating the free action 
of the people, which called out a protest from the United States officers, 
'^threatening the presence of their soldiers in the streets on election day. 

The case was carried to Washington and laid before President Grant, 
by W. S. Godbe, when the policy of the government was announced to 
C be to use the army as a moral force only, unless circumstances com¬ 
pelled other action, and to allow the saints to work out their own re¬ 
demption. 

General Shaffer was sent to Utah as governor, with explicit direction 
p to overturn the rule of the theocracy, which he has done by asserting 
?the supremacy of the United States, and maintaining it in his procla¬ 
mation forbidding the mustering, arming, or drilling of the Mormon 
militia, September, 1870. The matter was settled practically on the 4th 
of July, 1871, when an attempted parade of the militia was abandoned 
by the Mormon leaders, on an order from the United States officer in 
command. 

The recent decision of Chief Justice J. B. McKean, that the United 
States Marshal has the right to call the j urors of the Supreme Court, 
takes the United States courts out of the hands of the “ Saints.” 

The future of the “ Church of Saints ” seems to be destined to wit¬ 
ness great changes, probably no less than an entire renunciation of the 
blot and blunder of polygamy, and a repudiation of the assumed power 
of the prophet, ending in the establishment of a republican form of 
overnment. 

The support of the church, and all of the machinery of government, 
is derived from a tithe of one-tenth of all produce of the head or hand. 
O I The existence of a second Mormon Church, which is a formidable 
and increasing body, including great numbers of the saints, is charge¬ 
able to the deep-rooted opposition to the state of polygamy. Very few 
believe that Joseph lived in that state; and his four sons, Joseph, Wil¬ 
liam, Alexander, David, and their mother, (Emma) his widow, deny 
and denounce the imposture of plurality. This party is now opening 
the door to the incoming of the enemies of the system. 

The absolute sway of Brigham Young has been broken by the United 
States government, and several governors of Utah have ruled in Salt 
Lake Valley. An attempt to parade the Mormon militia, against the 




























































MORMON ISM. 


orders of the governor, only last July 4 (1871), ended in a triumph for the 
government, and the laws were sustained. 

But this assertion of the law was only preliminary to proceedings far 
more fatal to the authority of Brigham Young and the life of the Church. 
A little over two months afterwards, on September 19, the Grand Jury of 
the United States was empanelled at Salt Lake City, and during its session 
bills of indictment on charges of bigamous practices were found against 
Brigham Young, Daniel H. Wells, the Mayor of the city, Thomas Hawkins, 
and others, who were subsequently arrested, Brigham being taken Octo¬ 
ber 2d and immediately admitted to bail. The case of Thomas Hawkins was 
at once proceeded with, and having been convicted, he was sentenced to a 
fine of $500 and imprisonment at hard labor for three years. The other 
cases could not be pushed, inasmuch as against none of the defendants 
would the first wife prefer the charge, as required by law. An appeal was 
entered by Hawkins, but there is little chance of the verdict being set 
aside. The conviction practically settles the fate of polygamy, placing every 
Mormon at the mercy of his first wife. But the authorities did not stop 
here. Their next step was to secure the indictment of Mayor Wells, Hosea 
Stout, formerly general of the Territory, William Kimball, Brigham Young, 
Joseph A. Young and Orson Hyde, on the charges of murdering as far back 
as 1847, by means of the “ avenging angels,” persons obnoxious to the Mor¬ 
mon government. On October 28 the three first-named persons were ar¬ 
rested, and Mayor Wells admitted to bail, but Brigham Young and Orson 
Hyde had left the city before that day, and for a time it was thought that 
the former had abandoned forever the community over which he had so 
long held despotic sway. Toward the close of the year, however, he re¬ 
turned to the city, and being at once arrested, he was taken before Chief 
Justice McKean, who absolutely declined to admit him to bail, whereupon, 
having tendered one of his properties to the United States Marshal for the 
purpose, he became a prisoner in his own house. Orson Hyde is still at 
large. Chief Justice McKean has been the leading spirit in the prosecu¬ 
tions, which have occasioned apprehensions from time to time of violence, 
and the presence of military reinforcements to check any possible ebulli¬ 
tion. All such fears, however, have proved groundless, no opposition being 
offered by the Mormons to tlio course of the law, except in the way of de¬ 
nunciatory speeches. 

Steps are again being taken to procure the admission of Utah into the 
Union as a State. 

The “ Temple of the Lord ” is in process of building, with large blocks of 
granite, quarried near (18 miles). When it is finished, Brigham says “ that 
Christ with his holy angels, the prophets and apostles of old, and Joseph 
and Hyrum, and all who have died in the faith, and all who have obeyed 
revealed authority, will come and set up His kingdom on earth.” 

The Joseph Smith, Junior, who was sainted by the mistake of a mob a few 
years ago, in the midst of less than thirty thousand followers, now has in 
the Church nearly a million. The living Joseph was the weakest thing in 
the movement; the dead prophet excited the most terribly powerful fanati¬ 
cism, the religion of impulse and inclination. 


\' 


\\ 






n 


# . 




s i 


.f'i 




































































' 


ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS. 


602 


VALUABLE INFORMATION AS TO THE DIFFERENT RE¬ 
LIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS OF THE WORLD. 


The population of the world is religiously distributed very nearly in the following proportions : 

Christians.388,600,000 Pagans.200,000,000 

Buddhists.360,000,000 Mohammedans.165,000,000 

Other Asiatic Religions.360,000,000 Jews. 7,000,000 

In Europe, America, Australia, and many of the Polynesian Islands, Christianity is the prevailing 
creed of every State. In Africa, the only independent Christian States are Abyssinia and Liberia, 
while Christianity prevails in several European colonies. The largest empire of Asia—Russia—is 
also a Christian country. India, the third country in point of extent, is under the rule of a Christian 
government, and so is a large portion of Farther India. 

The Mohammedan countries in Asia are Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, and the Khanates of Central 
Asia; in Africa—Morocco, the dependencies of Turkey (Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli,) and a number of 
interior States. 

Buddhism prevails in India, Farther India, in many parts of China, and in Japan. The govern¬ 
ments of Japan, Burmah, and Siam are Buddhist; the government of China adheres to the religion 
of Confucius. 


GENERAL STATISTICS OF CHRISTIANITY. 


It is common to divide the Christian Churches into three groups : 

(I.) The Roman Catholic Church. This Church is apparently one organization, and the recog¬ 
nition of the Pope as the head of the entire Church is an article of faith. There is one religious 
organization in Holland, (the Jansensits,) who, while they claim to belong to the Roman Catholic 
Church, are not recognized by the Pope. Besides, in the Roman Catholic countries of Europe there 
are many millions whose connection with the Roman Catholic Church is only nominal, of which the 
attitude of Italy, Austria, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and other States is a conclusive proof. 

(2.) The Eastern or Oriental Churches. This group embraces the following denominations ; 
The Greek Church, the Armenian Church, the Nestorians, the Jacobites, the Copts, and the Abys- 
sinians. All of them recognize the first (Ecumenical Council of Nice, and have Bishops for whom 
they claim an apostolic succession. 

(3.) The Protestant Churches. All the Churches not belonging to one of the two preceding 
groups, are generally comprised under the colleclive name of Protestants. 

The following tables contain, as nearly as can be ascertained, the statistics of the Roman Catholic, 
Eastern and Protestant Churches in every country of the world. 


AMERICA. 


Total Population. 


United States, (including Alaska,)... 40,000,000.... 

Mexico. 8,218,080.... 

Central American Republics. 2,665,000.... 

United States of Columbia. 2,920,473.... 

Venezuela. 2,200,000.... 

Ecuador. 1,300,000.... 

Peru. 2,500,000.... 

Bolivia. 1,987,352.... 

Chili. 2,084,960.... 

Brazil. 11,780,000.... 

Argentine Republic. 1,465,000.... 

Paraguay. 1,337,431.... 

Uruguay. 350,000.... 

Hayti. 572,000.... 

San Domingo. 136,500.... 

Brit. N. America—(Domin. of Can¬ 
ada, Pr. Edwards Isl., Newfound¬ 
land, Brit. Columbia, Red River 

Col., Bermuda,). 3,880,000.... 

Other British Possessions. 1,130,910.... 

Danish Possessions, Greenland, St. 

Thomas, St. John, St. Cruz,). 48,231.... 

French Possessions. 315,677.... 

Spanish Possessions. 1,979,838.... 

Dutch Possessions. 92,521.... 

Swedish Possessions. 2,898.... 

Patagonia and Fireland. 30,000.... 


Roman Catholic. 

.... 5,000,000. 

.... 8 , 200,000 . 

.... 2,660,000.. 

.... 2,890,000. 

.... 2 , 200,000 . 

.... 1,250,000. 

.... 2,400,000 .... 

.... 1,750,000. 

. .. 1,950,000. 

.... 11 , 100,000 . 

.... 1,340,000. 

.... 1,337,000. 

237,000. 

.... 560,000. 

.... 135,000. 


1,700,000 

150,000 


9,200. 

314,000 

1,977,000 

32,000. 

800. 


86,996,871 47,192,000 

EUROPE. 

Portugal. 

Azores and Madeira 
Spain. 


Total Population. 

. 3,987,801) 

. 363,658/- 

. 16,30*1,626 .. 


Roman Catholic. 

.... 4,340,000. 

.... 16,280,000. 


Protestant. East. Church. 

,.33,500,000. 10,000 

5,000. 

5,000. 

,. 10,000 . 


2 , 000 ..". 


20 , 000 . 

100,000 

20,000 


3,000, 

10 , 000 . 

1 , 000 , 


2 , 100,000 

600,000, 


38,000. 

1 , 000 . 

2 , 000 . 

40,000. 

2 , 000 . 


36,459,000 10,000 


Protestant. East. Church. 

7,000. 

.. 10,000 . 





































































































































































































ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS. G03 


Total Population. Roman Catholic. Protestant. East. Church. 

Andora. 12,000 12,000. . 

J T ran . ce . 38,191,094 36,000,000. 1,600,000. 

North German Confederation. 29,910,377 . 7,875,000.20,682,000. 2,000 

South German States. 8,611,523 . 4,935,000. 3,351,000. 

Austria. £5,553,000 27,000,000. 3,600,000. 3,200,000 

I tal Y .. 25,091,908 24,710,000. 6,000. 

San Marino. 5,700 5,700. . 

Monaco.. i 887 . 1 800 

Switzerland. 2,510*494 1,023*000'”.”'.’.’.'.'.’.'. 1,482,000"!””” 

. - S-itlffi. 1,450,000. 2,200,000. 

Belgium....... 4,984*451 . 4,850,000. 25,000. 

Gr H e WX„d;'Gib^ra;dMiu: “'fS}.woo ,000 . 23 , 400,000 

Denmark. 1,608,095 

Faroe and Iceland. 75,909 

Sweden. 4,070,061 

Norway. 1,702,478, 

Turkey. 13,544,000' 

Roumama. 3,864,848 

Servia. 1,078,281 

Montenegro. 196,238, 

Greece. 1,096,810' 

Ionian Islands. 251,712 

Russia. 67,260*431 


1,000. 1,675,000, 

5,000. 5,760,000 


••••••••• 


700,000. 50,000. 


12,500,000 


160,000. 3,000. 1,270,000 

6,769,000. 4,122,000.. 52,810,000 


293,513,035 


142,117,500 


68,028,000 


69,782,000 


Protestant. East. Church. 


ASIA. 

Total Population. Roman Catholic. 

Russian Possessions. 9,748,017 . 25,000. 10,000. 4,885,000 

Turkish Possessions. 16,463,000 . 260,000. 10,000. 3,000,000 

Arabia. 4,000,000 ... 


10 , 000 . 


Persia. 5,000,000 

Affghanistan and Herat. 4,000,000 

Beloochistan. 2,000,000 

Toorkistan. 7,870,000 

China and dependencies.477,500,000 

Japan. 35,000,000 

East India and British Burmah.193,340,4144 

Ceylon. 2,049,728 V 

Farther India. 20,769,945j 

East India Islands. 27,678,477 . 2,000,000. 170,000 


2,000. 300,000 


700,000 . 20,000., 

100,000. 1,000. 

1,600,000. 500,000. 


805,419,477 


4,695,000 


713,000 


1,000 

300,000 

8,486,000 


The statistics of the Christian 


AFRICA. 

The total population of Africa was estimated in 1868 at 190,950,000. 
population are about as follows : 

Roman Catholic. Protestant. East. Church. 

British Possessions. 140,000. 500,000. 

French Possessions. 133,000. 

Portuguese Possessions. 439,000. 

Spanish Possessions. 12,000. 

Angola, Benguela, Mozambique. 100,000, 

Algeria. 190,000 


Egypt, 

Abyssinia. 

Liberia. 

Morocco and Fez. 

Tunis and Tripoli.... 

Madagascar. 

Orange Free State.... 
Transvaal Republic., 

Kaffraria. 

Basutos. 


50,000. 

30,000. 


200 . 

10,000. 

2,000. 50,000. 

. 15,000. 

. 30,000. 

•m.} 30,000. 


10,000. 

10,000. 200,000 

. 3,000,000 

40,000. 


1,106,200 


685,000 


3,200,000 


AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA. 

The total population of Australia, according to the latest census, was 1,313,946; the population of 
the islands is estimated at 2,823,925; total, 4,192,000. 

The number of Roman Catholics in New South Wales is 99,193; in South Australia, 15,594; in 
Victoria, 107,610; in New Zealand, about 30,000; in the Sandwich Islands, 22,000. The total num¬ 
ber of Roman Catholics in Australia and Polynesia may be estimated at 350,OOO. 

Nearly the whole population of the English Possessions, that is not Roman Catholic and Jewish, 
may be set down as Protestant. This gives about 1,300,000 for Australia, Tasmania and New Zea¬ 
land. In the Sandwich, Fiji and other islands, there may be about 150,0OO. Total number of Pro¬ 
testants, abont 1,450,000. 





































































































































































































































604 


ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS. 


America. 

Europe. 

Asia. 

Africa.. 

Australia and Polynesia 


RECAPITULATION—TOTAL. 

Total Population. Roman Catholic 

. 86,996,871. 47,192,000. 

.293,513,035.142,117,000. 

..805,419,908. 4,695,000. 

.190,9.50,609. 1,106,200. 

. 4,000,000. 350,000.... 


1,380,880,423 195,460,200 


Protestant. East. Church. 

..36,459,000. 10,000 

..68,028,000.69,782,000 

.. 713,000. 8,486,000 

.. 685,000. 3,200,000 

... 1,450,000. 


107,335,000 81,478,000 


/ 


CONTRIBUTIONS IN AMERICA. 


1. CHURCH BUILDING. 


Amer. Congregational Union... $50,642 
Lutheran Church Extension So¬ 
ciety . 4,258 

Meth Epis. Church [North]. 61,535 

Presb. Church, U. S. A. [North] 210,930 


Presb. Church, Reformed [O.S.] $28,351 
Presbyterian Church, United... 5,686 

Reformed [Dutch] Church. 13,708 

Reformed [German] Church. 6,598 


$381,7 


2. EDUCATION FOB THE MINISTBT. 


American Education Society... $28,369 
Presb Church, U. S. A. [North] 246,889 
Presb. Church, U. S. [South]... 17,369 


Presbyterian Church [United]... $4,288 
Reformed Church [Dutch]. 13,181 

- $310,096 


3. MISSIONS. 


1.—FOREIGN. 


American Bapt. Miss. Union...$200,953 


American Board of Commission 

for Foreign Missions. 525,215 

Am. Church Miss. Society. 107,931 

American Colonization Society 71,080 
American and Foreign Christian 

Union. 116,689 

Free Will Baptist Society. 9,480 

Methodist Episcopal Church 

[North]. 187,863 

Presb. Board of Foreign Miss. 

[North]. 316,542 


American Baptist Home Mis¬ 
sionary Society. .$190,051 

American Female Guardian So¬ 
ciety. 71,936 

American Home Missionary So¬ 
ciety . 283,102 

American Seaman Friend’s So¬ 
ciety . 74,065 

Methodist Episcopal Mission¬ 
ary Society [North]. 442,240 


Presb. Board of Foreign Miss. 

[South]. $29,048 

Presb. Board of Foreign Miss. 

[United]. 53,805 

Presb. Church [Reformed]. 8,453 

Protestant Episcopal Board of 

Foreign Missions. 88,342 

Southern Baptist Board of For¬ 
eign Missions. 14,832 

Woman’s Union Missionary So¬ 
ciety . 59,599 

■-$1,789,898 


2.—HOME. 


Presb. Board of Home Mis¬ 
sions [North].$300,598 

Presb. Board of Home Mis. 

sions [United]. 28,177 

Presb. Board of Sustentation 

[South]. 23,430 

Prot. Epis. Board of Domestic 

Missions. 132,859 

Reformed Church [Dutch]. 26,950 

-$1,573,418 


3.—FREEDMEN. 


American Missionary Associa¬ 
tion...$413,000 

Presb. Com. of Miss, for Freed- 

men. 90,079 


Presb. [United] Board for Freed- 

men. $14,744 

Prot. Epis. Board for Freedmen 20,831 

- $538,654 


4. PUBLICATION. 


1.—BIBLE. 

American Bible Society.$747,058 I Amer. Bible Union [Baptist]... $58,368 

Amer. and For. Bible Society... 16,054 | - 


$821,480 





































































































































ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS 


2.— PUBLICATION. 


Presb. Board of Pub. [North].., 
Presb. Board of Pub. [South].. 
Reform. Church Board of Pub, 
[Dutch].... 


5 . YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS . 

The number of Young Men’s Christian Associations reported to the General Convention at Albany 
in 1866 was sixty-three. They have since greatly multiplied in numbers, as appears from the follow¬ 
ing table: 

Montreal. Detroit. Portland. Indianapolis. 

1867. 1868. 1869. 1870. 

Associations reporting... 141..~. 257. 325. 378 

Associations not reporting. 104. 256. 334. 425 

Total. IS 513 659 803 

Of these 325 report 50,901 members; and eleven have Association Buildings, as follows: 

Place. Value. Debt. Place. Value. Debt. 

Bethlehem, Pa. $25,000.. $6,500 Rockport, Mass. $3,500. $1,500 

Newtown, N. Y. 5,000. 2,000 San Francisco, Cal. 125,000. 45,000 

N. Y. City. 600,000. 150,000 Shoreham, Vt. 2,000. 400 

N. Y. City (German)... 20,000. 17,000 Chicago. 200,000. 

Omaha, Neb. 6,000. 1,500 Washington, D. C. 200,000. 

Philadelphia, Pa. 75,000. 

Nine others have undertaken to secure buildings, and pledges of large sums of money have been 
made for this object. 


EDUCATION, 

Church of Scotland Education.. £7,554 

Education of the Blind. 1,871 

Free Church of Scot. Education 25,180 
Home and Colonial School So¬ 
ciety. 9,022 

Ragged School Union.... 45,240 

Reform and Refuge Union........ 5,879 


Book Society.. 

Brit, and Foreign School Society 

British Orphan Asylum. 

Christian Book Society. 

Chris. Vernacular Educ. Soc. 

for India... 

Church of Eng. Sunday School 


Institute 


MIS CELZANEO US, 

\ Liberation Society. 

Lord's Day Observance Soc.... 

Mariner’s Friend Society. 

National Temperance League... 
Naval and Military Bible Soc... 

; Palestine Exploration Fund.. 

i Protestant Reformation Society 

Seamen’s Christian Friend Soc. 

1 Systematic Beneficence Society 

( Workingmen’s Lord’s Day Rest 

Association. 

I Young Men’s Association,. 


Additional Curates Society.£36,832 

Army Script. Readers' Friend 

Society. 8,926 

Asso. in aid of Deaf and Dumb 1,259 

Band of Hope Union. 2,571 

Baptist Bible Translation Soc. 4,948 

Baptist Building Fund. 1,135 

Baptist Tract Society... 1,071 

Brit, and For. Sailors' Society.. 5,436 
British Home for Incurables..... 10,036 
Friend of the Clergy Corpora- 

tion (about). 10,000 

Ladies’ Association for Imp. of 

Syrian Women. 4,636 


3 . MISSIONS. 

1 .—COLONIAL AND CONTINENTAL. 

... /33,806 Free Church of Scotland Col 

5 212 and Con. Miss. 



































































































































ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS, 


2.—FOREIGN, 


So. for the Propagt’n of the G os. £106,434 
South American Miss. Society.. 7,925 
Turkish Missions Aid Society... 2,794 
United Meth. Free Churches... 10,445 
Unit. Presb. Church For. Miss. 29,118 
Wesleyan Missionary Society... 145,751 


Baptist Missionary Society.£39,339 

Church Missionary Society. 141,828 

Church of Scotland For. Miss... 8,601 
English Presbyterian For. Miss 7,330 
Free Church of Scot. For. Miss 84,935 

London Missionary Society. 104,670 

Primitive Meth. Miss Society... 20,300 


3.—HOME, 


Ch. of England Scripture Read¬ 
ers’ Society. 

Ch. of Scotland Home Miss. 

and End. Fund. 

Church Pastoral Aid Society.... 
English Presb. Home Missions 
Free Church of Scotland Home 
and Highland Missions... 
Home Miss. Soc. (Congregat’l) 


Irish Church Missions. 

Irish Evang. Soc. (Congregat’l) 

Irish Society,. 

London City Mission. 

Unit. Presb. Church and Home 

Mission. 

Wesleyan Home Missions. 


.£ 12,111 

81,339 
61,994 
2,408 

15,708 
9,715 

4.—JEWISH MISSIONS 

£8,680 London Jewi 

4,245 Operative Je 1 

4,245 


British Jewish Society.. 

Church of Scot. Miss, to Jews.. 
Free Ch. of Scot. Miss, to Jews 


PUBLICATION. 

I Religious Tract Society (exclu- 
l sive of sales)..£14,979 


British and Foreign Bible So¬ 
ciety.jl 


Statistics of 51 Denominations of Protestants in 1870 9 and 
for 5 and 10 years past • 

Churches. Member 

230,000 
263,000 

300.500 
279,000 

232.500 
4.50,000 
135,000 
144,000 

84,000 
83,000 
6,500 
7,800 
8,600 

6.500 
67,000 
68,200 
67,000 

1,300 
1,630 

1.500 
780 

4,000 
1,000 
85,000 
98,000 
88,000 
280,000 
813,000 
392,720 
93,000 
108,000 
120,000 
75,000 
96,000 
109,411 
6,000 
6,.500 
6,770 


Ministers, 

1,922 

2,760 


Congregational 


Presbyterian, Old School 


Old and New School 
New School. 


Presbyterian Church, South 
Reformed Presbyterian. 


Synod of Reformed Presbyterian.1865, 

Associated Presbyterians, or United! 1860j 
Presbyterian Church in North >1865, 

America. J 1870, 

Asso. Reformed,.1843, 


Asso. Reformed, South.1867 

Asso. Reformed, North.1867 

Free Presbyterian.1861 

Ind. Presb. in No. and So. Carolina...1861' 
Cumberland Presbyterian...I860, 


Lutheran 


German Reformed 


United B. in Christ. Ger, 


Moravians 





i { 




































































































































"Hp*"-<2; 






ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS. 


[(© 


23. 


25. 


(® 


Dutch Reformed, (Name changed ) I860, 
to Reformed Church in America J 1865, 

™ • 187 °. 
Mennomtes.1850, 

1865, 

„ . 1870, 

Reformed Mennonites...1860, 

German Evangelical Association \ 1860, 

(German Methodists). J 1865, 

1870, 

Christians.I860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Church of God...I860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Baptists.I860, 

1865, 

„ 1870, 

Free Will Baptists.1860, 

1865, 

_ 1870, 

\26. 7th Day Baptists.1860, 

1865, 

_ 1870, 

27. German Baptists (Dunkers).1860, 

1865, 
1870, 

German 7th Day Baptists.1860, 

Antimission Baptists.1860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Six Principle Baptists.1870, 

River Brethren.1860, 

Disciples of Christ (Campbellites).1860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Protestant Episcopal.1860, 

1865, 
1879, 

Methodists (Protestant Episcopal).1860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Methodist Protestant Church.1860, 

1870, 

Methodist Church.1867, 

1869, 

True Wesleyan Methodist.1860, 

1865, 

1870, 

African Methodist Episcopal...1860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Zion African Methodist Episcopal.1860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Methodist Episcopal South..1860, 

1865, 
1870, 

Free Methodist.1860, 

1865, 
1870, 


29. 


32 


81 


37 


39 


40 


41 


Churches. 

371 

428 

470 

273 

315 

317 

70 

301 

305 

490 

1,500 

5,000 

6,444 

278 

350 

400 

17,600 

12,712 

12,020 

1,179 

1,285 

1,385 

58 

78 

80 

161 

204 

200 

1,751 

1,790 

1,830 

20 

80 

1,890 

1,800 

1,809 

2,151 

2,322 

2,520 

7,300 

7,200 


605 

600 

420 

350 

600 

1,580 


42 


5 

70 

116 


Wesleyan Primitive Methodists, 

Oimkers... 

>.........1865, 

1870, 

.1870, 

23 

21 

Hicksites ....... 

.1870,. 



1870 ; . 


1 - . r T .. 

Adventists... 

.1870,. 


Swedenborgian..... 

.1870,. 


Spiritualism.... 

.1870,. 



.1870'. 


Church Perfection... 

.1870,. 


Catholic Apostolic. 

.1870,.. 



Total Number. 




Members, 

50,500 

55,000 

62,000 

35,000 

38,000 

40,200 

11,000 

34,000 

51,000 

63,400 

825,000 

600,000 

630,000 

14,100 

31,000 

35,000 

930,000 

1,041,000 

1,221,350 

56,800 

56,785 

67,000 

6,700 

6,800 

7,300 

8,705 

21,000 

20,000 

1,800 

62,000 

67,000 

120,000 

31,000 

7,000 

300,000 

305,000 

307,000 

142,300 

154,118 

208,700 

960,080 

965,000 

1,299,000 

91,000 

73,000 

60,000 

49,030 

21,000 

23,000 

20,000 

20,000 

















































































































PART VI 


RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF PAGAN 

NATIONS, &c. 


SEC. I.—RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CEREMONIES OF THE ANCIENT 

EGYPTIANS. 

According to the most authentic ancient records in Egypt, the priests 
held the next rank to kings, and from among them were chosen the great 
officers of state. They enjoyed many privileges, and, among others, the* 
of having their lands exempted from the payment of taxes ; of which we 
have a remarkable instance in Genesis, chap, lxvii., verse 26, where we 
read that “Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt that Pharaoh 
should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became 
not Pharaoh’s.” As they had the sole management of the religious rites 
and ceremonies, so they were at the head of all the public seminaries of 
learning; and to their care was committed the education of the youth, espe¬ 
cially such as were designed for high employments. That the progress of 
idolatry was very rapid after the Deluge cannot be doubted ; and yet the 
Egyptians pretend that they were the first who instituted festivals, sacri¬ 
fices, and processions, in honour of the gods. These festivals were held in 
the most celebrated cities, where all the inhabitants of the kingdom were 
obliged to attend, unless prevented by sickness; and when that happened, 
they were to illuminate their windows with torches. They sacrificed many 






































































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


ment they were to remain a certain number of years, till they had been 
purified from their guilt, and then they were to inhabit more exalted beings. 
The priest had the keeping of all the sacred books, whether relating to reli¬ 
gion or to civil polity ; and therefore to the common people every thing was 
delivered in a mysterious, emblematical manner. Silence, with respect to 
their sacred rites, was pointed out by a figure called Harpocrates, resem¬ 
bling a man, holding his finger upon his lips—intimating that mysteries 
were not to be revealed to the vulgar. They had likewise, at the gates of 
alt their temples, images of a similar nature, called sphinxes; and every 
hing in their religion was symbolical. The figure of a hare pointed out 
ttention, or watchfulness, because that creature has been always esteemed 
as one of the most fearful in the universe. A judge was painted without 
hands, with his eyes fixed on the ground, thereby intimating that a magis¬ 
trate should judge with impartiality, without considering the characters or 
stations of the persons who are brought before him. 

From attending in a careful manner to the perusal of the Egyptian his¬ 
tory, it would seem, that while idolatry was in some measure cultivated by 
he neighbouring nations, there it flourished in a state of perfection. The 
number of their idols was endless; but those which seem to have been most 
regarded by them in ancient times were Osiris and Isis, which we have 
uch reason to believe were the sun and moon. These, however, were 
only the general gods of Egypt, and such as were worshipped by the king 
md his courtiers; for almost every district had its particular deity. Some 
worshipped dogs; others, oxen; some, hawks; some, owls; some,crocodiles; 
some, cats ; and others, ibis—a sort of an Egyptian stork. The worship of 
hese animals was confined to certain places; and it often happened that 
those who adored the crocodile were ridiculed by such as paid divine ho¬ 
nours to the cat. To support the honour of their different idols, bloody 
wars often took place; and whole provinces were depopulated to decide the 
uestion, whether a crocodile or a cat was a god! And yet it is remark- 
ble, that although they disputed concerning the attributes of their idols, yet 
they all agreed in this, that every person was guilty of a capital offence 
who injured any of those animals whose figures were set up in their tem¬ 
ples : of this we have a remarkable instance in Diodorus Siculus, who was 
in eye-witness to the fact which he relates. 

A Roman soldier, during the time of Mark Antony, having inadvertently 
tilled a cat at Alexandria, the populace rose in a tumultuous manner, drag¬ 
ged him from his house, and murdered him. Nay, such was the respect 
he Egyptians had for these animals, that during an extreme famine, they 
;hose rather to eat one another than to hurt them. But of all the idojs 
worshipped by the Egyptians, the Apis, or bull, had the preference; and 
t is undoubtedly from his figure that the Jews formed the golden calf in the 
wilderness. The most magnificent temples were erected for him; he was 


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EGYPTIANS. 


adored by all ranks of people while living; and when he died, for he wa 
a living bull, all Egypt went into mourning for him. We are told by 
Pliny, that, during the reign of Ptolemy Hagus, the bull Apis died of ex 
treme old age ; and such wa* the pompous manner in which he was interred 
that the funeral expenses amounted to a sum equal to that of twelve thou 
sand pounds sterling. The next thing to be done was to provide a succes¬ 
sor for this god, ana all Egypt was ransacked on purpose. He was to b 
distinguished by certain marks from all other animals of his own species 
particularly he was to have on his forehead a white mark, resembling t 
crescent; on his back the figure of an eagle; and on his tongue that of i 
beetle. As soon as an ox answering that description was found, mournin 
gave place to joy, and nothing was to be heard of in Egypt but festivals an 
rejoicings. The new-discovered god, or rather beast, was brought tc 
Memphis to take possession of his dignity, and there placed upon a throne 
with a great number of ceremonies. Indeed, the Egyptians seem to have 
given such encouragement to superstition, that not content with worshipping 
the vilest of all reptiles, they actually paid divine honours to vegetables. 

That such absurdities should have taken place among a people justlj 
celebrated for their knowledge of the sciences, is what we are hardly able>, 
to account for; but that it did so, we have the greatest authority to assert 
from the whole evidence of antiquity. To read of animals and vile insect* 
honoured with religious worship—placed in the most pompous temples 
erected at a most extravagant expense—that those who killed them shouk 
be put to death—and that those animals were embalmed after death, am 
treated with divine honours—is what a sober heathen would hardly believe ;/ 
and yet we have it from the testimony of the most sober heathens. 

We may add further, that to hear that leeks and onions were worshippe 
as deities—nay, were invoked in all cases of necessity—are such surprisin 
instances of the weakness of the human understanding, and the corruptio 
of human nature, that we have reason to bless God for the times, and th 
places where we were born. Lucian, a profane heathen author, who wrot 
about the middle of the second century of the Christian era, seems to hav 
had very just notions of the ridiculous rites and ceremonies of the Egyptian 
in his time. His words are,—“You may enter into one of their most mag¬ 
nificent temples, adorned with gold and silver; but look around you for 
god, and you behold a stork, an ape, or a cat.” |$\ 'i 

It is, therefore, proper that we should inquire what motives could indue Q 
these people to act in such a manner; but here we are led into a large fiel 
indeed. The ancient Egyptians had a tradition that, at a certain perioq/C 
men rebelled against the gods, and drove them out of heaven. Upon this 
disaster taking place, the gods fled into Egypt, where they concealed them¬ 
selves under the form of different animals; and this was the first reaso 
assigned for the worship of these creatures. But there was another reaso 





















































































4^1 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


assigned for the worship of those animals, namely, the benefits which men 
often received from them, particularly in Egypt. 

Oxen, b) their labour, helped to cultivate the ground ; sheep clothed them 
with their wool; dogs, among many other services, prevented their houses 
from being robbed ; the ibis, a bird somewhat resembling a stork, was of grea 
service in destroying the winged serpents with which Egypt abounded; the 
crocodile, an amphibious creature, was worshipped because it prevented the 
wild Arabs from making incursions; the ichneumon, a little animal, was of 
great service to them in different ways: he watches the crocodile’s absence 
and breaks his eggs, and when he lies down to sleep on the banks of th( 
Nile, which he always does, with his mouth open, this little creature jump!; 
out of the mud, and leaping down his throat, forces his way down to hii! 
entrails, which he gnaws, then he pierces his belly, and thus triumphs ove ■ 
this most dreadful animal. 

The first Christian fathers ridiculed the Egyptian idolatry, and paintec 
the absurdity of it in the most lively colours, and asked the heathen priest!i 
how they could dishonour the great God of heaven and earth, by offering 
sacrifices to the vilest and most contemptible animals and reptiles, such a:s 
serpents, crocodiles, and cats. Indeed, God, in his righteous judgment, gave 
them up to a reprobate mind, and whilst they professed themselves to bo 
wise, they became fools, for having changed the glory of the incorruptibl 
God into an image, made like to corruptible man, and to birds and four- 
footed beasts, and creeping things. 

The funeral ceremonies of the Egyptians deserve particular notice, tor nq 
people, of whom we have any account transmitted to us, ever paid so much 
regard to the bodies of their departed friends. Of this we have a striking 
instance in what still remains of their pyramids, the most stupendous build 
ings that ever were erected to perpetuate the memory of their princes. 
This ostentation, like most other customs, originated first in the courts o 
their kings ; but in time was imitated, as far as lay in their power, by the 
lower ranks of people 

When any of their relations died, the whole family quitted the place o 
their abode; and during sixty or seventy days, according to the rank o 
quality of the deceased, abstained from all the comforts of life, excepting 
such as were necessary to support nature. They embalmed the bodies, an 
many persons were employed in performing this ceremony. The brain 
were drawn through the nostrils with an instrument, and the intestines wer 
emptied by cutting a hole in the abdomen, or belly, with a sharp stone, afte 
which the cavities were filled up with perfumes and the finest odoriferou 
spices; but the person who made the incision in the body for this purpose, 
and who was commonly a slave, was obliged to run away immediately afte 
or the people present would have stoned him to death; but those who e 
balmed the body were treated with the utmost respect. 



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EGYPTIANS. 

The interior parts of the body were filled with all sorts of curious spices, 
which they purchased from the Arabians; and after a certain number of 
days had expired, it was wrapped up in fine linen, glued together with 
rum, and then spread over with the richest perfumes. The body being 
hus embalmed, was delivered to the relations, and placed either in a sepul¬ 
chre, or in their own houses, according to their rank and ability. It stood 
a wooden chest, erect; and all those who visited the family treated it 
with some marks of respect. This was done, that those who knew them 
hile alive should endeavour to imitate their conduct after death. Of this 
we have a striking instance in the account of the funeral of Joseph, in 
• ^gypt» the regard that was paid to his remains long after his decease. 
The Egyptians would not suffer praises to be bestowed indiscriminately 
upon every person, let his rank be ever so elevated; for characters given to 
the deceased were bestowed by the judges, who represented the people at 
^vViJarge. The judges who were to examine into the merits of the deceased 
dnet on the opposite side of a lake, of which there were many in Egypt; 
i nd while they crossed the lake, he who sat at the helm was called Charon, 
which gave rise to the fable among the Greeks, that Charon conducted the 
souls of deceased persons into the Elysian fields, or the infernal regions. 
When the judges met, all those who had any thing to object against the 
eceased person were heard; and if it appeared that he had been a wicked 
erson, then his name was condemned to perpetual infamy, nor could his 
Nearest relations erect any monument to perpetuate his memory. 

\ This made a deep impression on the minds of the people; for nothing 
A perates more strongly than the fear of shame, and the consideration of our 
deceased relations being consigned to infamy hereafter. Kings themselves 
"ere not exempted from this inquiry; all their actions were canvassed at 
irge by the judges, and the same impartial decision took place as if it had 
been upon one of the meanest of the subjects. Of this we have some in¬ 
stances in Scripture, where we read that wicked kings were not suffered to 
he interred in the sepulchres of their ancestors. Happy for mankind, if 
lis were more attended to in our days; then wicked princes and sovereigns 
\yould learn, that notwithstanding their elevated rank in life, yet the justice 
f their country, which they often trample on, will scrutinize with severity 
tjheir actions, while their bodies are consigned to the silent tomb. 

If no objection was made to the conduct of the deceased, then a funeral 
oration was delivered in memory of him, reciting his most worthy actions; 

‘ ut no notice was taken of his birth, because every Egyptian was consi- 
ered as noble. No praises were bestowed, but such as related to temporal 
lerit; and he was applauded for having cultivated piety to the gods, and 
discharged his duty to his fellow-creatures. Then all the people shouted 
ith voices of applause, and the body was honourably interred. The 
fptians, however, believed much in the doctrine of the transmigration 

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PAGAN NATIONS. 


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)f souls, and likewise that for some time after death the souls of the de¬ 
ceased hovered round the bodies; which, among many others, was one of 
the reasons why they deferred the interment of their relations so long. 


5EC. II—RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CEREMONIES OF THE CARTHA¬ 
GINIANS AND TYRIANS. 

The religion of the Carthaginians, which was the same as that of the 
yrians, Phoenicians, Philistines, and Canaanites, was most horrid and bar- 
arous. Nothing of any moment was undertaken without consulting the 
ods, which they did by a variety of ridiculous rites and ceremonies. Her- 
ules was the god in whom they placed most confidence; at least, he was 
|he same to them as Mars was to the Romans, so that he was invoked before 
hey went upon any expedition; and when they obtained a victory, sacri- 
ices and thanksgivings were offered up to him. They had many other 
eities whom they worshipped; but the chief of these was Urania, or the 
Moon, whom they addressed under different calamities; such as drought, 
ain, hail, thunder, or any dreadful storms. The Christian fathers, having 
attained to the knowledge of the truth, often in their writings ridicule these 
maginary deities ; particularly St. Austin, who was a native of Hippo, in 
frica, and consequently had reason to point out the absurdities of their 
dolatry. Urania, or the Moon, is the same which the prophet calls the 
jueen of heaven, Jer. vii. 18; and there we find the inspired writer re¬ 
proving the Jewish women for offering up cakes and other sorts of sacrifices 
o her. 

Saturn was the other deity whom the Carthaginians principally worship 
ed ; and he was the same with what is called Moloch in Scripture. This 
dol was the deity to whom they offered up human sacrifices, and to this 
tve owe the fable of Saturn’s having devoured his own children. Princes 
ind great men, under particular calamities, used to offer up their most be- 
oved children to this idol. Private persons imitated the conduct of their 
rinces, and thus in time the practice became general; nay, to such a 
leight did they carry their infatuation, that those who had no children of 
heir own purchased those of the poor, that they might not be deprived of 
he benefits of such a sacrifice, which was to procure them the completion 
f their wishes. This horrid custom prevailed long among the Phoenicians, 
he Tyrians, and the Carthaginians; and from them the Israelites borrowed 
t, although expressly contrary to the order of God. 

The original practice was to burn these innocent children in a fiery fur¬ 
nace, like those in the valley of Hinnom, so often mentioned in Scripture; 
nd sometimes they put them into a hollow brass statue of Saturn, flaming 
ot. To drown the cries of the unhappy victims, musicians were ordered 
; to play on different instruments—and mothers—shocking thought.—made 


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ASSYRIANS 


il a sort of merit to divest themselves of natural affections while they beheld 
the barbarous spectacle. If it happened that a tear dropped from the eyes 
of a mother, then the sacrifice was considered as of no effect; and th* 
parent who had that remaining spark of tenderness was considered as an 
enemy to the public religion. In latter times they contented themselves 
with making their children walk between two slow fires to the statue of 
the idol; but this was only a more slow and excruciating torture, for th^ 

This is what in Scripture is called the 

Jl 

pass through the fire to Moloch; and 
y Israelites in whose favour God had 
wrought so many wonders, demeaned themselves so low as to comply 
with it. M 

It appears from Tertullian, who was himself a native of Carthage, tha[t 
this inhuman practice continued to take place long after the Carthaginian3 
had been subdued by the Romans. That celebrated father tells us, that 
children were sacrificed to Saturn or Moloch down to the proconsulship 0 } 
Tiberius, who hanged the sacrificing priests themselves on the trees w r hic ^ 
shaded their tempi 


sons 


as on so many crosses raised to expiate their crimes*/ av 
of which the soldiers were witnesses who assisted at these executions. 

Diodorus relates an instance of this more than savage barbarity, which ^ 
sufficient to fill any mind with horror. He tells us that when Agathocle^M® 
going to besiege Carthage, the people seeing the extremity to whic j ijlj 
they were reduced, imputed all their misfortunes to the anger of their god vj 
Saturn, because that, instead of offering up to him children nobly bornoT/p 
he had been fraudulently put ofT with the children of slaves and foreigners. 

the infatuated 


was 


That a sufficient atonement should be made for this crime 
people considered it, two hundred children of the best families in Carthage 
were sacrificed, and no less than three hundred of the citizens voluntarily 
sacrificed themselves,—that is, they went into the fire without compulsion 
Such was the religion of the ancient Carthaginians, the Phoenicians, tip 
and indeed the Philistines, who were, as we have already observed 
remnant of the Canaanites. \ 


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PAGAN NATIONS 


nions have been formed concerning the singularity of this very extraordinary 
character, but the whole may be reduced to a very narrow compass. 

The descendants of Noah 
plunged themselves into the grossest idolatries 
are often made subservient towards promotin; 
dence, and as 
end 


soon forgot the knowledge of the true God, ant 

but as the passions of men 
the ends of Divine Provi { 
the worst intentions of men often become beneficial in thdj 
Nimrod, by his ambition, laid the foundation of an empire, whicl 
existed for many years after his death, and in the end became a scourge to 
those people of whom God made choice. That he was a mighty hunter, 
cannot be doubted; and under that character he displayed his political abili¬ 
ties in two respects. The country in which he lived was infested with wil< 
beasts, and therefore he acquired popularity by delivering the people from; 
the ravages made by those furious creatures; and secondly, by hunting, h$ 
trained up the youth in all sorts of martial exercises, and inured them to a 1 
sorts of hardships. He formed them to the use of arms and discipline, that 
in a proper time he might make them subservient to his purposes, in ex¬ 
tending his power over his peaceful neighbours. That he resided for some) 


gardless of the duty hie 


Fortified within such an extensive city, and 
owed to the Great Parent of the universe, Nimrod gave himself up to a ! 
manner of debauchery; and while he continued to trample upon the righ s 
of his fellow-creatures, he proceeded to the highest degree of impiety, 
namely, to set up idols in temples which he had built, and even to worship 
the works of his own hands. f* 

From what we shall learn in the course of this work, it will appear that 
the most ancient species of idolatry was that of worshipping the sun and 
moon. This idolatry was founded on a mistaken notion of gratitude, whic G 
instead of ascending up to the Supreme Being, stopped short at the vejil 
which both covered and discovered him. Had those idolaters considered 


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Men have, in all ages, been convinced of the necessity of an intercourse 
between God and themselves; and the adoration of God supposes him to be 
attentive to men’s desires, and, consistent with his perfections, capable of 
complying with them. But the distance of the sun and moon is an obstacle 
to this intercourse. Therefore foolish and inconsiderate men endeavoured 
to remedy this inconvenience by laying their hands on their mouths, and 
then lifting them up to their false gods, in order to testify that they would 
be glad to unite themselves to them, notwithstanding their being so far 
separated. We have a striking instance of this in the book of Job, which, 
properly attended to, will throw a considerable light on ancient pagan idol- 
latry. Job was a native of the confines of Assyria ; and being one of those 
who believed in the true God, says, in his own vindication, “ If I beheld the 
sun while it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and my heart hath 
|been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand,” &c.—Job xxxi. 
26, 27. 

This was a solemn oath, and the ceremony performed in the following 
manner: 

The person who stood before his accusers, or before the judge’s tribunal, 
where he was tried, bowed his head and kissed his hand three times, and 
looking up to the sun, invoked him as an almighty being, to take the highest 
vengeance upon him if he uttered a falsehood. 

As the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies were the first objects of 
worship among the Assyrians, so, in consistency with the corruption of 
human nature, they adored the fire as their substitute; and that sort of 
idoration was common among the Assyrians and Chaldeans, as will appear 
jfrom the following passage in Eusebius, who lived in the fourth century. 

“ Ur, which signifies fire, was the idol they worshipped ; and as fire will, 

I n general, consume every thing thrown into it, so the Assyrians published 
ibroad that the gods of other nations could not stand before theirs. Many 
experiments were tried, and vast numbers of idols were brought from foreign 
arts; but they, being of wood, the all-devouring god Ur, or fire, consumed 
hem. At last an Egyptian priest found out the art to destroy the reputa- 
ion of this mighty idol, which had so long been the terror of distant nations. 

e caused the figure of an idol to be made of porous earth, and the belly of 
it was filled with water. On each side of the belly holes were made, but 
filled up with wax. This being done, he challenged the god Ur to oppose 
his god Canopus, which was accepted of by the Chaldean priests; but no 
sooner did the wax which stopped up the holes in the belly of Canopus 
begin to melt, than the water burst out and drowned the fire. 

Adramelech was another idol belonging to the Assyrians; but his sup¬ 
posed power seems to have been confined to some of the more distant pro¬ 
vinces ; for we read, that when Salmanessar took captive the greatest part 
of the ten tribes, he sent in their room the inhabitants of a province called 


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PAGAN NATIONS. 


G17 




Sepharvaim; and these people were most horrid and barbarous idolaters, 
for they burnt their children alive, and committed such other abominations 
as are not proper to be mentioned. 

In the latter times of the Assyrian empire, before it was joined to that of 
Babylon, Nisrock was the god worshipped in Nineveh; and it was in the 
temple of this idol that the great Sennacherib was murdered by his two 
sons Adramelech and Shanezzar. Both the ancients and the moderns agree, 
that this idol was represented in the shape of a fowl; but they differ much 
concerning the species; some thinking it was a dove, and others an eagle. 
The Jewish rabbis tell us that it was made of a plank of Noah’s ark, which 
had been preserved on the mountains of Armenia. 

As it was the universal practice of the ancient heathen nations to wor¬ 
ship their idols in groves, before temples were erected, it may be proper 
here to inquire what gave rise to that notion. It is a principle acquired by 
experience without reading, that in every act of devotion the mind should 
be fixed on the grand object of worship. Every one who has walked in a 
grove will acknowledge that there was more than a common reverential 
awe upon his mind, which must be owing to the small number of objects 
that presented themselves. We may justly call them the haunts of medi¬ 
tation ; but still, it cannot be denied, that many abominable crimes were 
committed in them : some parts near their altars were set apart for secret 
lewdness, and even for such unnatural practices as ought not to be related. 
Strange, that men cannot use things properly without abusing them 1 

It is remarkable, that none of those Eastern nations burnt the bodies of 
their deceased relations, although they offered in sacrifice those of their 
living ones. They buried the dead bodies in the earth; and this they did 
in consequence of a tradition common among them, that the first man was 
buried. 

Their marriages were civil contracts between the parties; and polygamy, 
or a plurality of wives, was universally allowed. In their temples, dis¬ 
courses were delivered after the sacrifice was over, consisting chiefly of 
explanations of some of their mysteries, and exhortations to the people to 
be obedient to their sovereigns. That the idolatry of the Assyrians had 
been great, we have the evidence of many of the prophets; and all these 
prophecies have been literally fulfilled. It is true they repented for some 
time, at the preaching of Jonah; but they soon relapsed into the practice 
of their former enormities; and God has now, in his infinite justice, left 
nothing of them besides the name. So true are the words of Sacred Scrip¬ 
ture, namely, that “ Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach 
to any people.” 


iii 



























































































BABYLONIAN 


SEC. IV.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE 

BABYLONIANS. 

The city of Babylon owes its origin to the vanity and madness of those 
people who built a tower on the spot, and not to Nimrod, as many ancient 
leathen writers would have us to believe; for Nimrod was alive at the timo 
when the confusion of languages took place, and, therefore, we cannot rea¬ 
sonably imagine he would boldly set himself at defiance against Heaven, 
lfter he had seen such a signal instance of the Dvine displeasure. Thus 
we may naturally conclude, that what was left of the tower was some years 
ifter enclosed within a wall; but the exact time of its being enlarged, so as 
to deserve the name of a city, cannot now be known. In time, however, it 
rose to grandeur; but idolatry increased so fast in it, that many of the pro¬ 
phets denounced the most dreadful judgments upon it. Like the Assyrians, 
they worshipped the fire and images ; of which we have a striking instance 
in the book of Daniel, chap. iii. Like most other ancient nations, the 
Babylonians had strange notions concerning the first promulgation of their 
religion. Whether they worshipped fire or images, yet they indiscrimi¬ 
nately gave the names of Bel or Belus to all their deities. This idol was 
the same with what is called Baal in the Old Testament, and always signi¬ 
fies “strength.” Some are of opinion that it was Nimrod, but more proba¬ 
bly his son Ninus, who, according to ancient testimony, founded the city and 
kingdom of Babylon. Berosius, a very ancient writer, tells us, that the god 
Belus having but the chaos of darkness, divided the heaven and earth from 
each other, and reduced the world into proper order; but seeing that there 
were no people to inhabit it, he commanded one of the gods to cut off his 
own head and mix the earth with the blood, from whence proceeded men, 

















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


619 



the evidence by which they are supported is rationa.. And let us now 
ppeal to every unprejudiced person, whether the history of Bel and the 
ragon has not a more rational appearance than some things related by the 
st heathen authors. Nothing was more common than for the pagan priests 
make their votaries believe that all the sacrifices offered in their temples 
were eaten up by their idols, although the priests sold them in the markets, 
he story of Bel and the Dragon is as follows: Cyrus having taken Baby- 
11, like most of the ancient conquerors, worshipped Bel or Belus, the god 
f the country; but the rites and ceremonies not being so simple as those in 
Persia, where he had been educated, he began to entertain some doubts 
oncerning them. Daniel being, without dispute, at that time prime minis¬ 
ter to Cyrus, and the king being a man of an inquisitive turn of mind, na- 
rally entered into conversation with Daniel concerning the religion of the 
ews. In this, there is nothing at all surprising; for, first, the Jews 
ere a people different in their manners, customs, and religion, from all 
^thers in the world ; and secondly, they were then about to return from 
h^aptivity. 

& The great fame of Daniel had undoubtedly procured him admittance into 
he temple of Belus, not to worship, but to discover the knavery of the 
>riests. Zealous to promote the worship of the true God, he mentioned to 
he king the circumstance of his being imposed on by the priests, and 
jointed out the way to detect them, namely, by causing the floor of the 
emple to be sprinkled with ashes. The priests, who were seventy in 
lumber, desired the king to seal up the door, which was done; but they 
lad a private passage under the table or altar, through which they with 
heir wives and children passed, and ate up the provisions set before the 
dol, and what was not eaten up they carried away. In the morning, the 
ring, accompanied by Daniel, went to the temple, where he found the door 
sealed ; but, on going in, saw the marks of feet on the pavement. The 
ring being much incensed, ordered the priests to show him the privy door; 
ind as soon as he had extorted from them a confession of their guilt, he 
irdered them all to be massacred, with their wives and children,—a prac- 
ice very common in that age, and in other periods of time, of which many 
jxamples will be given. 

Nor is the account of the Dragon less probable; for, besides Bel, the 
Babylonians had many other idols whom they worshipped ; and what 
serves most to support the truth of the narrative, is, that a great insurrec- 
ion took place in Babylon, on account of the king’s partiality to the Jews, 
[t is true, Cyrus was prophesied of above two hundred years before he was 
lorn, as a great prince, who was to deliver the Jews from captivity; but the 
means to be used by him were not pointed out. God, in his all-wise 
Government of the world, often produces great events from causes which we 




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look tip< n ns trifling. But here we meet with something striking and na- 








































































BABYLONIANS. 


tural, and consistent with all those rules by which the evidence of history; 
has in all ages been regulated. 

Cyrus had not been brought up in the religion of the Babylonians; and 
although as a political prince he complied with their outward form of wor¬ 
ship, yet no sooner had he discovered the tricks practised by their priests,' 
than he let loose his vengeance upon them, and granted many privileges! 
to the Jews. The only objection that can be brought against any part ofiv 
this narrative is, that the author mistakes some names and facts; which is 
not to be wondered at, when we consider that the best historians of anti¬ 
quity have done so. 

Another idol worshipped in Babylon, was called Merodach, of whom we 
read, “ Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces, 
her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.” Jer. 1. 2. 

It is not certain who this Merodach was; but probably he was an ancient } 
king of Babylon, who, having performed some wonderful exploit, was after¬ 
wards considered as a deity, as was common among other heathen nations. 

Several of their kings seem to have been named after him, such as Evil- 
Merodach, and Merodach-Baladan; which last began to reign about seven 
hundred and seventeen years before the birth of Christ. 

Succoth-Benoth was another idol worshipped by the Babylonians; as is 
evident from what we read in 2 Kings xvii. 29,30. “ Howbeit, every j 

nation made gods of their own, and the men of Babylon made Succoth- 
Benoth.” 

Having said thus much concerning the religion of the ancient Babylo¬ 
nians, we shall now proceed to describe in what manner that magnificent 
city was destroyed; which were we to omit, would be utterly inconsistent; v 
with the plan we have laid down. This, indeed, is one of the most Temark-[^j(©) 
able events upon record, and serves to point out the wisdom and justice of 
the Divine Being. Here let the profligate tremble, and the deist hide his 
face ! That the children of Israel should be taken captives to Babylon, was 
foretold long before the event took place; but the same prophets, who 
pointed out their afflictions, predicted, at the same time, the fate of this[ 
haughty city. Nay, it was promised, that at the end of seventy years, the; j: | > 
Jews should be delivered, and that God would bring everlasting destruction! 
upon Babylon. 

We mortals are too apt to be filled with pride, when we consider the vie 
tories obtained by conquerors, who, although instruments in the hands of c 
God, to accomplish the designs of his Providence, yet are considered by him 
in the most diminutive point of view—or rather, as most illustrious robbers 
and murderers, as scourges for men’s impieties, and such as God will in his 
vengeance cut off. 

It had been prophesied long before, that this great city should be taken 
by the Medes and Persians, under the command of Cyrus, and that it waa^cvA 

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PAGAN NATIONS. 


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to be attacked in a very extraordinary manner. They reckoned their 
strength to consist in the river Euphrates, and yet that river proved their 
folly by being the means of their destruction. The city was to be taken I ■/(//% 

in the night, during a great festival. Their king was to be seized in an 
instant: and so was Belshazzar, when Cyrus took their city. Lastly, 
their king was to have no burial: and Belshazzar’s carcase was thrown to 
the dogs. See Jer. 1. 51, with many other passages in the prophetic 




.to 


Vi 


1 








writings. 

Cyrus having besieged the city of Babylon upwards of two years, con¬ 
trived to cut a vast ditch, or canal, to draw off the stream of the Euphrates ; 
and just about the time he had got it completed, he was told that there was 
to be a solemn feast in the city, and he availed himself of that circumstance 
During the night, the inhabitants of Babylon were lost in all manner of 
debauchery, and the king, as if intending to mock the great God, sent for 
the sacred vessels which had been brought from Jerusalem ; but mark the 
justice of God ! at a time when men forget him. During the feast, a hand 
appeared, writing the following words on the wall:—“ Mene, Mene, Tekel 
Upharsin.” Dan. v. 25. The king, being much terrified, sent for the ma¬ 
gicians, desiring them to interpret the meaning of the words, which none 
of them could do, for they were written in those characters which are 
now called Syriac. The king, not knowing what to make of this extraor¬ 
dinary circumstance, was desired by the queen to send for Daniel; and 
this queen, whom the Greeks call Nitocris, must have been either the 
mother or grandmother of Belshazzar, for she had been long acquainted 
with Daniel, and he was at that time a very old man. Daniel explained 
the words to the king, but he was too much lost in drunkenness to pay any 
regard to them. 

In the mean time, Cyrus opened the sluices of his canals; which, draw¬ 
ing off the water of the river at two different parts, his army marched into 
the city without opposition. Belshazzar, roused from the stupidity into 
which his wine had thrown him, came out to meet his enemies, but was 
soon killed with all those who attended him, and all who were found in the 
streets. Such was the end of the city of Babylon, after it had flourished 
many years ; and Cyrus having removed the seat of empire to Shushan in 
Persia, it soon became a desert, and the place where it stood is not now 
exactly known. Alexander the Great attempted to rebuild Babylon ; but 
that the purpose of God might stand, and that the prophecies might be ful¬ 
filled, the ambitious tyrant was taken off by death before he could complete 
his design. It was prophesied that Babylon should become the habitation 
of wild beasts, and that at last it should be turned into pools of water. Let 
us now see how this was literally fulfilled. 

When it was first deserted of its inhabitants, the Persian kings turned it 
into a park for hunting, and there they kept their wild beasts. When the 



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MEDES AND PERSIANS. 


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Persian empire declined, the beasts broke loose ; so that when Alexander 
the Great marched eastward, he found Babylon a perfect desert. He 
intended to have restored the Euphrates to its ancient channel, but that only 
served to complete the ruin of the place; for the design not being com¬ 
pleted, the river overflowed its banks, and the greatest part of that once 
celebrated city became a lake or pool of water. Theodorus, who lived 
about four hundred years after Christ, tells us, that Babylon was the recep¬ 
tacle of serpents, and all sorts of noxious animals, so that it was dangerous 
to visit it. Benjamin of Tudela, a Jew, who visited it in 1112, tells us, 
that few remains of it were left, nor were there any inhabitants within many 
miles of it. Rawolffe, a German, who travelled into the East in 1572, found 
it very difficult to discover the place upon which it stood, nor could the 
neighbouring inhabitants give him proper directions. Many later travellers 
have sought for her situation in vain, particularly Mr. Hanway, who visited 
that part of the world about a century ago. 

That great and good man tells us, that he spent several days to find out 
the situation of Babylon, but could not, although he had every assistance a 
modern traveller could procure. Nay, so uncertain was he of its ancient 
situation, that the more he inquired, the more he was left in the dark. It 
was once a nest of vile idolaters, and afterwards became a cage for unclean 
beasts; but now we have nothing left but the name. 


SEC. V.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE MEDES 

AND PERSIANS. 

The ancient kingdoms of Persia and Media were so nearly connected by 
a variety of concurring circumstances, that they cannot be separated in this 
article. Nay, it is much better that they should be kept joined, especially 
as they were many ages under one sovereignty. 

During the continuance of the Assyrian empire, the Medes had no regu¬ 
lar form of government, but lived in clans or tribes, much in the same man¬ 
ner as the ancient Britons. At last Deyoces, the son of Phaortes, a Mede 
by birth, projected the scheme of bringing them all under one monarchy. 
He was a man of great prudence, and much esteemed by his countrymen; 
he had beheld with concern the many disorders which had taken place from 
the jarring contentions among petty tyrants, and he resolved to avail him¬ 
self of such favourable circumstances. His reputation was so great, that 
the people of his own district made him their judge; and his decrees were 
so much approved of, that his popularity increased every day. The next 
part of his plan was, to pretend that he could not neglect his own domestic 
affairs to serve the public, and therefore desired to retire from business. 
Then it was that the good effects which had flowed from his wise adminis¬ 
tration began to be sensibly felt; for no sooner was it known that Deyocea 


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had resigned, than all sorts of licentiousness took place among the lowef 
orders of the people. 

These disorders, which threatened destruction to the state, occasioned a 
meeting of the chiefs to be held; and Deyoces having sent his emissaries 
thither, a motion was made that a king should be chosen, and the election 
fell unanimously on him. Deyoces obtaining the end of his ambition, set 
himself about reforming abuses, and polishing the minds of his subjects. 
For this purpose he set about building a city and palace; for before that 
period the people lived in huts in the woods. This city was called Ecba- 
tana, and it was most magnificent and beautiful. It was built in a circular 
form, on an eminence, from whence there was a most delightful prospect 
over a plain diversified with woods and rivers. His next business was that 
of composing a body of laws for his people; and from what we read in 


ancient history, they were well calculated to promote order among men who 
had not till then been under a regular form of government. 

Persia had been long under the government of its own kings, and con¬ 
tinued so till the reign of Cyrus the Great, who united them, not by con¬ 
quest, but by right of succession. Shushan, the royal city, seems to have 
been built long before the times of Cyrus; for we find it mentioned as 
flourishing place about the time that great prince issued his order for the 
Jews to return to their own country. The religion of the Medes and Per¬ 
sians was of great antiquity, and probably taught by one of the grandsons 





of Noah, who planted colonies in those parts, soon after the confusion of 



languages. Noah had taught his children the knowledge of the true God; ' (»'/i*-. 
and that they were to trust in his mercy, through the mediation of a Re¬ 
deemer. In Persia, the first idolaters were called Sabians, who adored the 
rising sun with the profoundest veneration. To that planet they conse¬ 




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crated a most magnificent chariot, to be drawn by horses of the greatest 
beauty and magnitude, on every solemn festival. The same ceremony was 
practised by many other heathens, who undoubtedly learned it from the 
Persian and other Eastern nations. 

In consequence of the veneration they paid to the sun, they worshipped 

. . a . A • . . . . * ... . « — 



the fire, and invoked it in all their sacrifices; in their marches they carried 

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it before their kings, and none but the priests were permitted to touch it, KAAQ) 
because they made the people believe that it came down from heaven. But 


their adoration was not confined to the sun ; they worshipped the water, 


the earth, and the winds, as so many deities. Human sacrifices were 
offered by them; and they burnt their children in fiery furnaces, appro- 

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priated to their idols. These Medes and Persians at first worshipped two 
gods, namely, Arimanius, the god of evil, and Oromasdes, the giver of all 
good. By some it was believed that the good god was from eternity, and 
the evil one created ; but they all agreed that they would continue to the 


end of time, and that the good god would overcome the evil one. They 


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MEDES AND PERSIANS. 



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considered darkness as the symbol of the evil god, and light as the image 
of the good one. They held Arimanius, the evil god, in such detestation, 
that they always wrote his name backward. Some ancient writers have 
given us a very odd account of the origin of this god Arimanius, which may 
serve to point out their ignorance of divine things. Oromasdes, say they, 
considering that he was alone, said to himself, “If I have no one to oppose 
me, where, then, is all my glory?” This single reflection of his created 
Arimanius, who, by his everlasting opposition to the divine will, contributed 
against inclination to the glory of Oromasdes. 

We are told by Plutarch that Oromasdes created several inferior gods, or 
genii: such as wisdom, goodness, justice, truth, the comforts of life, and all 
lawful enjoyments. On the other hand, Arimanius created as many devils-, 
such as lies, wickedness, and all sorts of abominations. The former like¬ 
wise created twenty-four devils, and enclosed them in an egg; the latter 
broke the egg, and by that means created a mixture of good and evil. This 
doctrine of the origin of good and evil bears such a striking resemblance to 
that of God and the devil, that it must have been borrowed from the tradi¬ 
tion concerning the fall of angels, which was undoubtedly known to the 
ancient Persians; or it might be taken from the account which Moses has 

I transmitted to us, concerning the creation of light and darkness. 

The religion of the Persians underwent a variety of very remarkable 
revolutions; for the Sabians, having fallen into disgrace, they were succeeded 
by another sect, called the Magi; who, on account of their pretensions to 
superior knowledge and sanctity, became extremely popular among the 
vulgar. Nay, such was the respect paid to them, that no king could take 
possession of the throne till he had been first instructed in their principles; 
nor could they determine any affair of importance till it had received their 
approbation. They were at the head both of religion and philosophy; and 
the education of all the youth in the kingdom was committed to their care. 

It is the general opinion, that the founder of the Magian religion was one 
Zoroaster, who lived about the year of the world 2900, and it continued to 
be the established religion of the country for many years after. The priests 
kept up continual fires in their temples; and standing before these fires with 
mitres on their heads, they daily repeated a great number of prayers. The 
name of their chief temple was Amanus, or Namanus, which signifies the 
sun ; and is the same with what we find under the name of Baal in Scrip¬ 
ture. Their great reputation induced people to visit them from all parts 
of the known world, to be instructed by them in the principles of philosophy 
and mythology ; and we are assured that the great Pythagoras studied 
many years under them. They believed, with the Egyptians, and many 
other heathen nations, that the soul passed from one body to another; and 
this sentiment daily gaining ground, paved the way for the propagation of 
others of a more pernicious nature. 




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The chief priest of the Magi was called Archimagus, or worshipper of 
fire; but, in latter times, the kings of Persia assumed that dignity to them¬ 
selves: but there was an inferior order of priests called Narbards, who were 
obliged to have very long beards; their caps were round, falling over their 
ears; and they had a girdle with four tassels, to remind them of four esta¬ 
blished maxims. First, that there is but one God; secondly, that they were 
to believe all the articles of the Magian religion; thirdly, that Zoroaster was 
God s true and faithful apostle; and, lastly, that they must never be weary 
of well-doing, as the only thing that could promote their honour in time, 
and their happiness in eternity. 

While they washed themselves, or sat at meals, they observed the most 
strict silence, no person being permitted to speak a word ; and this proba¬ 
bly gave rise to some of the sentiments taught by Pythagoras to his scholars, 
that they were to be silent in school, and always to adore fire. 

The religion of the ancient Magi fell into contempt, both in Media and 
Persia, in consequence of the priests of that order having usurped the su¬ 
preme authority upon the death of Cambyses; and the slaughter which was 
made of the chief men among them, sunk them so low, that they never rose 
to their original greatness; but still the affection which the people had to a 
religion which had prevailed among them upwards of six hundred years, 
was not to be easily rooted out, and therefore an impostor, under the name 
of Zoroaster, undertook to revive and reform it. 

Having seen the mischievous effects of adoring two gods, this artful im¬ 
postor introduced one superior to both; and the learned Dr. Prideaux is of 
opinion, that he took this hint from what we read in Isaiah, chap. xlv. 7: 
“ I am the Lord, and there is none else; I form the light, and create dark¬ 
ness ; I make peace, and create evil.” In a word, Zoroaster held that there 
was but one supreme God, who had under him two principles, one good 
and the other bad; that there is a perpetual struggle between them which 
shall last to the end of the world ; and then the angel of darkness and his 
disciples shall go into a world of their own, where they shall be punished 
in everlasting darkness; and the angel of light and his disciples shall also go 
into a world of their own, where they shall be rewarded with everlasting 
happiness. 

This Zoroaster was the first who built temples for the worship of the fire ; 
for before his time, the Magi performed their devotions on the summits of 
hills in the open air, where they were exposed to all the inclemency of the 
weather, which often extinguished their sacred fires. This second Zoroaster 
pretended to have received fire from heaven, which he placed on the altar 
of the temple of Xis in Media, from whence the priests gave it out, and it 
was sent to all the other cities and temples in the Median and Persian em¬ 
pire. The Magian priests kept their sacred fire with the greatest diligence, 
watching it continually without ever suffering it to go out. They fed it 































































MEDES AND PERSIANS. 


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with wood stripped of the bark, and they were prohibited from blowing it 
with their breath, or with bellows, lest it should be thereby polluted; to 
nave done either was death by their law. The Magian religion, as reformed 
by Zoroaster, seems to have been, in many points, copied from that of the 
Jews; and this is not much to be wondered at, when we consider that 
Zoroaster lived at the time when the Jews were captives in Babylon, and 
where he had an opportunity of conversing with them. The Jews had the 
real fire from heaven, and the Magi pretended to have the same; from all 
which it is evident, that during the time the Jews were in captivity, much 
of their religion was known to the Persians, and some of their latter systems 
founded upon it. 

The Magian priests were all of one tribe, like those among the Jews; 
and none but the sons of the priests could be ordained of their order: nay 
so strict were they in keeping the priesthood among their families, that 
rather than mix with the rest of the people, they trampled on one of the 
most sacred law's of nature, by committing incest with their sisters, and, 
horrid to mention, with their mothers. 

The Magian priests were divided into three orders: the arch-priests, their 
deputies, and the inferior ones, who, for the most part, resided in the coun¬ 
try. The second Zoroaster had the address to get his religion established 
in the Persian empire; and there it continued to flourish till the Moham¬ 
medans, by force of arms, established their own on its ruins. 

He compiled a book for the use of the priests, who were to explain it to 
the public at large, who attended the sacrifices. This book was called the 
Zend, a word which signifies a kindler of fire, because it was for the use 
of those who worshipped the fire; but the allegorical meaning was, to kindle 
the fire of religion in their hearts. The first part of this book contains the 
liturgy of the Magians; and although Mohammedism is now established 
in Persia, yet there are still some worshippers of fire among them, for the 
truth of which w r e have the testimony of Mr. Hanway, who was an eye¬ 
witness to the nature of their service. When Zoroaster had finished this 
book, he presented it to Darius Hystaspis, bound up in several volumes, 
making, in the whole, twelve hundred skins of parchment. In this book 
there are so many passages taken out of the Old Testament, that some 
reamed men have supposed the author was a Jew. He gave almost the 
same account of the creation of the world as we find written in the book of 
Genesis; and of the ancient patriarchs as recorded in Scripture. He 
enjoins, relating to clean and unclean beasts, the same as was done by 
Moses; and in the same manner orders the people to pay tithes to the 
priests. The rest of the book contains the life of the author; his pretended 
visions; the methods he uses in order to establish his religion; and con¬ 
cludes with exhortations to obedience. But, notwithstanding such striking 
similarities between the Zend and the law of Moses, yet it will not follow 













































PAGAN NATIONS. 


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from hence that he was a Jew. The Jews had been seventy years in cap- 

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tivity; and many of them being men of learning, no doubt but such a great 

T"v • ■ 1 • ii • ^ 

man as Daniel, or such an illustrious queen as Esther, would get them 
placed at the head of their seminaries of learning. Josephus tells us that 
the great fame of Daniel in revealing and interpreting the dreams of Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar diffused itself throughout the whole empire. The Chaldeans 
and Persians were an inquisitive people, they even sent students to India 
and Egypt; and finding the Jews in a state of captivity among them, they 
would naturally inquire into the mysteries of their religion. 

In considering every system of ancient idolatry, new reflections present 
themselves to our minds. Thus, in Persia, two ancient systems of idolatry 
took place, and at last an artful impostor established another on its ruins. 
But although it might not be so gross as some of those that went before, yet 
still it was idolatry, which may serve to show that without Divine Revela¬ 
tion no man can come to the knowledge of the truth. Abraham would 
have been an idolater, had not God called him from Ur of the Chaldeans; 
and when Christ came in the flesh he found the whole world lying in 
wickedness. How wretched then must the condition of those persons be 
who reject the gospel of our Saviour! Well might it be said of such per¬ 
sons, that they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil 





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SEC. VI.—RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND CEREMONIES OF THE SCY 
THIANS, SCANDINAVIANS, AND CELTS, OR DRUIDS. 

The Scythians inhabited a large tract of country to the north of Europe 
and Asia. In early times their religion was very simple: it taught the 
belief of a Supreme God, to whom were attributed infinite power, know¬ 
ledge, and wisdom; it forbade any representation of this being under a cor¬ 
poreal form, and enjoined the celebration of his worship in consecrated 
woods. Under him, a number of inferior divinities were supposed to go¬ 
vern the world, and preside over the celestial bodies. The doctrine of a 
future state formed an important part of the mythology of these people; and 
their fundamental maxims were, to serve the Deity with sacrifice and 
prayer, to do no wrong to others, and to be brave and intrepid. But in the 
course of time the religion of the Scythians degenerated, a multitude of 
other divinities were introduced amongst them, and as they were a warlike 
people, they made the god of battles their favourite deity; to him they con¬ 
secrated groves of oak, which were held so sacred that whoever injured 
them was punished with death. A scimitar raised upon the summit of an 
immense wooden altar was the emblem of this "God, to whom they sacri- 
ficed horses, and every hundredth man taken in battle; the first fruits of 
the earth, and a portion of the spoils gained in war, were the offerings made 
to the other divinities. The principal Scythian deities were—Tabite, the 









































































SCYTHIANS, SCANDINAVIANS, AND CEL'IS. 


Vesta of later times; Papius, the Jupiter; Apia, or the Earth, the consort 
of Papius; Stripassa, the Venus; Oestasynes, the Apollo; Thamimasides, 
the Neptune. 

The Scythians venerated fire, as the principle of all things; and the wind 
and the sword, as the cause of life and death ; a being called Zamolxis, 
was supposed to have the charge of conducting departed spirits to their 
respective abodes; and sacrifices were made to him by the friends of de¬ 
ceased persons on their behalf. 

The Scandinavians sacrificed human victims, and sometimes offered up 
even their kings, to appease the gods in times of public calamity. 

Their chief divinities were Odin or Wodin, Frea or Friga, and Thor. 
Odin or Wodin is generally supposed to have been a deified warlike prince; 
he was the god and father of war, and was thought to adopt as his children 
all who died in battle; he was also worshipped as the god of arts and 
sciences, from his having in some degree civilized the countries which he 
subdued. The fourth day of the week was consecrated to him, and was 


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called Wodin’s day, which is now corrupted into our Wednesday. 

Frea or Friga, the consort of Odin, was the most amiable of all the Scan¬ 
dinavian goddesses. She was also called Vanadis, or the goddess of Hope; 
and under the name of Hertha she was considered as a personification of 
earth. Virgins of high birth devoted themselves to her service ; and Fri¬ 
day, the sixth day of the week, was named after her. 

Thor, the eldest and bravest of the sons of Odin and Frea, was the god 
of the aerial regions; prayers were addressed to him for favourable winds 
and refreshing showers; and Thursday, the fifth day of the week, was dedi¬ 
cated to him. 

In the earliest times the Scandinavians performed their rites in groves; 
but they afterwards raised temples to their gods, the most magnificent of 
which were at Upsal and Drontheim. 

The inferior deities of the Scandinavians were—Niorder, who presided 
over the seas, navigation, hunting, and fishing; Isminsul, or the column of 
the universe; Surtar, prince of the genii of fire; Balder, a son of Odin *, 
Tur, the dispenser of victory; Heimdal, the guardian of the heavens; Hoder, 
the blind, a son of Odin ; Vidar, the god of silence, a son of Odin ; Braga, 
the god of poetry; Vati, the formidable archer; Uller, presiding over trials 
by duel; Hela, the dreadful goddess of death; Torseti, decided the differ¬ 
ences of gods and men; the Valkyries were goddesses of slaughter; Iduna, 
the queen of youth ; Saga, the goddess of waterfalls ; Vara, the witness of 
oaths ; Lofen, the guardian of friendship ; Synia, the avenger of broken 
faith. 

The notions the Scandinavians entertained of hell were very remarkable; 
it was called NifFhien, and consisted of nine vast regions of ice, situated 
under the North Pole, the entrance to which was guarded by the dog of 




































































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darkness, similar to the Grecian Cerberus. Loke, the evil genius, who 
was the cruel enemy of gods and men, with his daughter Hela, the god¬ 
dess of death ; the giantess Angherbode, the messenger of evil: the wolf 
Femis, a monster, dreaded by the gods, as destined to be their destruction, 
and the equally formidable serpent, resided in this gloomy abode; which 
has been described by Gray, in his “ Descent of Odin.” 

The Scandinavians believed that what formed their highest enjoyments 
m this world, would likewise constitute their happiness in the next. They 
imagined that the souls of heroes who had fallen in battle would pass their 
'4j days in hunting shadowy forms of wild beasts, or in combats with warriors; 
and at night would assemble in the hall of Odin, to feast and drink mead or 
ale out of the skulls of their enemies whom they had slain in their mortal 
life. This view of happiness in a future state of existence has prevailed 
amongst all nations. 

We now come to the religion of our forefathers, the Celts, which was 
also that of the ancient Germans and Gauls. The Celtic priests were called 
Druids. All the Celtic nations, like the early Scythians, performed their 
religious ceremonies in sacred groves; and they regarded the oak and the 
mistletoe growing upon it with peculiar reverence. Their principal deities 
were—Teulates, the god of war; Dis, the god of the infernal regions, and 
the Pluto of after times; and Andate, the goddess of victory. 

The god of war was the divinity of the greatest importance; upon his 
altars human victims were sacrificed; and though criminals were deemed 
the most acceptable offerings, innocent persons were frequently immo¬ 
lated. 

Druid is derived from the word deru , which in the Celtic language sig¬ 
nifies an oak; because their usual abode was in woods. These priests were 
most highly revered; they were referred to in all civil as well as religious 
matters ; and so great was their influence in the state, that even kings could 
n-ot ascend the throne without their approbation. They were divided into 
four classes,—druids, bards, sarronides, and vates or eubages; the first were 
the supreme chiefs, and so highly reverenced, that the inferior orders could 
not remain in their presence without permission to do so. The bards, whose 
Celtic name signifies a singer, celebrated the actions of heroes in verse, 
which they sang, and accompanied on the harp. 

The sarronides had the charge of instructing youth, whom they were 
enjoined to inspire with virtuous sentiments; and the vates or eubages had 
the care of the sacrifices, and applied themselves particularly to the study 

of nature. 

The Druids enjoyed great privileges; they were exempted from serving 
lin war and paying taxes. 

Numbers aspired to gain admission into this order of society, for it was 
open to all ranks; but this was rather difficult, as the candidates were obliged 




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630 


GREEKS A ED ROMANS. 


to learn the verses which contained the maxims of their religion and politi¬ 
cal government. 

It was unlawful to commit the druidical doctrines to writing; and there¬ 
fore they were taught, and transmitted from generation to generation, entirely 
by the poems recited by the Druids, who required a period of fifteen or even 
twenty years to acquire an adequate knowledge on that subject. 

The Druids considered the mistletoe as a special gift from the divinity 
to the oak, and the gathering of this plant was the most sacred of their 
ceremonies. 




SEC. VII.—RELIGIOUS BELIEF, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF 
THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS. 

The Greeks are supposed to have derived many of their deities from the 
Egyptians, as well as no small number of their religious ceremonies. The 
Egyptians, no doubt, at an earlier period, believed in one Deity as supreme, 
the Maker and Ruler of all things; but after that they worshipped the 
sun, moon, and stars, under various forms, as well as living creatures and 
lifeless things. 

In the first ages of the world men had neither temples nor statues for 
their gods, but worshipped in the open air, in the shady grove, or on the 
summit of the lofty mountains, whose apparent proximity to the heavens 
seemed to render them peculiarly appropriate for religious purposes. Igno¬ 
rantly transferring to the works of the Supreme Being that homage which 
is only due to their Author, they adored the sun as a god, who, riding on 
his chariot of fire, diffused light and heat through the world; the moon, as 
a mild and beneficent divinity, who presided over night and silence, con¬ 
soling her worshippers for the departure of the more brilliant light of day. 

It is thought that the Greeks received from the Egyptians the custom 
of building temples, which were erected, some in valleys, some in woods, 
and others by the brink of a river, or fountain, according to the deity who 
was destined to inhabit them; for the ancients ascribed the management of 
every particular affair to some particular god, and appropriated to each a 
peculiar form of building, according to his or her peculiar character and 
attributes. 

But when temples were first erected, the ancients still continued to 
worship their gods, without any statue or visible representation of the 
divinity. 

It is supposed that the worship of idols was introduced among the 
Greeks in the time of Cecrops, the founder of Athens, in the year 
1556 b. c. 

At first these idols were formed of rude blocks of wood or stone, until 
when the art of graving, or carving, was invented, these rough masses 
were changed into figures resembling living creatures. Afterwards, mar 

































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


G31 



ble, and ivory, or precious stones, were used in their formation, and lastly, 
gold, silver, brass, and other metals. At length, in the refined ages of 
Greece, all the genius of the sculptor was employed in the creation of these 
exquisite statutes, which no modern workmanship has yet surpassed. 

lemples, statues, and altars, were considered sacred, and to many of them 
was granted the privilege of protecting offenders. 

Chaos was considered the most ancient of all the gods, and that Ccelus, or 
heaven, followed him. Vesta, Prisca, or Terra, the earth, was the wife of 
Coelus, and ranked as the first goddess. 

*1 he Greeks divided their deities into three classes,—celestial, marine, 
and infernal, though there are many others not embraced in this classifi¬ 
cation : 

JUPITER. 

Jupiter, the father of gods and men, is said to have been born in Crete, 
or to have been sent there in infancy for concealment. He was the son of 
Saturn, the god of Time, and of Cybele, otherwise called Rhea. He was 
the most powerful of all the gods, and every thing was subservient to his 
will. His father, Saturn, had received the kingdom of the world from his 
brother Titan, on condition of destroying all the sons who should be born 
to him. Saturn, therefore, devoured his children immediately after birth. 
This may be considered as having an allegorical meaning; namely, that 
time destroys all things. 

As soon as he was a year old, Jupiter made war against the Titans, a 
race of giants, who had imprisoned his father, Saturn, and having con¬ 
quered them, set his father at liberty. But Saturn having soon after con¬ 
spired against him, was deposed by Jupiter, and sent into banishment. 
Being thus left sole master of the world, Jupiter divided his empire with his 
two brothers, Neptune and Pluto. 

For himself he reserved the kingdom of heaven; to Neptune he gave 
dominion over the sea, and to Pluto the infernal regions. His first name 
was Jo vis, from which, by the addition of Pater, father, was formed 
Jupiter. But the appellations given to him were numerous, and were de¬ 
rived either from the actions which he performed, or from the places where 
he was worshipped. 

As the ancients, inconsistently, attribute to their gods all the passions and 
vices which disgrace human nature, so they frequently represent Jupiter as 
having recourse to the most unworthy artifices, in order to accomplish the 
basest designs. 

Their poets describe him as a majestic personage, sitting upon a throne 
of gold or ivory, under a rich canopy, holding a thunderbolt in one hand, 
and in the other a sceptre of cypress. At his feet, or on his sceptre, sits 
an eagle with expanded wings. He has a flowing beard, and is generally 






























































GREEKS AND ROMANS 


represented with golden shoes, and an embroidered cloak. The Cretans 
depicted him without ears, to signify impartiality. 

APOLLO. 

Apollo was the son of Jupiter and Latona, and brother of the goddess 
Diana. He was born in the island of Delos, where his mother fled to avoid 
the jealousy of Juno. He w r as the god of all the fine arts; and to him is 
ascribed the invention of medicine, music, poetry, and eloquence. He pre¬ 
sided over the Muses, and had the power of looking into futurity. His 
oracles were in general repute over the world. 

Apollo had various other surnames. He was called Delius, from the 
island where he was born; Cynthius, from a mountain in that island; Del- 
phinius, from the city of Delphi, in Boeotia; Didymseus, from a Greek word, 
signifying twins; Nomius, which means a shepherd; Paean, from his skill 
in shooting arrows; and Phoebus, from the swiftness of his motion. 

It is generally supposed that by Apollo the sun is to be understood; for 
which reason he was called Sol by the Latins. He is represented as a 
graceful youth, with long hair, on his head a laurel crown, in one hand a 
bow and arrows, in the other a lyre. His head is generally surrounded 
with beams of light. His most celebrated oracle was at Delphi, and he fre¬ 
quently resided with the Muses upon Mount Parnassus. The olive, the 
laurel, and the palm-tree were sacred to him; as were also the griffin, the 
cock, the grasshopper, the wolf, the crow, the swan, and the hawk. 

MARS. 

Mars was the god of war, and son of Jupiter and Juno. He was edu¬ 
cated by the god Priapus, who instructed him in every manly exercise. 
His temples were not numerous in Greece, but from the warlike Romans 
he received unbounded honours. His priests were called Salii. 

Mars presided over gladiators, and was the god of hunting, and of ail 
warlike exercises and manly amusements. He married Nerio, which sig¬ 
nifies valour, or strength. The Areopagus, which means the Hill of Mars, 
was a place at Athens, in which Mars, being accused of murder, was tried 
before twelve gods, and acquitted by six voices. He gained the affections 
of Venus, and was the father of Cupid, the god of love. 


MERCURY. 

Mercury was the son of Jupiter and of Maia, the daughter of Atlas. He 
was born in Arcadia, upon Mount Cyllene, and in his infancy was intrusted 
with the care of the seasons. He was the messenger of the gods, and more 
especially of Jupiter. He was the patron of travellers and shepherds. He 
conducted the souls of the dead into the infernal regions, and not only pre¬ 
sided over merchants and orators, but was also the god of thieves and of all 
dishonest persons. 






































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


; ' 




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He was the inventor of letters, and excelled in eloquence. Hence he 
was called by the Greeks Hermes, which signifies interpreting, or explain¬ 
ing. He first taught the arts of buying, selling, and trafficking, from 
whence he derived his name of Mercury, and is accounted the god of mer¬ 
chants and of gain. 

He is represented as a young man, with a cheerful countenance. He has 
wings fastened to his sandals and to his cap. In his hand he holds the 
caduceus, or rod, entwined with two serpents. A touch of this wand would 
waken those who were asleep, or cause sleep in those who were awake. 

BACCHUS. 

Bacchus was the god of wine, and the son of Jupiter and Semele. Se- 
s| %\:mele was the daughter of Cadmus, celebrated as the inventor of the alpha¬ 
bet, and of Hermione, the daughter of Mars and Venus. She was destroyed 
by the jealous cruelty of Juno. 

It is probable that Bacchus was an ancient conqueror and lawgiver. He 
was horn in Egypt, and educated at Nysa in Arabia. He taught the cul¬ 
ture of the grape, the art of converting its juice into wine, and the manner 
of making honey. He was, on that account, honoured as a god by the 
Egyptians, under the name of Osiris. 

The festivals of Bacchus are called orgies, bacchanalia, or dionysia. 
These festivals were celebrated with riot and excess. The priestesses, 
called Bacchantes, ran wild upon the mountains, with dishevelled hair, and 
torches in their hands, filling the air with shouts, and chanting hymns in 
his praise. The Romans called these feasts Brumalia. During their cele¬ 
bration the people ran about the city in masks, or with their faces daubed 
with the dregs of wine. 

The fir, the ivy, the fig, and the pine, were consecrated to Bacchus, and 
goats were sacrificed to him on account of the propensity of that animal to 
destroy the vine. He is represented sometimes as an effeminate youth, and 
‘> t sometimes as a man advanced in years. He is crowned with ivy and vine- 
leaves. In his hand he holds a thyrsus, which is a javelin with an iron 
head, encircled with ivy or vine-leaves. He sits in a chariot drawn by 
tigers and lions, and sometimes by lynxes and panthers, while his guards 
* are a band of riotous satyrs, demons, and nymphs. 

At other times we see him riding upon the shoulders of Pan, or of his 
foster-father Silenus; and again he is represented sitting upon a celestial 
globe, bespangled with stars. Bacchus married Ariadne, the daughter of 
Minos, king of Crete, after Theseus had forsaken her in the island of Naxos, 
and gave her a crown of seven stars, which after her death was made a 
constellation. 




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VULCAN. 


Vulcan was the son of Juno: he was the god of fire, and the patron of 



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GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


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all those artists who worked in iron or other metals. He was educated in fcY®) 
heaven; but Jupiter being offended with him, hurled him from Olympus. 

He lighted on the island of Lemnos, and was a cripple ever after. He 
fixed his residence there, built himself a palace, and raised forges to work 
metals. 

He forged the thunderbolts of Jupiter, and the arms of the gods and 
demi-gods. The golden chambers, in which the gods resided, were his 
workmanship; also their seats and their council-table, which came self- 
moved from the sides of the apartment. 

Vulcan is usually represented at his anvil, with all his tools about him, 
forging a thunderbolt, with a hammer and pincers in his hand. His fore¬ 
head is blackened with smoke, his arms are nervous and muscular, his 
beard long, and his hair dishevelled. The fable of Vulcan shows us how 
highly the ancients esteemed the art of working in metals, since they sup¬ 
posed it to be an occupation fit for a god. 



JUNO. 



Juno was the queen of heaven, the sister and wife of Jupiter, and the 
daughter of Saturn and of Ops, otherwise called Rhea. She was born in 
the isle of Samos, and resided there till her marriage with Jupiter: her 
children were Vulcan, Mars, and Hebe. 

The poets represent Juno with a majesty well befitting the empress of 
the skies. Her aspect combines all that we can imagine of the lofty, grace¬ 
ful, and magnificent. Her jealousy of Jupiter and her disputes with him 
occasioned perpetual confusion in heaven. On account of her cruelty to 
Hercules, Jupiter suspended her from the skies by a golden chain. Vul¬ 
can having come to her assistance, was kicked down from heaven by Jupi¬ 
ter, and broke his leg by the fall. 




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MINERVA. 


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Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, and is said to have sprung, com¬ 
pletely armed and full-grown, from the brain of Jupiter. She was immo- 
diately admitted into the assembly of the gods, and became Jupiter’s faithful 
counsellor: she was the most accomplished of all the goddesses. 

The countenance of Minerva, as generally represented, was more expres¬ 
sive of masculine firmness than of grace or softness. She was clothed in 
complete armour, with a golden helmet, a glittering crest, and nodding 
plume: she had a golden breastplate. In her right hand she held a lance, 
and in her left a shield on which was painted the dying head of Medusa, 
with serpents writhing around it. 

Her eyes were of celestial blue: a crown of olive was entwined round 


her helmet: her chief emblems were the cock, the owl, the basilisk, and 
the distaff. Her worship was universally established, but her most magni- 
ficent temples were in the Acropolis, the upper city or citadel of Athens. 



















































PAGAN NATIONS. 


635 


One was called the Parthenon, and was built of the purest white marble. 
In it was the statue of the goddess, made of gold and ivory. It was twenty- 
six cubits high, and was considered one of the masterpieces of Phidias. 
The remains of this temple are still to be seen at Athens, and excite the 
admiration of every beholder. 

VENUS. 

Venus was the goddess of beauty, the mother of love, and the queen of 
laughter, grace, and pleasure. She is said to have risen from the froth of 
the sea, near the island of Cyprus. The Zephyrs wafted her to the shore, 
where she was received by the Seasons, the daughters of Jupiter and 
Themis. As she walked, flowers bloomed beneath her feet, and the rosy 
Hours dressed her in divine attire. 

The rose, the myrtle, and the apple, were sacred to Venus; and among 
birds, the dove, the swan, and the sparrow. She was sometimes described 
as traversing the heavens in an ivory chariot drawn by doves. She was 
clothed in a purple mantle, which glittered with diamonds, and was bound 
round the waist by the cestus. Her doves were harnessed with a light 
golden chain. Cupid and a train of doves fluttered round her chariot on 
silken wings. The three graces, Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne, were 
her attendants. 

At another time she was borne through the ocean in a shell, her head 
crowned with roses; while cupids, nereids, and dolphins, sported around 
her. She was represented as perfectly beautiful and graceful, with a 
countenance expressive of gentleness and gayety. 

Her temples were numerous; but those most celebrated were at Paphos, 
Cythera, Idalia, and Cnidus. Her most beautiful statue is entitled the 
Venus de Medicis, and is still viewed with admiration by all who visit the 
gallery of Florence. Her favourite residence was supposed to be the 
island of Cyprus; and her chief worshippers were at Paphos, a city of that 
island. 

CUPID. 

Cupid, the son of Venus, and god of love, was represented as a beautiful 
boy, with wings, a bow and arrows, and generally with a bandage over his 
eyes. He had wings, to show his caprice and desire of change. He is 
described as blind, because we are apt to shut our eyes to the faults of those 
we love. 

DIANA. 

Diana was the goddess of hunting. She was the daughter of Jupiter and 
Latona, and the twin sister of Apollo. On earth she was worshipped under 
the name of Diana; but in heaven she was called Luna, and in Tartarus 
she was invoked as Hecate. 

Diana shunned the society of men, and retired to the woods, accompanied 




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636 


GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


by sixty of the Oceanides, daughters of Oceanus, a powerful sea-god, and 
by twenty other nymphs, all of whom, like herself, had determined never 
to marry. 

Armed with a golden bow, and lighted by a torch which was kindled at 
the lightnings of Jupiter, she led her nymphs through the dark forests and 
woody mountains, in pursuit of the swift stag. At the twang of her bow 
the lofty mountains were said to tremble, and the forests were said to resound 
with the panting of the wounded deer. 

When the chase was over, she would hasten to Delphi, the residence of 
her brother Apollo, and hang her bow and quiver upon his altar. There 
she would lead forth a chorus of Muses and Graces, and join them in sing¬ 
ing praises to her mother Latona. 

Diana was represented as very tall and beautiful, and dressed as a 
huntress, a bow in her hand, a quiver of arrows hung across her shoulders, 
her feet covered with buskins, and a bright silver crescent on her forehead. 


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Sometimes she was described as sitting in a silver chariot, drawn by hinds. 

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The cold and bright moon, which scatters a silver light over the hills and 
forests, is the type of this goddess. 

As Luna this goddess enlightened the heavens with her rays on earth, 
as Diana she subdued the wild beasts with her arrows; and in hell, under 
the name of Hecate, she kept all the ghosts and shadowy inhabitants under 
subjection. 

CERES. 

Ceres was the goddess of corn and harvests, and the daughter of Saturn 
and Vesta. 

The most celebrated festivals in honour of Ceres were held at Eleusis. 
They were called the Eleusinian Mysteries, on account of the secrecy with 
which they were conducted. Those who were admitted to these solemn 
assemblies were called the initiated. 

When a new member was about to be admitted, he was brought to the 
temple by night. At the entry his hands were washed, and a crown of 
myrtle was put upon his head. He was then instructed in the laws of 
Ceres. After this the priest conducted him into the sanctuary, and sud¬ 
denly a thick darkness overspread every object. 

Then a bright light flashed through the temple, and the statue of the 
goddess was seen all decked in gold and jewels. 

The new member was bound by a solemn oath to secrecy, and dismissed. 
By these means the initiated were struck with terror, not being aware that 
they were merely contrivances of the priests to impress their minds with 
religious awe. It is probable that these mysterious associations first gave 
the moderns the idea of freemasonry. 

Ceres is represented as tall and majestic. A wreath of corn is bound 
round her golden hair. She holds a sickle in her right hand, and in her 


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PAGAN NATIONS. 


637 


left a lighted torch. There were many festivals in honour of Ceres, ami 
many splendid temples erected to her. The husbandmen offered sacrifices 
to her in the spring, and oblations of wine, honey, and milk. 

VESTA. 

This goddess was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea. Her worship was 
introduced into Italy by iEneas, a famous Trojan prince. The Palladium 
of Troy was preserved in her temple, and upon its continuance there the 
safety of Rome was supposed to depend. 

In the temple of Vesta a perpetual fire was kept burning; and seven 
priestesses were chosen, whose duty it was to prevent this fire from being 
extinguished. These priestesses were called Vestal virgins. If, owing to 
any accident or negligence on the part of the Vestals, the sacred fire was 
permitted to go out, the offender was severely punished by the high priest. 
It was considered a bad omen, foretelling calamities to the city of Rome if 
the fire was extinguished. It consequently caused universal consternation, 
and the fire was instantly rekindled by glasses with the rays of the sun. 

At the Vestalia, which were festivals in honour of Vesta, all the ladies 
in Rome walked barefooted to her temple. She was represented in a long 
flowing robe, with a veil on her head. In one hand she held a lamp, in 
the other a javelin, or the sacred palladium. She was considered as the 
goddess of fire, and as animating the human body with that vital heat which 
is the source of health and vigour. 

NEPTUNE. 

Neptune was the son of Saturn and Ops. He received from his brother 
Jupiter the sovereignty of the sea. Rivers, fountains, and all waters, were 
subject to him. He could raise earthquakes at his pleasure, and with a 
blow of his trident he could cause islands to spring from the bottom of the 
ocean. He was the god of ships, and of all maritime affairs. At his com¬ 
mand dreadful storms arose, and vessels were swallowed up by the waves. 
But with a word he could still the tempest, and allay the fury of the waters. 

Neptune was represented as a majestic god, with a grim and angry aspect. 
He had black hair and blue eyes, and wore a bright blue mantle. He stood 
upright in his chariot. In his right hand he held his trident, with his left 
he supported his queen Amphitrite. His chariot was a large shell, drawn 
by sea-horses, or dolphins. 

The worship of Neptune was very general. The Libyans considered 
him the most powerful of all the gods. The celebrated Isthmian games 
were instituted by the Greeks in honour of him. He was the father of 
Proteus and of Triton. 

TRITON. 

Triton was another sea-god. He was the son of Neptune and Amphi¬ 
trite, and was trumpeter to his father. He is described as half man and 
half fish, and is generally represented in the act of blowing a shell, 

41 


































































GREEKS AND ROMANS. 



638 

He was a very powerful marine deity, and could raise storms at sea, 
and calm them at his pleasure. 

OCEANUS. 

This was an ancient sea-god, the son of Coelus and Vesta. When Jupiter 
became king of heaven, he took away the empire of Oceanus and gave it 
to Neptune. He married Thetis, which word is sometimes used in poetry 
to signify the sea. He had three thousand children, and was the father of 
the rivers. 

i He was described as an old man with a long flowing beard, sitting upon 
the waves of the sea. He held a pike in his hand, and a sea-monster stood 
by his side. The ancients prayed to him with great solemnity before set¬ 
ting off upon any voyage. 

NEREUS. 

Nereus was the son of Oceanus. He married Doris, and was the father 
of fifty-six sea-nymphs called Nereides. He lived chiefly in the iEgean 
Sea, and was represented as an old man with azure hair. 

He had the gift of foretelling future events. He was often drawn with 
nis daughters, the Nereides, dancing around him in chorus. 

PLUTO. 

Pluto was the king of hell, and the son of Saturn and Ops. 

None of the goddesses would marry him, because of the sadness and 
gloominess of the infernal regions where he resided; and for this reason he 
was determined to obtain one of them by force. He carried away Proser¬ 
pine, whom he saw gathering flowers with her companions in Sicily ; driving 
up to her in his black chariot and coal-black horses, and forcing her away 
notwithstanding all her tears. 

It was in vain that the young nymph Cyone tried to stop the snorting 
steeds, for Pluto struck the ground with his sceptre, when, instantly, the 
earth opened, and the chariot and horses descended through the rift with 
Pluto and Proserpine; the latter then became the queen of hell. 

Black victims, and particularly black bulls, were sacrificed to this gloomy 
god; the blood of the slaughtered animal was sprinkled upon the ground, 
that it might penetrate to the infernal regions. The melancholy cypress-tree 
was sacrificed to him, and also the narcissus, and the white daffodil, because 
Pioserpine was gathering these flowers when Pluto carried her away. 

He is represented sitting upon a throne of sulphur, with a crown of 
cypress. The three-headed dog Cerberus keeps watch at his feet. His 
queen Proserpine sits on his left hand. He holds a key, to signify that 
when the dead are received into his kingdom, the gates are locked, and 
they can never return to life again. 

PLUTUS. 

This was the god of riches. He was the son of Jason and Ceres. He 
is represented as blind and injudicious, to show us that wealth is frequently 












































































PAGAN NATIONS 


given to wicked men, whilst good men remain in poverty. He is described 
as being lame, to show us that great riches are acquired slowly. He was 
said to be timid and fearful, to represent the care with which men watch 
over their treasures. 

SOMNUS. 

Somnus was the god of sleep, and the son of Erebus and Nox. His 
palace was a dark cave, where the sun never penetrated. Poppies grew 
at the entrance; and Somnus himself was supposed to be always asleep 
upon a bed of feathers, with black curtains. In his palace there were two 
gates through which dreams passed and repassed. Morpheus was his chief 
minister. 

CHAOS. 

The most ancient of all the Grecian deities was Chaos. The word chaos 
means a rude and shapeless mass of matter. In this condition the poets 
suppose the world to have existed, before an almighty voice called the con¬ 
fused elements into order. Chaos was the consort of Darkness, and of them 
was born Terra, that is, the earth. Thus the obscure fiction of the poets 
agrees with the inspired account given us by Moses: 

“And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the 
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 
And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” 

Terra, the earth, married Ccelus, or heaven. Their children were Titan 
and Saturn. Titan was the eldest son, but he gave up his dominion to his 
brother Saturn, who thus became the king of heaven and earth. Saturn 
married his sister Ops, otherwise called Rhea. 

SATURN. 

The reign of Saturn was called the golden age. The earth produced 
subsistence for its inhabitants without culture; war was unknown ; all thing? 
were in common; and Astrea, the goddess of Justice, ruled over the actions 
of men. 

But Saturn had received his kingdom from Titan upon one condition. 
He had made a solemn promise to devour all his male children. His wife 
Ops hid one of these children, and brought him up unknown to Saturn. 
This child was Jupiter. Titan, therefore, made war upon Saturn. He was 
assisted by his half-brothers, the gigantic Titans. 

Each of these Titans had fifty heads and a hundred hands. They de¬ 
prived Saturn of his kingdom and liberty. Jupiter then arose and assem¬ 
bled the modern gods on Mount Olympus. The Titans collected their forces 
on Othrys, an opposite mountain, and the war of the gods began. 

This war lasted for ten years, when Jupiter called the Cyclops to his 
assistance, together with some mighty giants who owed to him their deliver¬ 
ance from confinement. These joined him in battle: and now Olympus was 


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640 


GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


shaken to its foundation. The sea rose, the earth groaned, and the mighty 
forests trembled. 

The thunderbolts were hurled from the mighty hand of Jupiter. The 
lightnings flashed, and the woods blazed. The giants in return threw 
massy oaks at the heavens, piled the mountains upon each other, and 
hurled them at the Thunderer. Jupiter was victorious, and released his 
parents from captivity. 

But Saturn was afterwards deposed by Jupiter, and took refuge in Italy. 
He was highly honoured there, and became king of Latium, a part of Italy 
which lies along the Mediterranean Sea. He taught his subjects agricul¬ 
ture, and other useful arts. He had a temple on the Capitoline Hill, and 
his festivals at Rome were called Saturnalia. 

Saturn was represented as an old man, bent with age and infirmity. He 
held a scythe in his right hand, and in his left a child which he was about 
to devour. By his side was a serpent biting its own tail, which is an em¬ 
blem of time, and of the revolution of the year. 

JANUS. 

When Saturn arrived in Italy, he was hospitably received there by Janus, 
king of that country. Janus was the son of Coelus and Hecate. He was 
drawn with two faces, to intimate his knowledge of the past and the future. 
He first built temples and altars, and instituted religious rites. His temple 
was very celebrated in Rome. 

It was built by Romulus, and Numa ordained that it should be opened 
in time of war, and shut in time of peace. During the whole period of the 
Roman republic, this temple was only shut twice. In religious ceremonies 
the name of Janus was invoked first, because he presided over gates and 
avenues, and it was supposed that no prayers could reach heaven but 
through his means. 

When Saturn was expelled from his throne, the ancient gods were nearly 
forgotten : they seemed to retreat behind mysterious clouds and mist. Jupi¬ 
ter became the first of the gods, and the father and king of heaven. Homer 
thus describes his absolute power: 

He whose all-conscious eyes the world behold, 

The eternal thunderer, sat enthroned in gold : 

High heaven the footstool for his feet he makes, 

And wide beneath him all Olympus shakes. 

He spake, and awful bends his sable brows; 

Shakes his ambrosial curls and gives the nod, 

The stamp of Fate, and sanction of the god: 

High heaven with trembling the dread signal took, 

And all Olympus to the centre shook. 

The deities above enumerated are but a small part of those which the 
Grecians and Romans worshipped. Let us now proceed to some of their 
temples, 

















































































PAGAN NATIONS 


TEMPLES. 

Temples in honour of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, were erected in places 
of the greatest eminence, whence a view of the town walls might be obtained. 
Temples to Mercury stood in the market-place. Those of Apollo and Bac¬ 
chus were placed near the Theatre. Temples to Hercules were built near 
the Gymnasium, the amphitheatre, or the circus; while those of Venus, 
Vulcan, and Mars, were without the city walls. Doric pillars were sacred 


ship was universal. He was the Ammon of the Africans, the Belus of 
Babylon, and the Osiris of Egypt. 

The temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens was a model of art. It was 
raised from the spoils which the Eleans took at the sacking of Pisa. It 

I was of the Doric order, and from the centre of the roof there hung a gilded 
victory. 

It sometimes happened that ancient temples were dedicated to several 
gods. The following is an inscription on one of them: “To Jupiter, the 
Sun, Great Serapis, and the gods who cohabit in the same temple.” And 
in another, Ceres, Bacchus, and Phoebus. Besides these, I might mention 
Juno and Minerva; Apollo, Palatinus, Latona, and Diana; Hercules and 
the Muses; Venus and Cupid; Castor and Pollux, and others. 

One of the most ancient of all Grecian temples was that of Jupiter Pan- 
hellenios, standing on Mount Panhellenios, far from any habitation. A 
'orest of pine and juniper surrounded the mount. The temple was of stone 
stuccoed over, and had thirty-six principal pillars. 

Perhaps no temple exceeded that of the Parthenon, or temple of Minerva 
at Athens. The pillars were truly magnificent, and the pediments were 
decorated with the finest sculpture. Battles with men, horses, and cen¬ 
taurs, contending together, were represented thereon, in a manner that 
called forth the admiration of every spectator. 

In the Parthenon stood the famous statue of Minerva, of ivory and gold, 
executed by the celebrated Phidias. Minerva was represented with gar¬ 
ments reaching to her feet, holding a spear in her hand, while a helmet 
defended her head, and a Medusa’s head adorned her breast. 

The temple of Apollo Epicurius, standing on Mount Kotylion in Arcadia, 
was a magnificent structure. It was built by Iktinos, who erected the Par- 




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GREEKS AND ROMANS 


come others, though it was a superb structure; the cost of it amounting to 
not Jess than three hundred talents, or forty-five thousand pounds. 

The temple of Corinth was of the Doric order, with fluted pillars; a noble 
pile, though not of such costly workmanship as many other temples erected 
when architecture had attained a greater degree of perfection. 

The theatre of Bacchus was not wanting in grandeur; indeed we can 
now form but a very faint conception of the magnificence of ancient build - 
ings of this kind. 

The temple of Ceres and Proserpine, at Eleusis, was of the Doric order, 
and so large that it could contain thirty thousand persons. There was also 
a fine temple at Sunium. 

Diana had a temple on Mount Aventine at Rome, adorned with a cow’s 
horns, on account of the offering of a very fine cow to the goddess by Autro 
Coratius, a Sabine. But the principal temple of Diana was at Ephesus: 
this was considered as one of the seven wonders of the world. For as 
much as two hundred years, all Asia may be said to have contributed to its 
erection. 

Near Crotona stood a temple dedicated to Juno, famous for the vast con¬ 
course of people who came to it from all countries. I will tell you a strange 
story respecting this temple. In it there stood a column of massy gold, and 
Hannibal was determined to apply this to his own use. In the night, how¬ 
ever, Juno appeared before him, and so frightened him with the threat of 
putting out his remaining eye, for he had but one, that he gave up all 
thoughts of taking possession of the golden column. 

There were three temples a little northward of the Parthenon; that to 
the east was Neptune Erectheus, that to the west Minerva Polias, protect¬ 
ress of Athens, and the remaining one was called Pandrosus, or the Pan- 
drosium. Before the temple of Neptune Erectheus stood an altar of Jupiter. 
Cakes without wine were here offered, but no living thing was sacrificed 
thereon. 

In the temple of Minerva Polias stood the most ancient of all the statues 
of the goddess, which many believed to have fallen down from heaven. It 
was said to be guarded by a large serpent, which had a regular allowance 
of honeyed cakes to satisfy his hunger. The reptile was looked upon as 
divine, and lived to be very old. This is another of the many strange tales 
with which mythology abounds. 

The temple of Janus, at Rome, was built by Numa, with two brazen 
gates, one on each side. These gates were to be kept open in time of war, 
and closed in time of peace. 

The Temple of Victory formed the right wing of the Propylea—a 
building at Athens, with a roof of white marble, which adorned the 
entrance to the Acropolis The idol in this temple was called Victory, 

















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


without wings. She held a pomegranate in her right hand, and a helmet 
in her left. 

. ; 

The Pantheon was built at Rome by Agrippa, in the reign of Augustus; 
it was dedicated to all the gods. This temple, also, was destroyed, or nearly jP 
so, being burned by lightning; but Adrian repaired it. After this it was 
used as a Christian temple, and attracted much attention. The temple of 
Belus is usually considered to have been the most ancient of any in the 
pagan world. It was originally the Tower of Babel; and when at the con¬ 
fusion of tongues this was destroyed, the ruins were set apart for a temple 
of Belus. It was a huge structure of eight towers, one rising above another, l 
gradually diminishing from the lowest to the highest. 

The height of it might be, perhaps, twice as high as St. Paul’s cathedral 
in London. 

The temple of Theseus was very costly; but indeed there were many 
temples raised to him. i 


CONSECRATIONS. : 

I v 

The act of consecrating, or making sacred their temples, idols, and 
groves, was considered one of much importance by pagan nations. Among) | 
the Greeks and Romans it was performed in an economical or lavish 
manner, according to circumstances. Common images, such as that of 
Mercury, which stood in the market-place, were not consecrated in so j 
costly a manner as images of Jupiter and Minerva, which stood in magnifi¬ 
cent temples. j ^ 

Three things were necessary to convert an image into a deity: orna¬ 
ments, consecration, and oration. Without these a statue was not wor¬ 
shipped or regarded as holy, but with them the pagans reverenced highly 
their stocks and their stones. 

There was little, if any, difference in the consecration of altars andiSV 
images. In the most common consecration, an offering of sodden peas or [s., 
beans was made: a woman dressed in a garment of various colours bore 
this on her head in a pot. | V s 

• This offering was presented with certain forms to the deity, personified 
by the image, or to whom the altar was erected, as a grateful remembrance 
retained by the people of their ancient diet. f» ^ 

When, however, consecrations to superior statues took place among 
worshippers who could better afford to manifest their high reverence for 
their gods, they were more expensively conducted. Sometimes a new 
vessel with two ears was used in the ceremony; on each of the ears was 
bound a chaplet of white wool, the vessel being covered. The libation 
poured out before this was of water, honey, and all kinds of fruit, attended 
with many rites. 

Another mode of consecration, and not an uncommon one, was, to put a 



















































































GREEKS AND ROMANS 


I crown on the images, and to anoint them with oil. Prayers and oblations 
were then offered, and a denunciation uttered against all such as should 
injure or profane them. The name of the deity, and the cause of the dedi¬ 
cation, were frequently inscribed on the base on which the image stood. 

The unction, or anointing with oil, was one of the principal rites ol the 
act of consecration, from a very remote period. Many of the ceremonies 
[>f the pagan world were, at first, learned from the Egyptians; and those 
practised by the Jews, during the time they were in captivity in Egypt, 
were no doubt imitated. 

Not only did Moses consecrate by the Divine command the priests of the 
congregation, by pouring oil on their heads, but all the Jewish kings and 
prophets were consecrated in the same manner. 

Nor was the right of anointing among the Jews confined to persons, for 
/ v ’ ^we are told in Holy Writ that Jacob anointed the stone that he set up at 
f Bethel. “And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that 
re had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon 
he top of it; and he called the name of that place Bethel.” Gen. xxviii. 
18 , 19 . 

The more we read the Old Testament, the plainer we see the resemblance 
between many of the pagan customs and the religious observances of the 
Jews. This striking difference, however, must not be overlooked, that the 
ews worshipped the true and living God, while the pagans bowed down 
o the false and the dead idol. 

Great sacrifices were sometimes made at pagan consecrations, and 
iumptuous entertainments given. This was the case also among the Jews 
when Solomon’s temple was dedicated. The king offered burnt-offerings, 
and meat offerings, and held a great feast. When Moses consecrated his 
abernacle, the Jewish princes offered oblations: and when Aaron sinned 
against God, in making a golden calf for the children of Israel to worship, 
le made a proclamation and a feast was made. The people rose up betimes 
o offer their burnt offerings, and their peace offerings, to eat, and to drink 
i tnd to play. 


PRIESTS. 


Priests were considered mediators between gods and men. They offered 
he sacrifices and prayers of the people to their deities; and, on the other 
land, they were employed by the gods to interpret their divine will to man. 
’hus the office of priest was held very sacred, and in some parts of Greece 
heir dignity was equal to that of kings. Some temples were served by 
iriestesses, who were chosen from the most noble families. 

Among different nations there were different modes of appointing to the 
riesthood, and sometimes even among the same people. Inheritance was 
he customary tenure by which the holy office was held; but it was also, in 






































































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other cases, acquired by lot, by the appointment of the prince, or by the 
election of the people. 

Every one appointed to be a priest was required to be free from any bodily 
disease or ailment, and to possess a pure and upright mind; for it was not 
thought right that one who was imperfect or impure should take part in the 
worship of the gods, ministering in holy things. 

To overy god a different order of priests was consecrated. There was 
likewise a high priest who superintended the rest, and executed the most 
sacred rites and ceremonies. When the priests officiated in the temples, 
he garments which they wore were made of fine flax or linen. They com¬ 
monly descended to the ankles, and were of a white colour. They wore 
crowns, and their feet were bare. 

Sacrifices were of different kinds. 1st., They were vows or free-will 
offerings: these were such things as were promised to the gods before, and 
paid after, a victory. 2dly, They were propitiatory offerings to avert the 
wrath of some angry god. 3dly, Petitionary sacrifices for success in any 
enterprise. 4thly, Such as were imposed by an oracle. 5thly, Sacrifices 
in honour of the gods from respect and veneration in their worshippers, or 
the sacrifices offered by those who had escaped from some great danger. 
The most ancient sacrifices were very simple; they consisted of herbs and 
plants, burnt with their leaves and fruit, or of corn and salt. 

Among the Greeks and others, different animals were sacrificed by differ¬ 
ent persons ; by a shepherd a sheep, by a neatherd an ox, by a fisherman 
a fish. To an infernal deity a black victim, but white to a celestial power. 
Particular animals were consecrated to particular deities. A stag to Diana, 
a horse to the Sun, a dog to Hecate, to Venus a dove. The Boeotians used 
to sacrifice large eels; and when a stranger asked them the reason of this 
practice, they replied that they were not obliged to give any answer to a 
stranger. 

Men were sometimes sacrificed, but rarely in Greece. In Arcadia, 
young damsels were beaten to death in honour of Bacchus. In Sparta, 
children were whipped in honour of Diana. Every one sacrificed accord¬ 
ing to his means. A rich man sometimes offered a hecatomb, or a hundred 
oxen at once; a poor man might offer a cake; both were equally acceptable. 
Every person was purified by water before attending a sacrifice. 

Those who sacrificed to the infernal deities were dressed in black; to the 
celestial in purple; and to Ceres in white. Various ceremonies were used 
in the performance of the sacrifice. The offerings to the infernal gods, who 
were supposed to hate the light, were frequently made at midnight. The 
victim was killed by the priest, or sometimes by the most honourable person 
present. Prayers were offered up while the sacrifice was burning; and if 
he deity was a gay and aerial power, harmonious music was played to pro¬ 
pitiate his favour. 





































































GREEKS AND ROMANS 


mns 


In the golden age, say some, when men were true and just, oaths were 
unnecessary; but when men degenerated from their first simplicity, they? 
found it necessary to take precautions against the fraud and falsehood of each 
other; hence the origin of oaths. They were considered by the Greeks as 
very sacred and binding. Oaths were supposed more peculiarly to belong 
to Jupiter. The Greeks, however, swore by various other deities: the 
women swore by the goddesses. Sometimes the Greeks swore by all the 
gods, sometimes by the ground on which they stood 


rivers 


whom they swore. In some places false swearers suffered death; in others,' 
only a pecuniary fine. Perjured persons were supposed to be hauntec 
by the Furies. The crime of perjury, however, was common in Greece. 

The following laws respecting sacrifices were observed. 

“Let sacrifices be performed with fruits of the earth. Let it be a law 
among the Athenians, for ever sacred and inviolable, always to pay due 
homage in public towards their gods and native heroes, according to the 
usual customs of their country; and with all possible sincerity to offer ir 
private first-fruits with anniversary cakes. 

“ Cattle designed for sacrifice should be culled.” 
the best of the cattle should be offered to the gods 
sacrificer carry part of his oblation home to his family 
the sacrifice are the priests’ fees. 

“All slaves and foreigners are permitted to come t 
either out of curiosity of seeing or devotion. 

“ They w T ho survive the report of being dead, ar< 
into the Furies’ temple. 

“ Let no violence be offered to any one who flies to the temple for sue 
cour.” This is a very ancient law. 

“ While the celebration of the new moon, or other festival, continues a 
Athens, it is ordered that no one be defamed or affronted in private or public 
and that no business be carried on which is not pertinent to this feast. 


This law provided tha 
“It is ordered that the 
remains o \ 




















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


FESTIVALS. 


Festivals were very numerous and very splendid, and their celebration 
was attended with every demonstration of joy and festivity. After gather¬ 
ing in the fruits of the earth, the people of the different nations assembled 
to offer up sacrifices, and to indulge in that mirth which is the natural con¬ 
sequence of plenty. 

Those festivals instituted in honour of the gods, were intended as a 
grateful acknowledgment of services rendered by them. When a great 
victory had been obtained, or a signal danger averted, or when success 
had attended any important undertaking, it seemed reasonable that the par¬ 
ticular deity, supposed to have conferred the favour, shall be honoured by 
a festival being instituted in his praise. 

The superstitious opinions of the Grecians led them to believe that offer¬ 
ings and festivals were acceptable to their deities, and that by these means 
their favour was secured. No wonder then that in times of danger, of 
famine, and of difficulty, they endeavoured by festivals to propitiate them. 

The festivals in honour of Bacchus were celebrated at Athens with pecu¬ 
liar splendour. At some of them the worshippers wore the skins of fawns, 
carried drums, pipes, and flutes, and crowned themselves with ivy and vine 
leaves. Some rode upon asses, dressed as Pan or Silenus, or the Satyrs. 
Others ran about the hills, dancing and shouting. His festivals were nearly 
innumerable. The most celebrated festivals in Greece were those in honour 
of Ceres. They lasted nine days, and much mystery and solemnity was 
observed by the worshippers. 

No people among the Grecians outdid the Athenians, either in the num¬ 
ber of their gods or their festivals. On their high and holy days labour 
was altogether suspended, shops were shut, and courts of justice closed; 
solemnity and splendour were mingled with revelry and mirth; and the 
very excesses into which the people ran were in many cases considered 
rather as commendable than worthy of reproach. 

Festivals were called Ferise, or days of rest. Feriae Stativae were im¬ 
movable feasts; Feriae Conceptivae were movable; Feriae Imperativae wero 
extraordinary holidays; and Feriae Nundinae were days for fairs and markets 

Among the Romans, the Saturnalia, or feasts of Saturn, were the most 
celebrated. 

At an Athenian festival, celebrated on a day sacred to Jupiter, it wa? 
customary to place certain cakes on a table of brass, and to drive oxen 
round the table, when such of them as tasted the cakes were slaughtered. 
Three families were employed in this festival; one family drove the oxen 
another knocked down such of them as were condemned, and the third 
slaughtered and cut them up. 

The origin of this strange custom was as follows:—A hungry ox, at a 






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at 






GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


feast of Jupiter, ate a consecrated cake, when the incensed priest killed him. 
To kill an ox under such circumstances was a great offence, and the priest 
fled for safety. The Athenians tried the bleeding ox instead of the priest, 
and brought him in not guilty. This is one version of the story; but 
another is, that the priest and people present, when the deed was commit¬ 
ted, were accused and acquitted, while the ox was condemned. 

There was a solemn sacrifice to Jupiter made by the Messenians, when 
any of them killed a hundred enemies. 

At a festival held in honour of Juno, a hundred oxen were sacrificed, and 
their relics distributed among the citizens. 

There was an annual festival throughout Greece in honour of the god¬ 
dess Venus, to commemorate the death of Adonis, whom she loved. The 
first day all was mourning and lamentation, but on the second, rejoicing 
and mirth, because it was supposed that Proserpine had restored Adonis 
to life. 

A festival held in the isle of Delos was instituted by Theseus in honour 
of Venus. The statue of the goddess was crowned with garlands, music 
was performed, and horse-races appointed. At this festival a singular 
dance, called the Crane, was introduced, in which the dancers imitated the 
various turnings and windings of the Cretan labyrinth, from which Theseus, 
who invented the dance, had escaped. 

At Thebes, Apollo had a festival, in which he was represented with gray 
hairs. The custom was to sacrifice a bull; but it so happened on one occa¬ 
sion that no bull could be had;—a working ox was therefore taken from 
his labour, and sacrificed in his place. After that time labouring oxen 
were frequently killed, though before then it was considered profanity to 
destroy them. 

A feast in honour of Bacchus was held by night, in which women pre¬ 
tended to search for the god; not finding him, they agreed that he must 
have hidden himself among the Muses. An entertainment then followed; 
a great quantity of ivy was used at the festival, that plant being sacred to 
Bacchus. The family of Minya was excluded from this feast on pain of 
death, because on one occasion the daughters of Minya, in a furious fit of 
devotion, slew Hippasus, the son of Leucippe, and served him up at the 
table. 

At a feast of Bacchus, kept by the Eleans, it was thought that the god 
himself personally attended; the reason for such supposition was as fol¬ 
lows :—In a certain chapel three priests placed three empty vessels in the 
presence of the multitude, the doors were then shut, and sealed with the 
signets of the people. The next day the people returned, to see that their 
signets were unbroken ; after which, on opening the doors, the vessels were 
found filled with wine. 

At another festival of Bacchus, the worshippers ate raw flesh and entrails 
















































































/ . J®;\ f. 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


of goats, to imitate the god. They also counterfeited madness, as indeeu 
they did in other bacchanalian revelries.—But you have now had enough 
of Bacchus. 

At two of the festivals of Minerva, the Great Panathea, and the Lesser 
Panathea, ten presidents elected out of the ten tribes of Athens took the 
management of the games, which consisted of races with torches by horse¬ 
men and footmen, wrestling, musical contentions, and other displays, and 
trials of skill and manhood, when prizes were distributed. 

Racing with torches furnished much amusement to the Grecians. At a 
feast in honour of Vulcan, the race was thus conducted:—Three young 
men contended; one of them started off with a lighted torch, and if it 
were extinguished before he arrived at the goal, one of the others took it, 
and ran on. In like manner the third took it, if it again went out. He 
who took it lighted to the goal was the victor. No one was allowed to 
run slowly; if he did so, the people struck him with the palms of their 
hands. 

It was a custom at one of the festivals of Diana for certain men to sing 
one of Homer’s poems. The most remarkable of the persons present at the 
ceremony were ten virgins, dressed in yellow vestments, consecrated to 
Diana. These virgins were called Bears, for the following reason :— 

At a certain place in Attica a tame bear used to eat and play with the 
young people, till a young maiden made too free with it, when it tore her 
in pieces. The maiden’s friends killed the bear, when a pestilence fol¬ 
lowed. The oracle advised the people to appease the wrath of Diana, who 
was angry on account of the bear, by consecrating virgins to her. The 
Athenians, in obedience to this divine command, enacted a law, which 
required every virgin prior to marriage to go through this ceremony. 

At another festival of Diana, free-born boys were publicly whipped at 
the goddess’s altar; but in after-times, boys of meaner birth underwent 
the cruel ceremony. The parents of the sufferers were present, to exhort 
their children to endure with fortitude and patience. Though sometimes 
boys were lashed to death, it was a rare thing for one of them to utter a 
groan. 

Some say that this custom was introduced by Lycurgus, to accustom the 
youths of Sparta to think lightly of pain. 

The following particulars of what is said to have taken place at a feast 
of Diana, will show you what a love of patriotism and disdain of death 
existed among the Grecian people. Diana, having the name of “The 
Huntress,” had a cake presented to her in the form of a deer at this festi¬ 
val, which had its origin in the following manner:— 

The Thessalonians having reduced the Phocensians to extremity, Dia- 
phantus proposed, rather than submit to their enemies, to heap up a vas*. 
pile of combustible matter, and to place upon it their wives and children. 




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together with all their substance, that in case the Thessalonians got the 
better, the pile might be set on fire, and nothing fall into the enemy’s 
hands. 

This daring resolution, however, could not be well executed without the 
consent of the wives. A public assembly of them took place, and the pro¬ 
posal was made; when instead, as you may imagine, of opposing the 
design, the women highly applauded it, and decreed a crown to Diaphantus 
for his noble design. The boys also gave their full consent to the resolution. 

The consequence of this was, that the Phocensians, knowing how much 
they had at stake, fought with such fury that their enemies were entirely 
routed. It was in commemoration of the victory obtained, that this festival 
of Diana was established. The attendance of the people was very nume¬ 
rous, and great solemnity was observed. 

A festival was held in Achaia to Diana, wherein they made an ascent to 
the altar, in the shape of steps, formed of soft earth, and placed pieces of 
green wood around it, with dry wood upon it; on the second day they 
offered up in sacrifice, birds, bears, and lions, with wolves and bucks, as 
well as garden-fruits. 

At a festival in Crete, held, I think, in honour of Mercury, the servants 
sat down to table, while their masters stood round, and waited upon them. 
This custom was also kept up at the Roman Saturnalia. 

Among the many commemorations and solemnities observed among the 
Grecians, there was one so mysteriously solemn, and so famed for its secrecy, 
as to receive the name of “ The Mysteries.” It was held by some every 
fourth year, but by the Athenians every fifth, at Eleusis, a town of Attica. 
Adrian, the emperor, translated it to Rome. 

Habitually severe as the Grecians were in all things belonging to their 
religious ceremonies, they were particularly so in the mysteries. A greater 
offence could scarcely be committed, than that of divulging any of the rites 
practised therein. The offender was held unworthy of clemency ; a divine 
judgment was supposed to hang over him; he was treated as a public 
enemy, and put to death. 

This solemnity was sacred to the goddess Ceres and her daughter Pro¬ 
serpine ; and such was the secrecy enjoined, that if any one not initiated, 
either by design or error, attended, his life became forfeited. I have 
already told you a little about this strange festival, but will now speak more 
at large. 

Superstition came with its terrors and its rewards, to render the myste¬ 
ries more solemn and impressive; for those who neglected the ceremony 
were looked on as having committed a heinous offence, for which they would 
be punished after death; while those who were initiated in the mysteries 
would, as the favourites of the goddesses, spend happier lives than others, 
and at death be allotted a more honourable place in the Elysian shades. 






































































ffi QJM. 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


When Socrates was condemned to death, one part of the accusations 
brought against him was a neglect of the mysteries. 

In the more primitive times, the Athenians would not allow any one who 
'was not a member of the commonwealth to partake of this celebration- 
very one, also, who had committed a crime was rejected; but in after 
ears, the rigidness of these rules was somewhat relaxed. 

It is said that Hercules, happening to go near where the mysteries were 
being commemorated at Eleusis, desired to be initiated;—what was to be 
done? The laws forbade a stranger’s admission, yet Hercules, who had 
endered such public services to his country, was not a person to be refused. 
An expedient was found. Another ceremony, called “ The Lesser Myste¬ 
ries,” was instituted, and to this he was admitted. 

In later times the lesser festival was used as a preparative to the greater; 
and those who attended it purified themselves, offering sacrifices and 
prayers, and wearing crowns and garlands of flowers, having under foot the 
skin of a victim offered to Jupiter. 

It was not till about a year after, that, having sacrificed a sow to Ceres, 
they were allowed to attend the greater mysteries. Being crowned with 
myrtle, they were admitted into the mystical temple, an edifice of vast 
imensions. 

They were directed to wash their hands in holy water, and admonished 
to present themselves with pure minds, without which the outward cleansing 
was of no avail. After which the holy mysteries were read to them, and 
they were questioned by the priest. 

And now came around them fearful things that awed their very souls. 
Strange and amazing objects were before their eyes, while the walls of the 
edifice seemed to totter. At one moment, light and radiant fire blazed 
brightly, and the next, darkness and horror surrounded them. Thunder- 
ings and lightnings followed ; terrible apparitions were visible, and loud 
noises and frightful bellovvings were heard. 

The garments they wore on these occasions were ever after held sacred; 
they resisted charms, incantations, and other evils, and were never cast off* 
till they were worn to rags. 

This strange festival continued nine days, during which time no man 
could be arrested, and no petition presented, without incurring a penalty of 
a thousand drachms. It was not lawful for those who partook of the rites 
to eat beans, mullets, or weazels, or to sit upon a well; nor was a woman 
permitted to ride in a chariot to Eleusis, under a fine of six thousand drachms. 

The first day the worshippers assembled; the second they purified them¬ 
selves by washing in the sea; the third day they offered sacrifices; the 
fourth day they made a solemn procession to Ceres; the fifth day, at night, 
the men and women ran about with torches; the sixth day they carried the 
statue of Iacchus, the son of Jupiter, in procession, with a torch in his 




































































GREEKS AND ROMANS 


hand, from Ceramicus to Eleusis; the seventh day they filled two earthen 
vessels with wine, one easterly and one westerly—mystical sentences wers 
spoken, and then the earthen vessels were thrown down, and the wine, as 
a libation, spilt upon the ground. 


GRECIAN MARRIAGES. 

I ym 

The first inhabitants of Greece lived without laws and government, no <j 
bounds were prescribed to their passions; their love, like the rest of their 
desires, was unconfined; and promiscuous mixtures, because forbidden by 
no human authority, were publicly allowed. The first that restrained this 
liberty was Cecrops, who, having raised himself to be king over the people 
afterwards called Athenians, among many other useful institutions intro- ^ 
duced that of marriage. 

Marriage was very honourable in several of the Grecian common- 

• • I f * 

wealths, being very much encouraged by their laws, as the abstaining , 
from it was discountenanced,and in some places punished; for the strength 
of states consisting in their number of people, those that refused to contri- C 
bute to their increase were thought very cold in their affections to their 
country. The Lacedaemonians are very remarkable for their severity vj 
against those that deferred marrying, as well as those who wholly abstained ^ 
from it: no man among them could live without a wife beyond the time 
limited by their lawgiver, without incurring several penalties; as first, the 
magistrates commanded such once every winter to run round the public; 
forum naked, and to increase their shame they sang a certain song, the! 
words whereof aggravated their crime, and exposed them to ridicule. An-!/; 
other of their punishments was to be excluded from the exercises wherein, 
according to the Spartan custom, young virgins contended naked. A third 

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penalty was inflicted upon a certain solemnity wherein the women dragged 
them round an altar, beating them all the time with their fists. Lastly, \ 
they were deprived of that respect and observance which the younger sort 
were obliged to pay to their elders; and therefore, saith Plutarch, no man (\ 
found fault with what was said to Dercyllidas, a great captain, and one| 
that had commanded armies, who coming into the place of assembly, a' 
young man, instead of rising and making room, told him, “Sir, you must' K 
not expect that honour from me being young, which cannot be returned to! 
me by a child of yours when I am old.” To these we may add the Athe- kj 
nian law whereby all that were commanders, orators, or entrusted with any ^ 
public affair, were to be married, and have children, and estates in land; V- 
for these were looked on as so many pledges for their good behaviour, with- 3~ 
out which they thoug t it dangerous to commit to them the management 
of public trusts. \\ 

The time of marriage was not the same in all places; the Spartans were^ 
not permitted to marry till arrived at their full strength y 































































PAGAN NATIONS 


The Lacedamonians were forbidden to marry any of their kindred, 
whether in the direct degree of ascent, or descent; but a collateral relation 
hindered them not, for nephews married their aunts, and uncles their nieces, 
and it was not considered unlawful in several places for brothers to marry 
their half sisters; and sometimes their relation by the father, sometimes by 
the mother, was within the law. The Lacedaemonian lawgiver allowed 
marriages between those that had only the same mother and different 
fathers. The Athenians were forbidden to marry sisters by the same 
mother, but not those by the same father. Most of the Grecian states, espe¬ 
cially those that made any figure, required their citizens should match with 
none but citizens, for they looked upon the freedom of their cities as too 
great a privilege to be granted upon easy terms to foreigners or their 
children. Hence we find the Athenian laws sentencing the children of 
such matches to perpetual slavery. This was not all; for they had a law, 
that if a foreigner married a free woman of Athens, it should be lawful for 
any person to call him to account before the magistrates, where, if he was 
convicted, they sold him for a slave, and all his goods were confiscated, and 
one-third part of them given to his accuser. The same penalty was inflicted 
upon such citizens as gave foreign women in marriage to men of Athens, 
pretending they were their own daughters, save that the sentence of slavery 
was changed into ignominy, whereby they were deprived of their voices in 
all public assemblies, and most other privileges belonging to them as citi¬ 
zens. Lastly, if any man of Athens married a woman that was not free of 
that city, he was fined a thousand drachms. But these laws were not con¬ 
stant and perpetual. Sometimes the necessity of the times so far prevailed, 
that the children of strange women enjoyed all the privileges of free-born 
citizens. The old law, which prohibited the men of Athens from marrying 
strangers, having been some time disused, was revived by Pericles, and 
afterwards at the instance of the same person abrogated by a decree of the 
people, but again renewed in the archonship of Euclides, at the motion of 
Aristophon, when it was enacted, that no persons should be free denizens 
of Athens unless both their parents were free. 

Virgins were not allowed to marry without the consent of their parents. 
The mother’s consent was necessary as well as the father’s, nor were men 
permitted to marry without consulting their parents; for even the most early 
and ignorant ages were too well acquainted with the right which parents 
have by nature over their children, to think these had power to dispose of 






















































654 


GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


They had several forms of betrothing; such as, “I give you this my 
daughter to make you father of children lawfully begotten.” The dowry 
was sometimes mentioned, as we find in Xenophon, where Cyaxares betroths 
his daughter to Cyrus ; saying, “ I give you, Cyrus, this woman, who is my 
daughter, with all Media for her dowry.” 

The ceremony in promising fidelity was kissing each other, or giving 
their right hands, which was the usual form of ratifying all agreements. 

In the primitive ages, women were married without portions from their 
relations, being purchased by their husbands, whose presents to the woman’s 
relations were called her dowry. Thus we find Shechem bargaining with 
Jacob and his sons for Dinah: “Let me find grace in your eyes,” saith he, 
“and what ye shall say unto me I will give : ask me never so much dowry 
and gifts, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me, but give me 
the damsel to wife.” Several instances may be produced to the same pur¬ 
pose, were not this custom too well known to need further confirmation; 
only thus much must be observed, that when civility and good manners 
came to be established in any place, it was usually laid aside, for Aristotle 
makes it one argument to prove that the ancient Grecians were an uncivilized 
people, because they used to buy their wives. No sooner, therefore, do we 
find them beginning to lay aside their barbarous manners, than this prac¬ 
tice was left off, and that of women bringing portions to their husbands 
began; some make the most essential difference between wife and concubine 
to consist in this, that wives had dowries, whereas concubines were usually 
without. 

Men who were content to marry wives who had no fortune, commonly 
gave them an instrument in writing, whereby the receipt of their dowry 
was owned. The rest of their distinction was chiefly founded upon this, 
for she that had a dowry thought it a just title to a greater freedom with 
her husband, and more respect from him than such as owed their mainte¬ 
nance to him. 

When there were any orphan virgins without inheritance, he that was 
next in blood was obliged to marry her himself, or settle a portion on her 
according to his quality; if he was one of the first rank, five hundred 
drachms—if of the second rank, three hundred—if of the third rank, one 
hundred and fifty; but if she had many relations equally allied, all of them 
contributed their proportions to make up the sum. If there were more 
than one virgin, their nearest kinsman was only obliged to marry, or 
give a portion to one of them; and upon his refusal to do this, any person 
was allowed to indict him before the archon, who was obliged to com- 
pel him to his duty, and if he refused to put the law in execution, was 
fined a thousand drachms, which were consecrated to the goddess of 
Marriage. 

When virgins had no relations to provide for them, and were descended 

















































































*■ 


s& 




PAGAN NATIONS. 


from men that had been serviceable to their country, it was common for the 
state to take care of them. 

The Athenian virgins were presented to Diana before it was lawful for 
them to marry. This ceremony was performed at Brauron, an Athenian 
city; the custom being instituted to appease the goddess, who had been 
incensed against some of the Athenians for killing a bear. Another custom 
there was for virgins, when they became marriageable, to present certain 
baskets full of little curiosities to Diana, to gain leave to depart out of her 
train, (virgins being looked upon as under the goddess’s peculiar care,) and 
change their state of life. 

The Lacedaemonians had a very ancient statue of Venus Juno, to which 
all mothers sacrificed when their daughters were married. The most 
ancient Athenians paid the same honour to Heaven and Earth, which were 
believed to have a particular concern in marriages; the latter of these being 
rendered fruitful by the benign influences of the former, and therefore a fit 
emblem of marriage. 

ROMAN MARRIAGES. 

A legal marriage among the Romans was made in three different ways, 
called Usus, Confarreatio, and Coemptio. 

Usus, usage or prescription, was when a woman, with the consent of her 
parents or guardians, lived with a man for a whole year without being 
absent three nights, and thus became his lawful wife or property by pre¬ 
scription. If absent for three nights, she was said to have interrupted the 
prescription, and thus prevented a marriage. 

Confarreatio was when a man and woman were joined in marriage by 
the Pontifex Maxilnus, or Flamen Dialis, in presence of at least ten 
witnesses, by a set form of words, and by tasting a cake made of salt, 
water, and flour, called Far, which was offered with a sheep in sacrifice to 
the gods. 

This was the most solemn form of marriage, and could only be dissolved 
by another kind of sacrifice, called Diffarreatio. By it a woman was said 
to come into the possession or power of her husband by the sacred laws. 
She thus became partner of all his substance and sacred rites; those of the 
Penates as well as those of the Lares. If he died intestate, and without 
children, she inherited his whole fortune as a daughter. If he left children, 
she had an equal share with them. If she committed any fault, the husband 
judged of it in company with her relations, and punished her at pleasure. 
The punishment of women publicly condemned was sometimes also left to 
their relations. 

The children of this kind of marriage were called Patrimi et Matrimi, 
and often employed for particular purposes in sacred solemnities. Certain 
priests were chosen only from among them, as the Flamen of Jupiter, and 















































































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the Vestal Virgins. According to Festus, those were so called whose 
parents were both alive. If only the father was alive, Patrimi ; if only the 
mother, Matrimi. Hence Minerva is called Patrimi virgo, because she had 
no mother; and a man who had children while his own father was alive. 
Pater patrimis. 

This ceremony of marriage in later times fell much into disuse. Hence 
Cicero mentions only two kinds of marriage, Usus and Coemptio. 

Coemptio was a kind of mutual purchase, when a man and woman were 
married, by delivering to one another a small piece of money, and repeat¬ 
ing certain words. The man asked the woman if she was willing to be 
the mistress of his family. She answered that she was. In the same 
manner the woman asked the man, and he made a similar answer. 

The effects of this rite were the same as of the former. The woman was 
to the husband in the place of a daughter, and he to her as a father. She 
assumed his name together with her own. She resigned to him all her 
goods, and acknowledged him as her lord and master. The goods which a 
woman brought to her husband, besides her portion, were called Para- 
pherna. In the first days of the republic dowries were very small. Some¬ 
times the wife reserved to herself a part of the dowry, and a slave, who 
was not subjecl to the power of her husband. Some think that Coemptio 
was used as an accessary rite to Confarreatio, and retained when the pri¬ 
mary rite was dropped. 

The rite of purchase in marriage was not peculiar to the Romans, but 
prevailed also among other nations; as the Hebrews, Gen. xxix. 18. 

Some say that a yoke used anciently to be put on a man and woman 
about to be married, whence they were called conjuges; but others think 
this expression merely metaphorical. 

A matrimonial union between slaves was called Contubernium ; the 
slaves themselves Contubernales; or when a free-man lived with a 
woman not married, Concubinatus, in which case the woman was called 
Concubina. 

Married women were called Matron®. There could be no just or legal 
marriage, for better for worse, unless between Roman citizens, without a 
particular permission for that purpose obtained first from the people or 
senate, and afterwards from the emperors. Anciently, a Roman citizen 
was not allowed even to marry a freed-woman. Antony is reproached by 
Cicero for having married Fulvia, the daughter of a freed-man, as he after¬ 
wards was detested at Rome for marrying Cleopatra, a foreigner, before he 
divorced Octavia; but this was not esteemed a legal marriage. 

By the Lex Papia Poppaea a greater freedom was allowed. Only 
senators and their sons and grandsons were forbidden to marry a freed- 
woman, an actress, or the daughter of an actor. But it was not till 
Caracalla had granted the right of citizenship to the inhabitants of the 





































































o 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


whole empire, that Romans were permitted freely to intermarry with 
foreigners. 

The Romans sometimes prohibited intermarriages between neighbouring 
districts of the same country; and, what is still more surprising, the states 
of Italy were not allowed to speak the Latin language in public, nor their 
criers to use it in auctions without permission. 

The children of a Roman citizen, whether man or woman, and a foreigner, 
were accounted spurious, and their condition little better than that of slaves. 
r J hey were called Hybrid®, the general name of animals of a mixed breed, 
or produced by animals of a different species, mongrels; as a mule, from a 
horse and an ass—a dog, from a hound and a cur: hence applied to those 
sprung from parents of different nations, and to words compounded from 
different languages. The children of a lawful marriage were called Legi- 
timi; all others Illegitimi. Of the latter there were four kinds: Naturales, 
Spurii, Adulterini, et Incestuosi. There were certain degrees of consan¬ 
guinity, within which marriage was prohibited, as between a brother and 
sister, an uncle and niece, &c. Such connection was called Incestus; or 
with a Vestal Virgin. These degrees were more or less extended, or con¬ 
tracted at different times. 

Polygamy, or a plurality of wives, was forbidden among the Romans. 

The age of puberty or marriage was from fourteen for men, and twelve 
for girls. 

A custom prevailed of espousing infants, to avoid the penalties of the 
law against bachelors: but Augustus ordained that no nuptial engagement 
should be valid which was made more than two years before the celebration 
of the marriage—that is, below ten. This, however, was not always observed. 

No young man or woman was allowed to marry without the consent of 
their parents or guardians. 

There was a meeting of friends, usually at the house of the woman’s 
father or nearest relation, to settle the articles of the marriage contract, which 
was written on tables, and sealed. This contract was called Sponsalia, 
espousals; the man who was betrothed or affianced, Sponsus, and the wo¬ 
man, Sponsa. The contract was made in the form of a stipulation. Then 
likewise the dowry was promised to be paid down on the marriage day, or 
afterwards, usually at three separate payments. On this occasion there 
was commonly a feast: and the man gave the woman a ring, by way of 
pledge, which she put on her left hand, on the finger next the least, because 
it was believed a nerve reached from thence to the heart. 

Then also a day was fixed for the marriage. Certain days were 
reckoned unfortunate, as the Kalends, Nones, and Ides, and the days 
which followed them, particularly the whole month of May, and those 
days which were called Atri, marked in the calendar with black; also 
certain festivals, as that of the Salii, Parentalia, &c. But widows might 






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GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


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marry on those days. The most fortunate time was the middle of the 
month of June. 

If after the espousals either of the parties wished to retract, it was called 
Repudium. 

On the wedding-day the bride was dressed in a long white robe, bor¬ 
dered with a purple fringe, or embroidered ribbons, thought to be the same 
with tunica recta, bound with a girdle made of wool tied in a knot, which 
the husband untied. Her face was covered with a red or flame-coloured 
veil, to denote her modesty. Her hair was divided into six locks with the 
point of a spear, and crowned with flowers. Her shoes were of the same 
colour with her veil. 

No marriage was celebrated without consulting the auspices, and offer¬ 
ing sacrifices to the gods, especialty to Juno, the goddess of marriage. 
Anciently a hog was sacrificed. The gall of the victim was always taken 
out, and thrown away, to signify the removal of all bitterness from mar¬ 
riage. The marriage ceremony was performed at the house of the bride’s 
father or nearest relation. In the evening the bride was conducted to her 
husband’s house. She was taken apparently by force from the arms of her 
mother or nearest relation, in memory of the violence used to the Sabine 
women. Three boys, whose parents were alive, attended her; two of them 
supporting her by the arm, and the third bearing a flambeau of pine or 
thorn before. There were five other torches carried before her. Maid¬ 
servants followed with a distaff, a spindle and wool, intimating that she was 
to labour at spinning as the Roman matrons did of old, and some of the most 
illustrious in later times. Augustus is said to have seldom worn any thing 
but the manufacture of his wife, sister, daughter, and nieces—at least for 
his domestic robes. A boy named Camillus carried in a covered vase, 
called cumerum, the bride’s utensils, and playthings for children. A great 
number of relations and friends attended the nuptial procession. The boys 
repeated jests and railleries as she passed along. 

The door and door-posts of the bridegroom’s house were adorned with 
leaves and flowers, and the rooms with tapestry. 

A new-married woman was called Caia, from Caia Ciecilia, the wife of 
Tarquinius Priscus, who is said to have been an excellent spinster and 
housewife. Her distaff and spindle were kept in the temple of Sangus, or 
Hercules. 

The bride bound the door-posts of her husband with woollen fillets, and 
anointed them with the fat of swine or wolves, to avert fascination, or en¬ 
chantments; whence she was called Uxor. 

She was lifted over the threshold, or gently stepped over it. It was 
thought ominous to touch it with her feet, because the threshold was 
sacred to Vesta, the goddess of Virgins. 

Upon her entry, the keys of the house were delivered to her to denote 















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


her being intrusted with the management of the family. A sheep’s skin 
was spread below her, intimating that she was to work at the spinning of 
wool. Both she and her husband touched fire and water, because all things 
were supposed to be produced from these two elements: with the water 
they bathed their feet. The husband on this occasion gave a feast to his 
relations and friends, and to those of the bride and her attendants. Musi¬ 
cians attended, who sang the nuptial song. 

After supper the bride was conducted to her bedchamber by matrons, 
who had been married only to one husband, and laid in the nuptial couch, 
which was magnificently adorned, and placed in the hall, opposite to the 
door, and covered with flowers; and sometimes in the garden. If it had ever 
been used for that purpose before, the place of it was changed. There were 
images of certain divinities around. Nuptial songs were sung by young 
women before the door till midnight; hence called Epithalamia. The hus¬ 
band scattered nuts among the boys, intimating that he dropped boyish 
amusements. Hence “ Nuces relinquere,” to leave trifles, and mind serious 
business; or, from boys playing with nuts in the time of the Saturnalia, 
which at other times was forbidden. Young women, when they married, 
consecrated their playthings and dolls, or babies, to Venus. The guests 
were dismissed with small presents. 

Next day another entertainment was given by the husband, called Repotia, 
when presents were sent to the bride by her friends and relations; and she 
began to act as mistress of the family, by performing sacred rites. A woman 
after marriage retained her former name, as Julia, Tullia, Octavia, Paulla, 
Valeria, &c., joined to that of her husband: as Catonis Marcia, Julia Pom¬ 
peii, Terentia Ciceronis, Livia Augusti, &c. 

Divorce, or a right to dissolve the marriage, was by the law of Romulus 
permitted to the husband, but not to the wife, as by the Jewish law, (Deut. 
xxiv. 1;) not, however, without a just cause. A groundless or unjust 
divorce was punished with the loss of effects; of which one-half fell to the 
wife, and the other was consecrated to Ceres. 

A man might divorce his wife, if she had violated the conjugal faith, 
used poison to destroy his offspring, or brought upon him supposititious 
children; if she had counterfeited his private keys, or even drunk wine 
without his knowledge. In these cases, the husband judged together with 
his wife’s relations. This law is supposed to have been copied into the 
twelve tables. 

Although the laws allowed husbands the liberty of divorce, there was no 
instance of its being exercised for about five hundred and twenty years. 
Sp. Carrelius Ruga was the first who divorced his wife, although fond of 
her, because she had no children, on account of the oath he had been forced 
to take by the censors, in common with the other citizens, that he would 
marry to have children 





















































































I 


t 







/[(Aft 
(i w 




GREEKS AND ROMANS. 

Afterwards divorces became very frequent, not only for important reasons, 
but often on the most frivolous pretexts. Cassar, when he divorced Pom- 
peia, the niece of Sylia, because Clodius had got admission to his house in 
the garb of a music girl, at the celebration of the sacred rites of the Bona 
Dea, declared that he did not believe any thing that was said against her, 
but that he could not live with a wife who had once been suspected. 

If a wife was guilty of infidelity, she forfeited her dowry; but if the 
divorce was made without any fault of hers, the dowry was restored to her. 
When the separation was voluntary on both sides, she sometimes also 
retained the nuptial presents of her husband. 

In the later ages of the republic, the same liberty of divorce was exer¬ 
cised by the women as by the men. Some think that right was granted to 
them by the law of the twelve tables, in imitation of the Athenians. This, 
however, seems not to have been the case ; for it appears they did not enjoy 
it, even in the time of Plautus; only if a man was absent for a certain time, 
his wife seems to have been at liberty to marry another. Afterwards, some 
women deserted their husbands so frequently, and with so little shame, that 
Seneca says, they reckoned their years not from the number of consuls, but 
of husbands. But a freed-woman, if married to her patron, was not per¬ 
mitted to divorce him. 

Augustus is said to have restricted this license of Bona Gratia divorces, 
as they were called. They still, however, prevailed, although the women 
who made them were by no means respectable. 

A divorce anciently was made with different ceremonies, according to the 
manner in which the marriage had been celebrated. A marriage contracted 
by Confarreatio was dissolved by a sacrifice called Diffareatio, which was 
still in use in the time of Plutarch, when a separation took place between 
the flamen of Jupiter and his wife. 

A marriage contracted by Coemptio was dissolved by a kind of release, 
called Remancipatio. In this manner Cato is supposed to have voluntarily 
given away his wife Marcia to Hortensius, and Tiberius Nero his wife 
Livia to Augustus, even when big with child. 

In later times a divorce was made with fewer ceremonies; in presence 
of seven witnesses the marriage contract was torn, the keys were taken 
from the wife, then certain words were pronounced by a freedman, or by 
the husband himself. If the husband was absent, he sent his wife a bill of 
divorce, on which similar words were inscribed. This was called Matri¬ 
monii Renunciatio. 

If the divorce was made without the fault of the wife, her whole portion was 
restored to her; sometimes all at once, but usually by three different payments. 

There was sometimes an action to determine by whose fault the divorce 
was made. Divorces were recorded in the public registers, as marriages, 
births, and funerals. 


% 

















































,1 



.<©) 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


661 


Widows were obliged to wear mourning for their husbands at least ten 
months; and if they married within that time, they were held infamous, 
but men were under no such restriction. 

M. Antonius, the philosopher, after the death of his wife Faustina, lived 
with a concubine, that he might not bring in a step-mother on his children. 

Second marriages in women were not esteemed honourable; and those 
who had been married but to one husband, or who remained in widow¬ 
hood, were held in particular respect. Hence Univira is often found in 
ancient inscriptions, as an epithet of honour. Such as married a second 
time were not allowed to officiate at the annual sacred rites of Female 
Fortune. 

GRECIAN FUNERALS. 

Among the Greeks and Romans great attention was paid to the obse¬ 
quies of the dead. They were well aware of the impression that was thus 
made on the minds of the living. The dead were ever held sacred and 
inviolable, even amongst the most barbarous nations; to defraud them of 
any due respect was a greater and more unpardonable sacrilege than to 
spoil the temple of the gods; the memories of the illustrious were preserved 
with a religious care and reverence, and all their remains honoured with 
worship and adoration: hatred and envy themselves were put to silence; 
for it was thought a sign of a cruel and inhuman disposition to speak evil 
of the dead, and prosecute revenge beyond the grave. No provocation was 
thought sufficient to warrant so foul an action; the highest affronts from 
themselves whilst alive, or afterwards from their children, were esteemed 
weak pretences for disturbing their peace. Offenders of this kind were not 
only branded with disgrace and infamy, but, by Solon’s laws, incurred a 
severe penalty. 

But of all the honours paid to the dead, the care of their funeral rites 
was the greatest and most necessary; for these were looked upon as a debt 
so sacred that such as neglected to discharge it were thought accursed. 
And no wonder that they were thus solicitous about the interment of the 
dead, since they were strongly possessed with an opinion that their souls 
could not be admitted into the Elysian shades, but were forced to wander, 
desolate, and without company, tili their bodies were committed to the 
earth; and if they had never the good fortune to obtain human burial, the 
time of their exclusion from the common receptacle of the ghosts was no 
less than a hundred years. 

As soon as any person had expired, they closed his eyes. The design 
of this custom seems to have been not only to prevent that horror, which 
the eyes of dead men when uncovered are apt to strike into the living, but 
also for the satisfaction of dying persons, who are usually desirous to die in 
a decent posture. For the same reason the mouth of the dead person was 




























































062 


GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


closed. This done, his face was covered. Almost all the offices about the 
dead were performed by their nearest relations; nor could a greater mis¬ 
fortune befal any person, than to want these last respects. All the charges 
expended on funerals, and the whole care and management of them, 
belonged also to relations, saving that persons of extraordinary worth were 
frequently honoured with public funerals, the expenses whereof were 
defrayed out of the exchequer. 

Before the body was cold, they composed all the members, stretching 
them out to their due length. After this the dead body was washed, 
This done, the body was anointed. After the body was washed and 
anointed, they wrapped it in a garment, which seems to have been no other 
than the common pallium or cloak they wore at other times, as we find 
the Romans made use of the toga. Then the body was adorned with a 
rich and splendid garment; the whole body was covered with this 
garment. 

When persons of worth and character died in foreign countries, their 
remains, being brought home in urns, were honoured with the ceremonies 
customary at other funerals. 

Some time before interment a piece of money was put into the corpse’s 
mouth, which was thought to be Charon’s fare for wafting the departed soul 
iver the Inf3rnal River. Besides this, the corpse’s mouth was furnished 
with a certain cake, composed of flour, honey, &c. This was designed to 
appease the fury of Cerberus the Infernal doorkeeper, and to procure him 
a safe and quiet entrance. 

It may farther be observed, that during this time the hair of the deceased 
person was hung upon the door, to signify the family was in mourning; 
and, till the house was delivered of the corpse, there stood before the door 
a vessel of water. The design of this was, that such as had been concerned 
about the corpse might purify themselves by washing. For not the Jews 
only, but the greatest part of the heathen world, thought themselves pol¬ 
luted by the contact of a dead body. 

The air proceeding from the dead body was thought to pollute all things 
into which it entered: whence all uncovered vessels which stood in the 
same room with the corpse were accounted unclean by the Jews. Hence 
it was customary to have the whole house purified as soon as the funeral 
solemnities were over. 

The next thing to be observed is their carrying the corpse forth. The 
time of burial seems not to have been limited. The ancient burials took 
place on the third or fourth day after death; nor was it unusual to perform 
the solemnities, especially of poor persons, on the day after their death. 
Servius was of opinion, that the time of burning bodies was the eighth day 
after death—the time of burying the ninth; but this must only be under¬ 
stood of the funerals of great persons, which could not be duly solemnized 















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


G63 


i 


yi 


without extraordinary preparations. In some instances it was usual to keep 
the bodies seventeen days and seventeen nights. 

The ceremony was performed in the day, for night was looked on as a 
very improper time, because then furies and evil spirits, which could not 
endure the light, ventured abroad. 

Young men only, that died in the flower of their age, were buried in the 
morning twilight; for so dreadful a calamity was this accounted, that they 
thought it indecent, and almost impious, to reveal it in the face of the sun. 
The Athenians went counter to the rest of the Grecians; for their laws 
enjoined them to celebrate their funerals before sunrise. 

The body was sometimes placed upon a bier; instead of which the Lace¬ 
daemonians commonly used their bucklers: whence that remarkable com¬ 
mand of one of their matrons to her son,—“Either bring this” (pointing to 
liis buckler) “ back, or be brought upon it.” But the most ancient Gre¬ 
cians seem to have conveyed their dead bodies to their funerals without any 
support. 

The persons present at funerals were the dead man’s friends and rela¬ 
tions, who thought themselves under an obligation to pay this last respect 
to their deceased friend. Besides these, others were frequently invited to 
increase the solemnity, where the laws restrained them not from it; which 
they did at some places, either to prevent the disorders which often hap¬ 
pened at such promiscuous meetings, or to mitigate the excessive charges 
of funerals. 

The habit of these persons was not always the same; for though they 
sometimes put on mourning, and in common funerals as frequently retained 
their ordinary apparel, yet the exequies of great men were commonly cele¬ 
brated with expressions of joy for their reception into heaven. When the 
body was conveyed out of the house, they took their last farewell, saluting 
it in a certain form of words. 

The procession was commonly made on horseback, or in coaches; but at 
the funerals of persons to whom a more than ordinary reverence was thought 
due, all went on foot. The relations went next the corpse: the rest walked 
some distance off. Sometimes the men went before it, with their heads 
uncovered—the women following it; but the ordinary way was for the body 
to go first, and the rest to follow; whereby the survivors were put in mind 
of their mortality, and bid to remember they were all following in the way 
the dead person had gone. At the funerals of soldiers their fellow-soldiers 
attended with their spears pointed towards the ground, and the uppermost 
part of their bucklers turned downwards. This was not done so much 
because the gods were carved upon their bucklers, whose faces would 
have been polluted by the sight of a dead body, as that they might 
recede from their common custom, the method of mourning being to act 
quite contrary to what was usual at other times; and therefore not only 












































































664 


GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


3 w) 



i i 


their bucklers, but their spears, and the rest of their weapons, were 
inverted. 

The ceremonies by which they used to express their sorrow on the death 
of friends, and on other occasions, were various and uncertain ; but it seems 
to have been a constant rule amongst them to recede as much as possible 
in habits and all their behaviour, from their ordinary customs; by which 
change they thought it would appear that some extraordinary calamity had 
befallen them. Hence it was that mourners in some cities demeaned them¬ 
selves in the very same manner with persons who in other places designed 
to express joy ; for the customs of one city being contrary to those of another, 
it sometimes happened that what in one place passed for an expression of 
mirth, was in others a token of sorrow. The most ordinary ways of 
expressing sorrow were these that follow:— 

They abstained from banquets and entertainments, and banished from 
their houses all musical instruments, and whatever was proper to excite 
pleasure, or bore an air of mirth and gayety. They frequented no public 
solemnities, nor appeared in place of concourse, but sequestered themselves 
from company, and refrained even from the comforts and conveniences of 
life. Wine was too great a friend to cheerfulness to gain admission into so 
melancholy society; the light itself was odious; and nothing courted but 
dark shades and lonesome retirements, which they thought bore some 
resemblance to their misfortunes. 

They divested themselves of all ornaments, and laid aside their jewels, 
gold, and whatever was rich and precious in their apparel. Their mourn¬ 
ing garments were always black, and differed not from their ordinary 
apparel in colour only, but likewise in value, as being of cheap and coarse 
stuff. 

They tore, cut off, and sometimes shaved their hair. They had several 
ways of disposing of their hair; at times it was thrown on the dead body. 

It was likewise frequent to cast it into the funeral pile, to be consumed with O \jj&j 
the body of their friend. Some restrain this practice to sons, or very near f ' 
relations; but it appears, by many instances, to have been common to all 
that thought themselves obliged to express their respect or love to the dead, 
insomuch that, upon the death of great men, whole cities and countries were 
commonly shaved. It was used partly to render the ghost of the deceased 
person propitious, which seems to be the reason why they threw the hair 
into the fire to burn with him, or laid it on his body, that they might appear 
disfigured, and careless of their beauty. It may further be observed, that 
in solemn and public mournings it was common to extend this practice to 
their beasts, that all things might appear as deformed and ugly as possible. 

The Persians shaved themselves, their horses, and their mules; but 
Alexander, as in the rest of his actions, so herein went beyond the rest of 
mankind; for at the death of Hephaestion, he not only cut off the manes of 




V 











































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


his horses and mules, but took down the battlements from the city walls, 
that even towns might seem mourners, and instead of their former beauteous 
appearance, look bald at the funeral. 

It was frequent for persons overwhelmed with grief, and unable to bear 
up under it, to throw themselves upon the earth, and roll in the dust; and 
the more dirty the ground was, the better it served to defile them, and to 
express their sorrow and dejection. 

They covered their heads with ashes. These customs were likewise 
practised in the Eastern countries, whence we find so frequent mention of 
penitents lying upon the ground, and putting on sackcloth and ashes. 

When any occasion required their attendance abroad, their heads were 
muffled up. 

They went softly, to express their faintness and loss of strength and 
spirits. Thus Ahab, king of Israel, being terrified by the judgment Elias 
denounced against him, fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly; and 
Hezekiah, king of Judah, being told by the prophet that he was never to 
recover of a distemper he then lay under, amongst other expressions of 
sorrow hath this:—“I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my 
soul.” 

They beat their breasts and thighs, and tore their flesh, making furrows 
in their faces with their nails; which actions, though practised sometimes 
by men, were more frequent among women, whose passions are more vio 
lent and ungovernable. 

“ Women with nails their breasts and faces tear, 

And thus their boundless, headstrong grief declare.” 

The Lacedaemonians bore the death of their private relations with great 
constancy and moderation; but when their kings died, they had a barbarous 
custom of meeting in vast numbers, where men, women, and slaves all 
mixed together, and tore the flesh from their foreheads with pins and 
needles. The design of this was not only to testify their sorrow, but also 
to gratify the ghosts of the dead, who were thought to feed upon and to 
delight in nothing so much as blood. Nor was this the effect of extrava¬ 
gant passion, or practised only by persons of weaker understandings in the 
extremity of their sorrow, but frequently done by men of all qualities, and 
that in the most grave and solemn manner. 

When public magistrates, or persons of note died, or any public calamity 
happened, all public meetings were intermitted, the schools of exercise, 
baths, shops, temples, and all places of concourse, were shut up, and the 
whole city put on a face of sorrow. Thus we find the Athenians bewail¬ 
ing their loss of Socrates, not long after they had sentenced him to death. 

They had mourners and musicians to increase the solemnity , which 
custom seems to have been practised in most parts of the world. 

What the design of their musical instruments was, is not agreed: some 




















































\ 



GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


will have them intended to affright the ghosts and furies from the soul of 
the deceased person; others would have them to signify the soul’s departure 
into heaven, where they fancied the motion of the spheres made a divine 
and eternal harmony ; others say they were designed to divert the sorrow 
of the dead man’s surviving relations: but the most probable opinion seems 
to be, that they were intended to excite sorrow, which was the reason that 
the lyra was never used at such solemnities. 

Interring and burning were practised by the Grecians; yet which of 
these customs has the best claim to antiquity may perhaps admit of a dis¬ 
pute ; but it seems probable, that however the later Grecians were better 
affected to the way of burning, yet the custom of the most primitive ages 
was to inter their dead. The philosophers were divided in their opinion 
about it; those who thought human bodies were compounded of water, 
earth, or the four elements, inclined to have them committed to the earth ; 
but Heraclitus, with his followers, imagining fire to be the first principle of 
all things, affected burning; for every one thought it the most reasonable 
method, and most agreeable to nature, so to dispose of bodies, as they might 
soonest be reduced to their first principles. 

Eustathius assigns two reasons why burning came to be of so general use 
in Greece: the first is, because bodies were thought to be unclean after the 
soul’s departure, and therefore were purified by fire; the second reason is, 
that the soul, being separated from the gross and inactive matter, might be 
at liberty to take its flight to the heavenly mansions; and it seems to have 
been the common opinion, that fire was an admirable expedient to refine the 
celestial part of man by separating from it all gross and corruptible maiter, 
with the impure qualities which attend it. 

The piles whereon they burned dead bodies seem not to have been erected 
in any constant form, or to have consisted of the same materials, these being 
varied as time and place and other circumstances required. The body was 
placed upon the top of the pile, but was rarely burned without company ; 
for besides the various animals they threw upon the pile, we seldom find a 
man of quality consumed without a number of slaves, or captives; besides 
these, all sorts of precious ointments and perfumes were poured into the 
flames. 

Soldiers had usually their arms burned with them. It seems, likewise, 
to have been the custom for the garments they had worn in the time of their 
lives to be thrown into the pile. Some were so solicitous about this, that 
they gave orders in their last wills to have it done ; and the Athenians were, 
as in all other observances which related any way to religion, so in this, 
the most profuse of all the Grecians, insomuch that some of their law¬ 
givers were forced to restrain them by severe penalties from defrauding 
the living by their liberality to the dead. The pile was lighted by some 
of the dead pe-son’s nearest relations or friends, who made prayers and 


a. 


V 


"S'! 































































PAGAN NATIONS 


vows to the winds to assist the flames, that the body might quickly be 
reduced to ashes. 

At the funerals of generals and great officers, the soldiers, with the rest 
of the company, made a solemn procession three times round the pile, to 
express their respect to the dead. During the time the pile was burning, 
the dead person’s friends stood by it, pouring forth libations of wine, and 
calling upon the deceased. When the pile was burned down, and the 
flames had ceased, they extinguished the remains of the fire with wine, 
which being done, they collected the bones and ashes. The bones were 
sometimes washed with wine, and (which commonly followed washing^ 
anointed with oil. The bones and ashes thus collected were deposited in 
urns. The matter they consisted of was different—either wood, stone, 
earth, silver, or gold, according to the quality of the deceased. When 
persons of eminent virtue died, their urns were frequently adorned with 
flowers and garlands; but the general custom seems to have been to cover 
them with cloths till they were deposited in the earth, that the light might 
not approach them. 

Concerning interment it may be observed that their bodies lay in their 
coffins with faces upwards; it being thought more proper, and perhaps more 
conducive to the welfare of the deceased, to have their faces towards heaven, 
the abode of the celestial gods, and fountain of light, than the dark man¬ 
sions of the infernal deities. 

The primitive Grecians were buried in places prepared for that purpose 
in their own houses ; the Thebans had once a law that no person should 
build a house without providing a repository for his dead. It seems to 
have been very frequent, even in later ages, to bury within their cities, the 
most public and frequented places whereof seem to have been best stored 
with monuments ; but this was a favour not ordinarily granted, except to 
men of great worth, and public benefactors; to such as had raised them¬ 
selves above the common level, and were examples of virtue to succeeding 
ages, or had deserved by some eminent service to have their memories 
honoured by posterity. 

Temples were sometimes made repositories for the dead, whereof the 
primitive ages afford us many instances; insomuch, that some have been 
of opinion that the honours paid to the dead were the first cause of erecting 
temples. But the general custom, in later ages especially, was to bury 
their dead without their cities, and chiefly by the highways, which seems 
to be done either to preserve themselves from the noisome smells wherewith 
graves might infect their cities, or to prevent the danger their houses were 
exposed to, when funeral piles were set on fire. 

Every family was wont to have their proper burying-place, to be 
deprived whereof was reputed one of the greatest calamities that could 






































































GREEKS AND ROMANS 


The common graves of primitive Greece were nothing but caverns dug 
in the earth, but those of later ages were more curiously wrought; they 
were commonly paved with stone, had arches built over them, and were 
adorned with no less art and care than the houses of the living, insomuch 
that mourners commonly retired into the vaults of the dead, and there 
lamented over their relations for many days and nights together. Kings 
and great men were anciently buried in mountains or at the feet of them ) 
whence likewise appears the custom of raising a mount upon the graves of 
great persons. 

The ornaments wherewith sepulchres were beautified were numerous. 
Pillars of stone were very ancient; they frequently contained inscriptions 
declaring the family, virtues, and whatever was remarkable in the deceased, 
which were commonly described in verses; nor was it unusual to omit the 
names of the deceased, writing instead of them some moral aphorism, or 
short exhortation to the living. 

Isocrates’ tomb was adorned with the image of a syren—Archimedes’ 
with a sphere and cylinder; whereby the charming eloquence of the former 
and the mathematical studies of the latter were signified. Nor was it un¬ 
usual to fix upon graves the instruments which the deceased had used. 
The graves of soldiers were distinguished by their weapons; those of ma¬ 
riners by their oars; and, in short, the tools of every art and profession 
accompanied their masters, and remained as monuments to preserve their 
memory. 

It was also customary to pray for their friends, and men of piety and 
virtue, that the earth might lie light upon them; for their enemies, and all 
wicked men, that it might press heavy upon them; for they thought the 
ghosts that still haunted their shrouds, and were in love with their former 
habitations, had a very acute sense of all the accidents which befel their 
bodies. 

Monuments were erected in honour of the dead, which, with all things 
belonging to the dead, were had in so great esteem, that to deface or any 
way violate them was a crime no less than sacrilege, and thought to entail 
certain ruin upon all persons guilty of it. 

It has been a question whether the Cenotaphis had the same religious 
regard which was paid to the sepulchres where the remains of the deceased 
were reposited; for the resolution hereof it may be observed, that such of 
them as were only erected for the honour of the dead, were not held so 
sacred as to call for any judgment upon such as profaned them ; but the 
rest, wherein ghosts were thought to reside, seem to have been in the 
same condition with sepulchres, the want whereof they were designed to 
supply. 

Funeral orations were delivered, games instituted, and lustrations, enter¬ 
tainments, and consecrations, performed in honour of the illustrious dead. 




































































PAGAN NATIONS 


unburied were not admitted into the abodes of the dead, or at least wan¬ 
dered a hundred years along the river Styx before they were allowed to 
cross it; for which reason, if the bodies of their friends could not be found, 
they erected to them an empty tomb, at which they performed the usual 
solemnities; and if they happened to see a dead body, they always threw 
some earth upon it, and whoever neglected to do so was obliged to expiate 
his crime by sacrificing a hog to Ceres. Hence no kind of death was so 
much dreaded as shipwreck. 

When persons were at the point of death, their nearest relation present 
endeavoured to catch their last breath with their mouth, for they believed 
that the soul, or living principle, then went out at the mouth. They now 
also pulled ofT their rings, which seem to have been put on again before they 
were placed on the funeral pile. 

The corpse was then laid on the ground, from the ancient custom of 
placing sick persons at the gate, to see if any that passed had ever been ill 
of the same disease, and what had cured them. 

The corpse was next bathed with warm water, and anointed with per¬ 
fumes by slaves called Pollinctores, belonging to those who took care of 
funerals, and had the charge of the temple of Venus Libitina, where the 
things requisite for funerals were sold. 

In this temple was kept an account of those who died, for each of whom 
a certain coin was paid. 

The money paid for the liberty of burial, and other expenses, was called 
Arbitrium. 

The body was then dressed in the best robe which the deceased had worn 
when alive; ordinary citizens in a white toga, magistrates in their praetexta, 
&c., and laid on a couch in the vestibule, with the feet outwards, as if about 
to take its last departure. Then a lamentation was made. The couch was 
sometimes decked with leaves and flowers. If the deceased had received 
a crown for his bravery, it was now placed on his head. A small coin was 
put in his mouth, which he might give to Charon, the ferryman of hell, for 
his freight. Hence a person who wanted this and the other funeral obla¬ 
tions was said—Abiisse ad Acheruntum sine viatico; for without them it 
was thought that souls could not purchase a lodging or place of rest. 

A branch of cypress was placed at the door of the deceased, at least if he 
was a person of consequence, to prevent the Pontifex Maximus from enter¬ 
ing, and thereby being polluted; for it was unlawful for him not only to 
touch a dead body, but even to look at it. The cypress was sacred to 
Pluto, because when once cut it never grows again. 































































GREEKS AND ROiYIaNS. 


9 




The Romans, at first, usually interred their dead, which is the most 
ancient and most natural method. They early adopted the custom of burn¬ 
ing from the Greeks, which is mentioned in the laws of Numa, and of the 
^twelve tables, but it did not become general till towards the end of the 
republic. 

Sylla was the first of the patrician branch of the Gens Cornelia that was 
burnt; which he is supposed to have ordered, lest any one should dig up 
his body, and dissipate his remains, as he did those of Marius. Pliny 
ascribes the first institution of burning among the Romans to their having 
discovered that the bodies of those who fell in distant wars were dug up by 
the enemy. 

Under the emperors it became almost universal, but was afterwards gra¬ 
dually dropped upon the introduction of Christianity; so that it had fallen 
into disuse about the end of the fourth century. 

Children before they got teeth were not burnt, but buried in a place 
called Suggrundarium. So likewise persons struck with lightning were 
buried in the spot where they fell, called Bidental, because it was conse¬ 
crated by sacrificing sheep. It was enclosed with a wall, and no one was 
allowed to tread upon it. To remove its bounds was esteemed sacrilege. 

Of funerals there were chiefly two kinds—public and private. The 
public funeral was called Indictivum, because people were invited to it by 
a herald. Of this kind the most remarkable were, Funus Censorium ; Pub¬ 
licum, when a person was buried at the public expense ; and Collativum, 
by a public contribution. Augustus was very liberal in granting public 
funerals, as at first in conferring the honour of a triumph. 

A private funeral was called Taciturn. The funeral of those who died 
in infancy, or under age, was called Acerbum. Infants and young men 
were buried sooner than grown persons, and with less pomp. 

When a public funeral was intended, the corpse was kept usually for 
seven or eight days, with a keeper set to watch it, and sometimes boys to 
drive away the flies. When the funeral was private, the body was not 
kept so long. 

On the day of the funeral, when the people were assembled, the dead 
body was carried out with the feet foremost, on a couch, covered with rich 
cloth, with gold and purple, supported commonly on the shoulders of the 
nearest relations of the deceased, or of his heirs—sometimes of his freed- 
nien. Julius Caesar was borne by the magistrates, Augustus by the sena¬ 
tors, and Germanicus by the tribunes and centurions. So Drusus, his 
father, who died in Germany, by the tribunes and centurions to the winter 
quarters; and then by the chief men in the different cities on the road to 
Rome ; and Paulus iEmilius by the chief men of Macedonia, who happened 
to be at Rome when he died. Poor citizens and slaves were carried to the 
funeral pile in a plain bier or coffin. 






































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


G71 


Children who died before they were weaned, were carried to the pile by 
their mothers. 

All funerals used anciently to be solemnized in the night time, with 
torches, that they might not fall in the way of magistrates and priests, who 
were supposed to be violated by seeing a corpse, so that they could not 
perform sacred rites till they were purified by an expiatory sacrifice. But 
in after ages public funerals were celebrated in the day time, at an early 
hour in the forenoon, as it is thought with torches also. Private or ordi¬ 
nary funerals were always at night. Torches were used both at funerals 
and marriages. 

The order of the funeral procession was regulated, and every one’s place 
assigned him, by a person called Designator—an undertaker, or master of 
ceremonies, attended by lictors, dressed in black. First went musicians 
of various kinds—pipers, trumpeters; then mourning women, hired to 
lament and to sing the funeral song, or the praises of the deceased to the 
sound of the flute. Boys and girls were sometimes employed for this last 
purpose. The flutes and trumpets used on this occasion were larger and 
longer than ordinary, and of a grave, dismal sound. By the law of the 
twelve tables, the number of players on the flute at a funeral was restricted 
to ten. 

Next came players and buffoons, who danced and sung. One of them, 
called Archimimus, supported the character of the deceased, imitating his 
words and actions while alive. These players sometimes introduced apt 
sayings from dramatic writers. Then followed the freedmen of the deceased, 
with a cap on their head. Some masters at their death freed all their slaves, 
from the vanity of having their funeral procession attended by a numerous 
train of freedmen. 

Before the corpse were carried images of the deceased and of his ances¬ 
tors, on long poles or frames, but not of such as had been condemned for 
any heinous crime, whose images were broken. The Triumviri ordained 
that the image of Caesar, after his deification, should not be carried before 
the funeral of any of his relations. Sometimes there were a great many 
different couches carried before the corpse, on which it is supposed the 
images were placed. After the funeral, these images were again set up in 
the hall, where they were kept. If the deceased had distinguished him¬ 
self in war, the crowns and rewards which he had received for his valour 
were displayed, together with the spoils and standards he had taken from 
the enemy. At the funerals of renowned commanders were carried images 
or representations of the countries they had subdued, and the cities they had 
taken. At the funeral of Sy 11a, above 2000 crowns are said to have been 
carried, which had been sent him by different cities on account of his victory. 

The lictors attended with their fasces inverted. Sometimes also the 
officers and troops, with the spears pointing to the ground. 































































m 


./ o 




L 


V® 


ffi) 




GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


Behind the corpse walked the friends of the deceased in mourning; hi3 
sons with their head veiled, and his daughters with their head bare and 
their hair dishevelled, contrary to the ordinary custom of both. The ma¬ 
gistrates without their badges, and the nobility without their ornaments 
The nearest relations sometimes tore their garments, and covered their hair 
with dust, or pulled it out. The women, in particular, who attended the 
funeral, beat their breasts and tore their cheeks, although this was forbidden 
by the twelve tables. 

At the funeral of an illustrious citizen the corpse was carried through 
the forum, where the procession stopped, and a funeral oration was deli¬ 
vered in praise of the deceased from the rostra by his son, or by some near 
relation or friend—sometimes by a magistrate, according to the appoint¬ 
ment of the senate. 

This custom is said to have been first introduced by Poplicola, in honour 
of his colleague Brutus. It was an incentive to glory and virtue, but hurt¬ 
ful to the authenticity of historical records. 

The honour of a funeral oration was decreed by the senate also to 
women, for their readiness in resigning their golden ornaments to make up 
the sum agreed to be paid to the Gauls as a ransom for leaving the city; 
or, according to Plutarch, to make the golden cup which was sent to Delphi 
as a present to Apollo in consequence of the vow of Camillus after the 
taking of Veii. 

But Cicero says that Popilia was the first to whom this honour was paid, 
by her son Catulus, several ages after; and, according to Plutarch, Caesar 
introduced the custom of praising young matrons upon the death of his 
wife Cornelia. But after that, both young and old, married and unmar¬ 
ried, were honoured with funeral orations. While the funeral oration was 
delivering, the corpse was placed before the rostra. The corpse of Caesar 
was placed in a gilt pavilion like a small temple, with the robe in which he 
had been slain suspended on a pole or trophy, and his image exposed on a 
movable machine, with the marks of all the wounds he had received; for 
the body itself was not seen—but Dio says the contrary. Under Augustus 
it became customary to deliver more than one funeral oration in praise of 
the same person, and in different places. From the forum the corpse was 
carried to the place of burning or burial, which the law of the twelve tables 
ordered to be without the city, according to the custom of other nations; 
the Jews, the Athenians, and others. 

The ancients are said to have buried their dead at their own houses; 
whence, according to some, the origin of idolatry, and the worship of house¬ 
hold gods, the fear of hobgoblins or spectres in the dark. 

Augustus, in his speech to his soldiers before the battle of Actium, says 
that the Egyptians embalmed their dead bodies to establish an opinion of 
the*r immottality. Several of these still exist, called mummies, from mum, 

































































'] 






PAGAN NATIONS. 


673 


ttie Egyptian name of wax. The manner of embalming is described by 
Herodotus. The Persians also anointed the bodies of their dead with wax, 
to make them keep as long as possible. 

The Romans prohibited burning or burying in the city, both from a 
sacred and civil consideration; that the priests might not be contami¬ 
nated by seeing or touching a dead body, and that houses might not 
be endangered by the frequency of funeral fires, or the air infected by the 
stench. 

The flamen of Jupiter was not allowed to touch a dead body, nor to go 
where there was a grave. So the high-priest among the Jews ; and if the 
pontifex maximus had to deliver a funeral oration, a veil was laid over the 
corpse to keep it from his sight. 

The places for burial were either private or public; the private in fields 
or gardens, usually near the highway, to be conspicuous, and to remind 
those who passed by of mortality. The public places of burial for great 
men were commonly in the Campus Martius or Campus Esquilinus; for 
poor people, without the Esquiline gate, in places called Puticulae. 

As the vast number of bones deposited in that common burying-ground 
rendered the places adjoining unhealthy, Augustus, with the consent of the 
senate and people, gave part of it to his favourite Maecenas, who built there 
a magnificent house, with extensive gardens, whence it became one of the 
most healthy situations in Rome. 

There was in the corner of the burying-ground a stone pillar, on which 
was marked its extent towards the road, and backwards to the fields, also 
who were buried in it. If a burying-ground was intended for a person and 
his heir, it was called Sepulchrum. If only for himself and family, Fami- 
liare. Freedmen were sometimes comprehended, and relations, when un¬ 
deserving, excluded. The right of burying was sometimes purchased by 
those who had no burying-ground of their own. 

The Vestal virgins were buried in the city; and some illustrious men, as 
Poplicola, Tubertus, and Fabricius; which right their posterity retained, 
but did not use. To show, however, that they possessed it, when any of 
them died, they brought the dead body, when about to be burned, into the 
forum, and setting down the couch, put a burning torch under it, which 
they immediately removed, and carried the corpse to another place. The 
right of making a sepulchre for himself within the Pomserium was decreed 
to Julius Caesar as a singular privilege. 

When a person was burned and buried in the same place, it was called 
Bustum. A place where one only was burnt, Ustrina. 

The funeral pile was built in the form of an altar, with four equal sides, of 
wood which might easily catch fire, as fir, pine, cleft oak, unpolished, accord¬ 
ing to the law of the twelve tables, but not always so; also stuffed with paper 
and pitch, and made higher or lower, according to the rank of the deceased, 




















































































674 GREEKS AND ROMANS. 

with cypress trees set around, to prevent the noisome smell, and at the dis¬ 
tance of sixty feet from any house. 

On the funeral pile was placed the corpse with the couch. The eyes 
of the deceased were opened. The nearest relations kissed the body with 
tears, and then set fire to the pile with a lighted torch, turning away 
their face, to show that they did it with reluctance. They prayed for a 
wind to assist the flames; and when that happened it was thought 
fortunate. 

They threw into the fire various perfumes, incense, myrrh, cassia, &c., 
which Cicero calls Sumptuosare-spersio, forbidden by the twelve tables; 
also cups of oil, and dishes, with titles marking what they contained; like¬ 
wise the clothes and ornaments, not only of the deceased, but their own. 
Every thing, in short, that was supposed to be agreeable to the deceased 
while alive. 

If the deceased had been a soldier, they threw on the pile his arms, 
rewards, and spoils; and if a general, the soldiers sometimes threw in their 
own arms. 

At the funeral of an illustrious commander, or emperor, the soldiers 
made a circuit three times r>mnd the pile, from right to left, with their 
ensigns inverted, and striking their weapons on one another to the sound 
of the trumpet, all present accompanying them, as at the funeral of Sylla 
and of Augustus; which custom seems to have been borrowed from the 
Greeks: used also by the Carthaginians, and sometimes performed annu¬ 
ally at the tomb. 

As the manes were supposed to be delighted with blood, various ani¬ 
mals, especially such as the deceased had been fond of, were slaughtered 
at the pile, and thrown into it. In ancient times, also men, captives, or 
slaves. Afterwards, instead of them, gladiators, called Bustuarii, were 
made to fight. So among the Gauls, slaves and clients were burned on 
the piles of their masters ; and among the Indians and Thracians, wives 
on the piles of their husbands. As one man had several wives, there was 
sometimes a contest among them about the preference, which they 
determined by lot. Instances are recorded of persons who came to life 
again on the funeral pile, after it was set on fire, so that they could not be 
preserved; and of others, who, having revived before the pile was kindled 
returned home on their feet. 

The Jews, although they interred their dead, filled the couch on which 
the corpse was laid with sweet odours, and divers kinds of spices, and 
burned them. 

When the pile was burned down, the fire was extinguished, and the 
embers soaked with wine. The bones were gathered Dy tne nearest rela¬ 
tions in loose robes, and sometimes barefooted. We read also of the nearest 
female relations gathering the bones in their bosoms. 




















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


675 






The ashes and bones of the deceased are thought to have been distin¬ 
guished by their particular position. Some suppose the body to have 
been wrapped in a species of incombustible cloth, made of what the Greeks 
call asbestos. But Pliny restricts this to the kings of India, where only 
it was then known. The bones and ashes, besprinkled with the richest 
perfumes, were put into a vessel called an urn, made of earth, brass, 
marble, silver, or gold, according to the wealth or rank of every one. 
Sometimes, also, a small glass vial full of tears, called by the moderns a 
Lachrymatory, was put in the urn. The urn was solemnly deposited in 
the sepulchre. 

When the body was not burned, it was put into a coffin, with all its orna¬ 
ments, usually made of stone, as those of Numa and Hannibal; sometimes 
of Assian stone,* from Assos, a town in Troas or Mysia, which consumed 
the body in forty days, except the teeth. Hence called Sarcophagus, which 
word is also put for any coffin or tomb. 

The coffin was laid in the tomb on its back; in what direction among 
the Romans is uncertain ; but among the Athenians, looking to the west. 
Those who died in prison were thrown out naked on the street. 

When the remains of the deceased were laid in the tomb, those present 
were three times sprinkled by a priest with pure water from a branch of 
olive or laurel, to purify them, then they were dismissed by the Prsefica, or 
some other person, pronouncing the solemn word “ Ilicet,” You may depart. 
At their departure, they used to take a last farewell, by repeating several 
times “Vale,” expressing a wish that the earth might lie light on the 
person buried. This desire is found marked on several ancient monuments. 
Sometimes the bones were not deposited in the earth till three days after 
the body was burned. 

The friends, when they returned home, as a further purification, after 
being sprinkled with water, stepped over a fire, which was called Suffitio. 
The house itself also was purified, and swept with a certain kind of broom 
or besom, which purgation was called Exverrse, and he who performed it 
Everriator. 

There were certain ceremonies for the purification of the family, when 
they buried a thumb, or some part cut off from the body before it was 
burned, or a bone brought home from the funeral pile; on which occasion 
a soldier might be absent from duty. 

A place was held religious where a dead body, or any part of it, was 
buried, but not where it was burned. For nine days after the funeral, 
while the family was in mourning, and employed about certain solemnities 
at the tomb, it was unlawful to summon the heir, or any near relatior of 
the deceased, to a court of justice, or in any other manner to molest them. 
On the ninth day a sacrifice was performed, with which the solemnities 
were concluded. 







































































676 


GREEKS AND ROMANS. 


Oblations, or sacrifices to the dead, were afterwards made at various times, 
both occasionally and at stated periods, consisting of liquors, victims, and 
garlands; an atonement was made to their ghosts. 

The sepulchre was then bespread with flowers, and covered with crowns 
and fillets. Before it there was a little altar, on which libations were made, 
and incense burned. A keeper was appointed to watch the tomb, which 
was frequently illuminated with lamps. 

A kind of perpetual lamps are said by several authors to have been found 
in ancient tombs, which, however, went out on the admission of air. But 
this by others is reckoned a fiction. A feast was generally added, both for 
the dead and the living. Certain things were laid on the tomb, commonly 
beans, lettuces, bread, and eggs, or the like, which it was supposed the 
ghosts would come and eat. What remained was burned ; for it was 
thought mean to take away any thing thus consecrated, or what was thrown 
into the funeral pile. 

After the funeral of great men, there was not only a feast for the friends 
of the deceased, but also a distribution of raw meat among the people, with 
shows of gladiators, and games, which sometimes continued for several days; 
sometimes celebrated also on the anniversary of the funeral. Faustus, the 
son of Sylla, exhibited a show of gladiators in honour of his father, several 
years after his death, and gave a feast to his people, according to his father’s 
testament. 

The time of mourning for departed friends was appointed by Numa, as 
well as funeral rites and offerings to appease the manes. 

There was no limited time for men to mourn, because none was thought 
most honourable. Women mourned for a husband or parent ten months, 
or a year, according to the computation of Romulus, but not longer. 

In a public mourning for any signal calamity, the death of a prince, or 
the like, there was a total cessation from business, either spontaneously or 
by public appointment. When the courts of justice did not sit, the shops 
were shut. In excessive grief the temples of the gods were struck with 
stones, and their altars overturned. 

Both public and private mourning was laid aside on account of the public 
games; for certain sacred rites, as those of Ceres, &c.; and for several 
other causes enumerated by Festus. Immoderate grief was supposed to 
be offensive to the manes. 

The Romans in mourning kept themselves at home, avoiding every 
entertainment and amusement; neither cutting their hair nor beard. They 
dressed in black—which custom is supposed to have been borrowed from 
the Egyptians—and sometimes in skins, laying aside every kind of orna¬ 
ment ; not even lighting a fire, which was esteemed an ornament to the 
house. 

The women laid aside their gold and purple. Under the republic they 
















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 677 


dressed in black like the men ; but under the emperors, when party-coloured 
cloths came in fashion, they wore white in mourning. 

In a public mourning, the senators laid aside their latus clavus and 
rings; the magistrates the badges of their office; and the consuls did not sit 
on their usual seats in the senate, which were elevated above the rest, but 
on a common bench. 

The Romans commonly built tombs for themselves during their lifetime. 
Thus, the mausoleum of Augustus, in the Campus Martius, between the 
via Flamina and the bank of the Tiber, with wood and walks around. If 
they did not live to finish them, it was done by their heirs, who w r ere often 
ordered by the testament to build a tomb, and sometimes did it at their 
own expense. Pliny complains bitterly of the neglect of friends in this 
respect. 

The Romans erected tombs, either for themselves alone, with their wives, 
or for themselves, their family, and posterity; likewise for their friends, 
who were buried elsewhere, or whose bodies could not be found. When a 
person falsely reported to have been dead returned home, he did not enter 
his house by the door, but was let down from the roof. The tombs of the 
rich were commonly built of marble, the ground enclosed with a wall, or an 
iron rail, and planted around with trees, as among the Greeks. 

When several persons had a right to the same burying-ground, it was 
sometimes divided into parts, and each part assigned to its proper owner. 

But common sepulchres were usually built below ground, and called 
Hypogsea, many of which still exist in different parts of Italy, under the 
name of catacombs. There were niches cut out in the walls in which the 
urns were placed; these, from their resemblance to the niches in a pigeon- 
house, were called Columbaria. 

Sepulchres were adorned with various figures in sculpture, and with 
statues and columns. 

But what deserves particular attention is the inscription or epitaph, 
expressed sometimes in prose and sometimes in verse, usually beginning 
with these letters,—“D. M. S.—Dis manibus sacrum.” Then the name 
of the person followed, his character, and the principal circumstances of 
his life. 

When the body was simply interred without a tomb, an inscription was 
sometimes put on the stone coffin, as on that of Numa. 

There was an action for violating the tombs of the dead. The punish¬ 
ment was a fine, the loss of a hand, working in the mines, and banishment 
or death. 

A tomb was violated by demolition, by converting it to improper pur¬ 
poses, or by burying in it those who were not entitled. Tombs often served 
as lurking-places for the persecuted Christians. 

The body was violated by handling or mutilating it, which was some- 






































































CHINESE. 


times done for magical purposes; by stripping it of any thing valuable, 
as gold, arms ; or by transporting it to another place, without leave ob¬ 
tained from the Pontifex Maximus, from the emperor, or the magistrate of 
the place. 

Some consecrated temples to the memory of their friends. This was a 
very ancient custom, and perhaps is the origin of idolatry. 

The highest honours were decreed to illustrious persons after death. The 
Romans worshipped their founder, Romulus, as a god, under the name of 
Quirinus. Hence, afterwards, the solemn consecration of the emperors, by 
a decree of the senate, who were thus sai-d to be ranked in the number of 
the gods; also some empresses. Temples and priests were assigned to 
them. They were invoked with prayers. Men swore by their name or 
genius, and offered victims on their altars. 

The real body was burned, and the remains buried in the usual manner. 
But a waxen image of the deceased was made to the life, which, after a 
variety of ridiculous ceremonies paid to it for seven days in the palace, was 
carried on a couch in solemn procession on the shoulders of young men of 
equestrian and patrician rank; first to the forum, where the dirge was sung 
by a choir of boys and girls of the most noble descent; then to the Campus 
Martius, where it was burned with a vast quantity of the richest odours 
and perfumes, on a lofty and magnificent pile, from the top of which an 
eagle, let loose, was supposed to convey the prince’s soul to heaven. 

SEC. VIII.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE 

CHINESE. 

It is scarcely possible to give a distinct account of the religion of China, 
and to class its numerous superstitions under appropriate heads. It is 
Difficult to give indeed pretended, by some writers on the subject, that the 
religion of China, ancient religious system of the Chinese has continued un¬ 
changed amidst all the corruptions which have been grafted upon it during 
many successive ages; that this system is found to agree, in its most essen¬ 
tial parts, with that of the Israelites, before the giving of the law by Moses; 
and that it may be traced back, by means of regular traditions, even to the 
renewal of the human race, by the grandsons of Noah. It is affirmed, on 
the contrary, by an intelligent traveller of England, that the primitive reli¬ 
gion of China no longer exists, or exists only in a most corrupted state; 
that there is at present no national, nor scarcely any state religion in the 
empire; and that the articles of faith are as various as the modes of wor¬ 
ship. All that we can attempt, therefore, amidst these discordant opinions, 
is to present our readers with a short view, first, of the principal religious 
systems which have been introduced into China at different periods, as fai 
as can be ascertained from their own historical records; and next, of their 
present religious observances, as far as these have been described by later 



















































































PAGAN 


NATIONS. 


Primitive Creed. 


travellers in that country. All accounts of the religious opinions and cere¬ 
monies of the Chinese, previous to the time of Confucius, are mixed with 
fable, and full of uncertainty. Indeed, as their best existing historical 
documents must be regarded as his productions, and are at least ascribed 
chiefly to his pen by the Chinese themselves, none of the allusions to reli¬ 
gious practices, which are to be found in the earliest period of their history, 
can be considered as resting upon any authority more ancient than his. 
But, as the Chinese affirm the greater portion of their canonical book, Shoc¬ 
king, to have been composed long before the age of Confucius, and to 
have only been restored by his labours, we may proceed upon this idea, 
and consider the tenets expressed in this work as the ancient religion of 
China. 

In this view of the subject, their primitive creed seems to have contained 
the general doctrines of theism, with regard to the Supreme Being, whom 
they worshipped under various names, such as Tien or Kien, 
heaven , Shang-tien, supreme heaven , Shang-tee, supreme 
Lord , and Hoan-shang-tee, sovereign and supreme Lord. This Supreme 
Being they regarded as possessed of all natural and moral perfections, as 
exercising a minute and judicial providence over mankind, as rewarding 
virtue and punishing vice, even in this life, as sending calamities to warn 
and reform the offender, and as ready to relent and pardon him upon his 
repentance. The first worship instituted in honour of the Shang-tee con¬ 
sisted in prayers, accompanied with sacrifices or gifts, offered upon some 
natural eminence, or artificial mount, or merely in the open fields, upon an 
altar called tan , composed of a round heap of earth, or of a quantity of 
stones thrown together in a round form. At a very early period, however, 
of their history, we find them associating with the Shang-tee, or Supreme 
Being, a multitude of tutelary spirits as objects of worship, under the name 
of Shin, or Kooey-shin. In succeeding periods arose a multitude of super¬ 
stitions ; and the wind, the rain, the thunder, diseases, &c., were all, in 
like manner, personified, and addressed as divinities, while warriors, empe¬ 
rors, and illustrious men became demi-gods. The people forgot the simple 
worship of the Shang-tee, and embraced every new invention of idolatry 
with the utmost avidity. 

The most ancient of the religious sects which have at different periods 
engrafted their superstitions upon the primitive theological system of China, 
is that of the Tao-tse, or sons of immortals, which was 

Sect of Tao-tse. p ounc | ec j hy a philosopher named Lao-kiun, or Lao-tse, who 

was born in the province of Honan, about 600 years before Christ, and 
concerning whose birth a multitude of strange stories are circulated among 
his countrymen. His followers, named Tao-tse, therefore, place the supreme 
duty and felicity of man in a state of perfect tranquillity, recommending the 
suppression of all violent desires and passions, the utmost moderation in 






























































CHINESE. 


every pursuit or enjoyment, and an utter indifference with regard to the 
past, the present, or the future. 

This sect became particularly powerful under the dynasty of Song; and 
one of the emperors of that race carried his superstitious reverence for a 
celebrated teacher among them to such a length, as to com- 

Populanty of # ° 

this sect. mand him to be worshipped under the name oi Shang-tee, 

•which had hitherto been appropriated to the Supreme Being. The sages 
of the nation were so greatly shocked by this act of impiety, that they pre¬ 
dicted the ruin of that dynasty as fast approaching; and the wiser part of 
the learned men frequently presented strong remonstrances to different 
emperors against the patronage which was bestowed upon these deceivers; 
but the sect of the Tao-tse continued to increase in power and numbers, 
under the protection of princes, the countenance of the great, and the cre¬ 
dulity of the people; and has preserved its extensive influence even to this 
day, in spite even of all the attempts of the celebrated Confucius to intro¬ 
duce more enlightened doctrines. 

Confucius, or Kong-foo-tse, was born 550 years before Christ, and is 
regarded by the Chinese as the chief of their wise men, and as the author 
of their whole civil constitution. He endeavoured to restore 
the ancient system, and to improve the conduct of his coun¬ 
trymen, by exhorting them to obey the commands of Heaven, to love their 
neighbours, and to restrain their passions. Some of his philosophical prin¬ 
ciples are, that out of nothing there cannot anything be produced; that 
material bodies must have existed from all eternity; that the cause or prin¬ 
ciple of things must have had a co-existence with the things themselves; 
that this cause, therefore, must also be eternal, infinite, and indestructible ; 
and that the central point of influence, from which this cause chiefly acts, 
is the blue firmament, (tien,) whence its emanations are spread over the 
universe; but neither he nor his disciples ascribe to the Deity any personal 
existence, or represent the first cause under any distinct image: while the 
sun, moon, stars, and elements are considered also as composing the firma¬ 
ment, or tien, as the immediate agents of the Deity, and as the productive 
powers in creation. The universe, in short, according to this philosopher, 
is one animated system, made up of one material substance, and of one 
spiritual being, of which every living thing is an emanation, and to which, 
when separated by death from its particular material part, every living thing 
again returns; hence the term death is never used by his followers; but 
they say of a person, at his decease, that he has returned to his family. 
Thus he taught that the human body is composed of two principles,—the 
one light, invisible, and ascending,—the other gross, palpable, and de¬ 
scending ; that the separation of these two principles causes the death 
of human beings; and that, at this period, the light and spiritual part 
ascends into the air, while the gross and corporeal matter sinks into the 



f 















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 





earth. He taught, further, that the spirits of those who had performed 
their duty in life were permitted to visit their ancient habitations, and such 
places as might be appointed for receiving the homage of their descendants; 
that they have the power of conferring benefits upon their posterity; that 
it was thus the indispensable duty of every man to perform the sacred rites 
to the memory of his ancestors; and that whosoever neglected this duty 
would be punished after death by his spirit being rendered incapable of 
visiting the hall of his ancestors, and receiving the homage of his descend¬ 
ants. Besides the performance of these sacred rites to the memory of 
ancestors, the principal religious worship which he required was, that the 
prince, in the name of his people, should present offerings to the tien, par¬ 
ticularly at the two equinoxes, for the purpose of obtaining a propitious 
seed-time and a plentiful harvest; but, at the same time, that the Deity is 
always best satisfied when men perform the moral duties of life, which he 
comprised chiefly in these two, viz.—filial piety towards parents, and 
unreserved obedience to the will of the emperor. With these tenets was 
naturally connected a belief of good and evil genii, and of tutelary spirits 
presiding over families, towns, mountains, and other places; and while the 
system of Confucius was little better than atheism in the mind of the philo¬ 
sopher, it became a source of gross idolatry among the people, who could 
not comprehend the more refined notions, but, needing some visible object 
upon which to fix their attention, represented the tutelary spirits by images, 
and worshipped them by sacrifices. Confucius himself was much addicted 
to a species of divination or fortune-telling, and says expressly in one of 
his works, that the wise man ought to know future events before they 
happen, and that this may be done by means of lots. His tenets, in short, 
instead of overcoming the old errors, gave rise to new superstitions; and 
the chief difference between the proper followers of Confucius and those of 
Lao-tse is this, that the former inculcate the duty of living among men, and 
endeavouring to improve them ; while the latter avoid every kind of society 
and occupation, and lead a frugal, retired life, as their only felicity. 

During the reign of the emperor Ming-tee, of the Han dynasty, a new 
superstition was introduced into China, whose influence is, perhaps, still 
more extensive and pernicious in that country than any of 
those by which it was preceded. One of the Tao-tse doctors 
had promised to a brother of the emperor’s that he would open to him a 
communication with the spirits; and this superstitious prince having heard 
of a spirit in Tien-tso, or Hindostan, named Fo, or Foe, prevailed upon the 
emperor, by his importunities, to send an embassy for this foreign divinity. 
When the officer who was intrusted with this mission arrived at the place 
of his destination, he found only two Sha-men, or priests of Fo, whom he 
carried to China, with some of their canonical books, and several images of 
the idol painted on linen. The followers of Fo describe him as the son of 







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a prince of one of the kingdoms of India, near the line ; and affirm, that as 
soon as he was born, he stood upright, walked seven steps without assist¬ 
ance, and, pointing to the heavens with one hand, and to the earth with 
the other, cried aloud, “ In the heavens and the earth there is none but 
myself who deserves to be honoured.” At the age of seventeen he mar¬ 
ried three wives, by one of whom he had a son, named by the Chinese 
Moheoo-lo; but at the age of nineteen he abandoned his house and family, 
with all the cares of life, and committed himself to the care of four philo 
sophers, with whom he retired to a vast desert. Being filled with the 
divinity at the age of thirty, he was metamorphosed into the Fo, or Pagod, 
as the Indians term it, and immediately thought of establishing his doctrines 
by miracles, which attracted numerous disciples, and spread his fame over 
every part of India. 

When he had attained his seventy-ninth year, and perceived from his 
infirmities that his borrowed divinity could not exempt him from mortality, 
he is said to have called his disciples together, and to have 
declared to them that hitherto he had spoken to them by 
figurative expressions, but that now he would discover his real sentiments, 
and unveil the whole mystery of his wisdom; namely, that there is no other 
principle of things but a vacuum, or nothing; that from this nothing all 
things at first sprung; that to nothing they shall again return; and that 
thus end all our hopes and fears at once. After his decease a multitude of 
fables were propagated concerning him by his followers; such as, that he 
was still alive, and had been born 8000 times, appearing successively under 
the figure of an ape, a lion, a dragon, an elephant, &c. His last words 
excited much dissension among his disciples; some of them resolving to 
adhere to his original tenets; others adopting his concluding atheistical 
view of things; and a third class attempting to reconcile both systems 
together, by making a distinction between the external and internal doctrine. 

The internal doctrine, to which the disciples of the idol are exhorted to 
aspire, is a system of the most absurd atheism; of which some of the prin- /; f 
cipal tenets are, that nothing is the beginning and the end of all things; 
that all beings are the same, differing only in figure and qualities; that the 


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XL 






supreme happiness of man consists in acquiring a resemblance to this prin¬ 
ciple of nothing, in accustoming himself to do nothing, to will nothing, to 
feel nothing, to desire nothing; that the sum of virtue and happiness is to 
be found in indolence and immobility—in the cessation of bodily motion, 
the suspension of all mental faculties, the obliteration of all feelings and 
desires; that when men have attained this divine insensibility, they have 
nothing to do with virtue or vice, rewards or punishments,—providence or 
immortality, no changes, transmigrations, or futurities to fear, but have 
ceased to exist, ard become perfectly like the god Fo. The external doc¬ 
trine as the greatest number of followers. 


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PAGAN NATIONS. 


Era of Fo 


between good and evd, and a state of rewards for the good, and of punish¬ 
ment for the wicked, after death, in places suited to the spirits of each. 
It acknowledges the transmigration of the soul through different bodies, till 
it is at length completely purified and prepared to be united to the Deity. 
It affirms that the god Fo came upon this earth to expiate men’s sins, and 
to secure them a happy regeneration in the life to come. Its practical 
injunctions are simply these:—To pray to the god Fo, and to provide his 
priests with temples and other necessaries, that by their penances and sup¬ 
plications they may procure for the worshippers the forgiveness of their 
sins ; and to observe five precepts, viz.—to kill no living creature—to take 
nothing that belongs to another—to commit no act of impurity—to utter no 
falsehood—and to drink no wine. The practice of these duties is enforced 
by threatenings of future punishment, especially of transmigration into the 
bodies of dogs, horses, rats, serpents, &c. In consequence of this doctrine 
a multitude of idols have sprung up wherever the religion of Fo has pre¬ 
vailed ; and temples have been erected to quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles 
of every description, according as the god was imagined to have occupied 
any of their bodies in the course of his transmigration. 

Fo is supposed to have lived 500 years before the time of Pythagoras; 
and from his followers the Grecian sage is conjectured to have learned the 
doctrine of the metempsychosis, when he travelled in India. 
The worship of Fo was introduced into China, a. d. 69, and 
is understood to have been originally the same as that of the Indian 
Buddha, from the evident coincidences between the history and worship of 
the two divinities. The Buddha of the Hindoos was the son of Ma-ya, 
and one of his names is Amita. The Fo of China was the son of Moy-a, 
and one of his names is Om-e-to, or, as it is pronounced in Japan, Amida. 
The Menshin, or guardian spirit of the door in China, is the same as the 
Ganesa of Hindostan; and in both countries, his figure, or at least the cha¬ 
racter expressing his name, is painted on the door of almost every house. 
The Lui-shin, or spirit of thunder of the Chinese, represented under the 
figure of a man with the beak and talons of an eagle, is equivalent to the 
Vishnu of the Hindoos, who is generally figured as riding upon an eagle, 
or at least attended by that bird; and it is noticed as a curious circum¬ 
stance, that the same reason is assigned by the Chinese for giving an eagle’s 
face to this idol which Pliny adduces for the consecration of that bird to 
Jupiter, viz., that there is no instance known of an eagle having been 
killed by lightning. So, Hai-vang, king of the sea, represented in China 
as reposing on the waves with a fish in his hand, corresponds with the 
Hindoo Varuna riding on a fish; and the Indian Ganga, or goddess of the 
Ganges, has an exact counterpart in the Shing-moo, or holy mother, of the 
Chinese. 

Between the followers of Lao-tse and of Fo, which have always been the 


































































CHINESE 


two prevailing sects in China, the greatest rivalship and enmity have con¬ 
stantly subsisted, which frequently extended to persecution and bloodshed. 

Contests be- Whenever the court or principal eunuchs appeared to favour 
S! U e db ° ve the one in preference to the other, the more powerful sect at 
the time commenced hostilities against its opponent. These contests, how¬ 
ever, were confined to the priests of the two religions; and the people 
either remained neutral, or took no active part in the quarrel, which was 
seldom terminated but by the levelling of monasteries to the ground, and 
the slaughter of some thousands of priests on both sides. Since the acces¬ 
sion of the Tartar dynasty, no particular preference or distinction has been 
shown to either of them; and, indeed, except that the priests of Lama are 
paid and supported by the Tartar government, as a part of the imperial 
establishment, and that the principal Tartar officers are attached to their 
tenets, (separated from the absurdities grafted upon them by the Tao-tse,) 
the government gives no particular support to any religious sect whatever* 

About the year of Christ 1070, under the dynasty of the Song, several 
learned men applied themselves to interpret the sacred books called King; 

and one of them, named Shao-kang-tse, distinguished by his 
superior erudition, became the founder of a new system. 
He taught first of all, that the world had a beginning, and 
will come to an end, when it will be again produced, and again destroyed, 
in endless succession. He fixed its duration at 129,600 years, which he 
divided into twelve periods, each containing 10,800 years. In the first of 
these, the heavens were gradually created by the motion which the Tay- 
kee impressed upon matter, which had hitherto remained immovable ; in 
the second, the earth was produced in the same deliberate manner; in the 
third, men and the other living creatures began to come into existence; and 
so on to the eleventh period, when all things shall be destroyed, and the 
world shall return into the state of chaos, from which it shall not again be 
evolved till the end of the twelfth period. About the year 1400, the em¬ 
peror Yong-lo, of the Ming dynasty, commanded several learned men to 
combine the principles of Shao-kang-tse into a system, by interpreting the 
books of Confucius and Meng-tse, called King. In this work they gave 
the name of Tay-kee (or great height) to the cause of all things, although 
this word is not to be found in the writings of Confucius or Meng-tse; but, 
from a passage in one of the commentaries of the former philosopher, they 
profess to derive those tenets, that Tay-kee is separated from the imper¬ 
fections of nature, is an existing being, and the same with the heaven, the 
earth, and the five elements; that when he moves, he produces Yang, that 
is, subtle and active matter, such as the heavens, fire, day—that which is 
perfect and of the male sex; that when he rests, he produces Yin, that is, 
gross and motionless matter, such as the earth, the moon, darkness—that 
which is in perfect and of the female sex: that by the union of these are 


The system of 
Shao-kang-tse, or 
sect of the Lite¬ 
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PAGAN NATIONS 


ana admitting only an inanimate virtue or energy in union with matter. 
In their system of morals they adopted more rational principles; directec 
the wise man to make the public good the great object of his actions, am 
to extinguish his passions, that he 
explained the reciprocal duties of 
children, of husband and wife. 

None of these different systems can be said to be the prevailing creed in 
China; or, what is more remarkable, can be found existing pure and dis¬ 
tinct from the rest. The greater part of the Chinese have 
no decided opinion whatever on the subject, and are either 
complete atheists, or, if they acknowledge a Supreme Being, utterly igno¬ 
rant in what view he ought to be regarded; while they all combine with 
their peculiar sentiments the multifarious superstitions of the more popular 
sects. Of all these tolerated and established religious persuasions the '}> 
emperor is the supreme head; without whose permission not one of them can 
enjoy a single privilege or point of pre-eminence; and who can diminish or 
increase, at his pleasure, the number of their respective temples and priests* 
The existing worship of China, then, is a confused mixture of supersti- c 
tions, of which individuals receive and observe just as much as they please; 
and those parts of it which the government seems to uphold may be 
viewed rather as political than religious institutions. The emperors reserve 
to themselves the privilege of adoring the Tien ; but they equally sacrifice 
to the spirit of the earth, the 


and 


Present religion 
of the Chinese. 


easure 


moon, and attach themselves 
more or less to the notions of the Tao-tse or of Fo. While the reigning 
Tartar family acknowledge more particularly the faith of the Grand Lama, 
they nevertheless perform the established sacred rites of their predecessors, 
and repair to the festivals which the calendar prescribes. And while the 
Literati study the doctrine of the King, they are as superstitious as unbe¬ 
lieving, and are found with others in the temples praying to the idols.* 
There are two sorts of ceremonies instituted by the Chinese in com¬ 
memoration of Confucius; one of which consists entirely in prostrating 
themselves and striking the ground nine times with their, 
foreheads before a certain cartridge , or little picture, which 
table encircled with lighted wax candles and divers incensd" 
the name of this celebrated philosopher stands conspicuous 


Honours paid to 
Confucius. 


•New Edinburgh Encyc.; art. China 



























































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CHINESE. 






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e statue of Confucius ; but their emperors perceiving that the people ran 
blindly into idolatry, ani being unwilling that Confucius should be reck¬ 
oned amongst the number of their idols, caused this cartridge to be substi¬ 
tuted, in all their schools, in the room of the statues of the philosopher 
The mandarins perform this ceremony when they take possession of their 
respective posts, and the bachelors of arts when they take their degrees. 
The governors of all their cities, and all the Literati, are obliged once in 
ifteen days to pay these public honours to Confucius in the name of the 
whole nation. 

In regard to the worship paid to Confucius, the sect of the Literati 
differs widely from that of Fo, &c., in which the Bonzes only are the 
priests and sacrificators ; but among the Literati, it is the 
peculiar province of the mandarins, viceroys, and even the 
emperor himself, to offer up sacrifices in honour of Confucius and their 
ancestors. What may be properly called the religious worship of Confu¬ 
cius, consists in some peculiar testimonies of their veneration, and some 
oblations made before a tablet or a pyramid, which is gilt all over, and de¬ 
posited in a ceremonial manner on an altar. On this tablet is written the 
following inscription in characters of gold:— Here is the throne of the soul 
of our most holy and most illustrious prime minister Confucius. The 
sacrifice does not consist barely in devoting to his service bread, wine, wax- 
tapers, and perfumes; for they present him frequently with a sheep and a 
iece of taffety, which they set on fire in commemoration of him. All these 
ceremonies are solemnized in an edifice consecrated to Confucius, not as an 
academy set apart for the examination of young students, or their advance- 
ent in the arts and sciences, no business of that nature being there 
transacted; on the contrary, censers, candlesticks, and tables, are placed in 
the form of altars, and, in short, all other implements and materials proper 
for the decoration of a temple. The model of these chapels is exactly the 
same as that of the temples of their idols, and the name which they give 
them in the Chinese language signifies a temple. 

Their most solemn sacrifice, in commemoration of their ancestors, is cele¬ 
brated on the fourteenth day of August. “This ceremony,” says Father 

Sacrifice to Moralez, who was an eye-witness of it, “ was performed in 
tuoir ancestors. a temple, over the door of which were written these two 

words, Kia Cheu , the temple of the forefathers , &c. The pavement was 
all of porcelain clay; the temple was wainscoted all round, and adorned 
with pillars, &c. There were three porticoes, fronting different ways, and 
beyond them was a kind of a yard. There were two steps, likewise, to go 
up to the temple. Six tables had been prepared for the sacrifice, on which 
were set meats ready dressed, and raw flesh, with fruits, flowers, and per¬ 
fumes, which were burned in divers little chafing-dishes. 

At the upper end of the temple were the inscriptions of their ancestors 








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PAGAN NATIONS. 




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artfully disposed, and each in its proper niche. The images of their grand- 
4 A^ thers were fastened on each side to the walls. In the yard, several carpets 
were spread on the ground, upon which lay large heaps of papers, cut in 
'he shape of the coin of their country, which they imagined would in the 
other world be converted into real money, and, passing current there, serve 
to redeem the souls of their relations. In short, in one corner of the yard 
they had erected a large tree, the bottom of which was surrounded with 
brushwood or chips, which were set on fire, and burned during the cele¬ 
bration of the sacrifice, in order that the souls of their dead might be 
ccommodated with sufficient light. 

“The licentiati, who assisted at this sacrifice, were dressed like doctors 
on a solemn festival. One of them officiated as priest, two others as deacon 
and sub-deacon, and a third as master of the ceremonies. Several other 
doctors performed divers other ministerial offices, as that of acolytes, &c. 
Those who had not taken their doctor’s degree appeared in their best 
clothes, all regularly ranged and divided into divers choirs at the lower end 
of the temple on each side of the doors. The sacrifice began after the 
following manner:—As soon as the priest was seated, with his two assist¬ 
ants on each side of him, upon a carpet that covered the entire middle of 
the yard, the master of the ceremonies ordered that all the congregation 
should fall down upon their knees, and prostrate themselves to the ground; 
then he ordered them to rise again, which was accordingly done with great 
decency and order. The priest and his attendants with great gravity 
approached the place of the inscriptions and images of their dead, and per¬ 
fumed them with frankincense. The master of the ceremonies then ordered 
(o be offered up the wine of blessing and true happiness. At the same 
^'me, the attendants gave the wine to the priest, who took up the chalice 
with both his hands, elevated it, then set it down again, and emptied it. 
The priest and his assistants then turned their faces towards the congrega- 
;,Vf J ti° n * He who officiated as deacon pronounced, with an audible voice, all 
the benefits and indulgences which those who were present might expect 
as the result of their attendance. Know ye , says he, that all you who 
have assisted at this solemn sacrifice may be very well assured of 





receiving some particular favours from your deceased ancestors , in return 


for these grateful oblations , which you have in this public manner now 
made unto them. You shall be honoured and respected by all men , live 


to a good old age , and enjoy all the blessings which this life can afford. 
After this declaration, they set fire to their whole store of paper-money, 
and so the sacrifice concluded.” These ceremonies, it must be allowed, 


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bear some affinity to several made use of by the Roman Catholics; but we 
shall, in this instance, merely notice, that the Chinese, before they go into 


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the temple to sacrifice to their ancestors, utter three dreadful groans, as if 
they were just expiring. 

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CHINESE. 


Temples. 


The whole formulary of this worship is set down in the Chinese ritua 
with the prayers and supplications which ought to be made to their^ J ^ 
deceased ancestors. Nothing, in the opinion of the Chinese, can be more / v ’ 
efficacious, and have a more prevailing power, than these acts of devotion .ffii 
The merits of the dead, according to them, are so great, that they may 
with justice stand in competition with those of Heaven itself. The 
imagine, that their souls sit for ever on the right and left hand of th 
Divine Majesty. 

In a word, it is on the due performance of this religious worship that the 
Chinese ground all their expectations of future happiness. They flatte 
themselves, that by virtue of these testimonies of their veneration for thei 
ancestors, they, their descendants, shall be possessed of innumerabl 
blessings. 

Temples are also built in all the cities of China, in commemoration o 
the first five emperors, also of some other illustrious men, and their publi 
benefactors. When their emperors die, they are immediatel 
deified, and honoured as gods; for it is pretended, that aft 
their decease they obtain the power of aiding and assisting all those who 
make their supplications to them. Although they do not admit that whilst 
living they possess that power, yet have they their picture or tablet in the 
temples, on which is written, in large characters, May the Emperor o, 

China live many thousands of years. They sacrifice and bow the kne 
before this inscription. 

They imagine the genius called Chin-hoan to be the guardian deity 
their provinces, cities, and courts of judicature; and temples are erected 
his honour throughout the whole empire. The mandarin 
when they take possession of any important post, are oblige 
in the first place to do homage to the Chin-hoan of that peculiar city 
province which is committed to their care, and to take a formal oath, tha 
they will faithfully discharge the trust reposed in them, and consult hi 
about the most effectual means to perform their duty with success. Th; 
homage must be repeated twice a year, under the penalty of being di 
carded in case of their neglect. These Chin-hoans are much the same 
guardian angels; but the Chinese acknowledge a divinity in them inferi 
to that of the first principle, although they admit, at the same time tha 
formerly they were men as w r ell as themselves. 

T he Chinese pay divine adoration to the sun, moon, and stars, 
ascribe to a certain Causay not only the government of the loudest part 
the heavens, but likewise the power of life and death. Th 
are three ministering spirits who are subservient to him, viz 
Fanquam , Fsuiquam, and Teiquam. The first sends down his rain 
refresh the earth ; the second is their Neptune, or god of the sea: and th 
last presides over births, is the director of all their rural concerns, and thei. 


Chin-hoan. 


Deities. 





































































PAGAN NATIONS 


god of war. The goddess Quonin presides over all their household affaire, 
and the products of the earth. They represent her with an infant on each 
side of her; one of them holding a cup in his hand, and the other having 
his hands closed one within another. Chang-ko is the goddess whom the 
bachelors of the sect of the Literati particularly worship, as the Greeks 
and the Romans did Minerva. The idol or deity which presides over 
mirth and voluptuousness is called Ninifo , who is looked upon as a Xin, 
and worshipped as such by the devotees, though he presides equally over 
criminal as well as innocent diversions. They have also a spirit, which is 
the grand tutelar genius of China, that presides over immortality, and 
which in all probability is no other than their god of war, of whom we 
have already spoken, or Kito, whom the Chinese soldiery honour as their 
patron. t Finally, we must not omit to mention Lin-cing, whose peculiar 
province, however, we are at a loss to determine; and Hoaguam, who 
^resides over the eyes. 

Puzza, who is always represented sitting on a flower of the lotus, or 
rather, according to Kircher, upon a turnsol, is called by him the Isis, or 
Cybele of the Chinese. “ She has sixteen hands, every one 
of which is mysteriously armed with knives, swords, hal- 
)erts, books, fruit, plants, wheels, goblets, vials,” &c. The following is the 
traditional history of this deity, as given by the Chinese Bonzes. Three 
nymphs in the days of yore came down from heaven to wash themselves 
n a river. They had scarcely got into the water before the herb called 
Vesicari appeared on one of their garments, with its coral fruit upon it, 
and they could not imagine whence it could have proceeded. The nymph 
was unable to resist the temptation of tasting such charming fruit, but 
>ecame pregnant by indulging her curiosity, and was delivered of a boy, 


Puzza. 


The god, idol, or genius, known by the name oi tyuante-cong , was the 
bunder of the Chinese empire, the inventor of several of their arts, and 
their great lawgiver. He introduced the custom of wearing 
Quante-cong. decent ap p are i amongst the Chinese, who before went almost 

laked ; he brought them under some regulation and form of government, 
md prevailed on them to reside in towns, &c. Such useful and extraor- 
linary inventions entitled him to a stature larger than the generality 




































































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strong giant. 

We now come to treat of their 

in the superstitious worship of the Uhinese. The arms and ensigns 
Worship of empire are composed of dragons. The Chinese make repre 
Dnigons. sentations of them upon their apparel, books, and linen, ant 

in their pictures. Fohi, the inventor of sixty-four several symbols, first 
established this superstitious regard for dragons. He thought it requisite 
with a view only of giving a sanction to these symbols, by which he 
attempted to render his system efficacious, to call in the marvellous to his 
aid and assistance. Fohi accordingly assured the populace, that he ha 
seen these symbols upon the back of a dragon, that rushed suddenly upo 
him from the bottom of a lake. “This emperor,” says Father Martini, 
“ rather made choice of the dragon than any other creature whatsoever, 
because it is looked upon amongst the Chinese as the most propitious omen. 
The emperor’s dragons were represented with five talons to each foot. If 
any other person thought fit to make use of this animal as a symbol, h 
was charged on pain of death to represent it with no more than four.” 
Whether Fohi was the first that inspired them with this superstitious 
regard for the dragon, or whether he found the superstition previously esta¬ 
blished, it is at least evident that it is of a very ancient standing among the 
Chinese, although not by any means to be justified. The Chinese no 
only imagine that the dragon is the source and fountain from whence 
flows all the good that ever befals them; but that it is he who bestows 
rain and fair weather upon them in their seasons; it is he who 
thunders in the clouds, and rides in the whirlwinds. The superstition 
of searching with indefatigable industry and vast expense the veins of 
this enormous beast, when they dig their sepulchres, is owing to the 
conceit that the good or ill fortune of their families entirely depends 
upon it. 

The Bonzes are the priests of the Fohists; and it is one of their esta¬ 
blished tenets, that good and evil are not blended nor huddled together in 
the other world, but that, after death, rewards are prepared 
and allotted for the righteous, and punishments for the 
wicked. The other tenets of the Bonzes are,—make charity your habi¬ 
tual practice ; treat us with reverence and respect; maintain and support 
us as well as you are able; erect monasteries and temples for us, that our 
prayers and voluntary penances may deliver you from those punishments 
which your sins have deserved; burn all the gilt paper and silk clothes 
you can procure, for in the other world they will be converted into real gold 
and silver, and apparel, and will be faithfully delivered to your deceased 
parents for their sole use and property. Unless you comply with these 
injunctions, you will be cruelly tormented after death, and be subject to an 


Priests, &c. 



At. 



















































PAGAN NATIONS. 


(T 


I 


N’ 


/ 


endless train of disagreeable transmigrations. You shall be transformed V 
into rats, mice, asses, and mules. 

Some of the Chinese monks are dressed in black, and have their chapels 
like those of the Roman Catholics; but they must not be confounded with 
the other Bonzes. There are others, likewise, who are dressed in yellow 
from head to foot, and furnished as tne former, with a large chaplet. 
These two colours distinguish the two different orders of monks, who are 
sectaries of Lanzu. These monks, like those of the Catholic church, always 
go abroad, two and two together. The Bonzes, according to Father le 
Comte, are no better than a gang of dissolute, idle fellows, whom indolence] l, . 
hunger, and ease, prompt to herd together, and live upon the charitable 
contributions of well-disposed persons. All their aims are to excite the 
populace to commiserate their abject condition. The same father gives us 
a particular account of their several tricks and impostures. When they 
find the common arts of address fail them, they have immediate recourse to 
public acts of penance, which are always looked upon as highly meriton 
rious by the unthinking populace, and effectually move their pity and com- \ 
passion. Of this gang are those who drag heavy chains after them thirty 
feet long, and go from door to door, often repeating, in a drawling, canting 
tone, “ It is by these austere penances that we make atonement for your 
sins.” And those, likewise, who plant themselves in the most public places 
of resort, and in the highways, to receive the charity of those who pass by e 
them, knocking their heads against large flint stones, till their imposture 
proves successful. Others set some particular drugs on fire upon their 
heads, to attract the eyes of the crowd upon them, and excite their com¬ 
passion. Those likewise may very justly be reckoned amongst the num¬ 
ber of mendicant devotees, whose heads have been wilfully deformed and 
moulded, on purpose, into a conical form. They appear in the streets and 
highways with a large chaplet about their necks, and are reckoned by the 
vulgar as extraordinary saints. There are other monks, however, of the 
Mendicant order, who beg in public, without being guilty of any such self- 
violence. 

Another way of raising contributions for the Chinese monks is, by pre¬ 
vailing on those who pass by to write their names in a kind of memoran¬ 
dum-book, which one of them offers to their benefactors for that purpose. 
Amongst this order may likewise be reckoned those vagabonds who amuse 
the public with their legerdemain. There are some of them who, with 
ui daunted courage, will get on the backs of tigers tamed for that purpose, 
and ride from town to town, and place to place, without me least apprehen¬ 
sion of danger from those savage beasts, though they are neither bridled nor 
fettered. These impostors have always a large retinue of mendicants, who 
act the part of the devotees and penitents, and who bestow on each other 
severe blows on the head, by way of devotion. M 


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CHINESE. 

Among this mendicant crow there are some who live like hermits, retired 
in rocks and caverns; for whom the devotees make large voluntary contri¬ 
butions, and consult them, as they would an oracle. As the Chinese 
encourage and support several distinct orders of these pious drones, so there 
,/ are various kinds of discipline observed among them. Some are collected 


into a society, live in cloisters, and in a state of celibacy, being obliged to 
abstain from flesh, fish, wine, and women. They are maintained out of 
the annual revenue established by the government for the support of all con¬ 
vents in general, and by the charitable contributions of the people. Some 
of these monks are, however, sufficiently diligent and ingenious to maintain 
themselves by their own manual operations; the other monks are extracted 
from the very dregs of the populace, who in their infancy were sold for 
slaves, and who in all probability constitute, out of their despicable body, 
the major part of the before-mentioned vagabonds. One peculiar employ¬ 
ment of the Bonzes, who are Fohists, is to attend and assist at all funeral 
solemnities; whilst those of the sect of Lanzu take upon themselves the 
office of exorcists, pretend to find out the philosopher’s stone, and to foretell 
all future events. 

There are four several orders of this sect of Lanzu, who are distinguished 
by four several colours, viz.—black, white, yellow, and red. They have 
^j>ne principal, or general, who has several provincials, subordinate to, and 
dependent on him; and they live upon the established revenue, and the 
charity of the devotees. When they beg about the streets they repeat 
A 3 some peculiar prayers, which the devotees pay for the advantage of, viz., 
an absolute remission of all their sins. These priests or monks are assist¬ 
ants likewise at all funeral solemnities. They are enjoined not to marry 
during the time they keep their solemn vow; but by way of recompense, 
they have the privilege of abandoning it whenever they think it convenient. 

A monk who is found guilty of fornication during the time of his vow, 
is punished most severely. They bore a hole in his neck with a hot iron, 
and thrust a chain through the wound, of about sixty feet long; and in that 
deplorable condition, and naked as he was born, lead him all over the 
bity, till he has collected a considerable sum of money, for the sole service 
of the convent to which he belongs. Another monk who follows him 
lashes him severely, whenever he offers to lay hold of the chain to miti¬ 
gate his pain. 

Independently of the Bonzes, there are some nuns who make a vow of 
perpetual virginity. These female devotees have their heads closely 
shaved ; but their number is inconsiderable, in comparison with that of the 
monks. The latter (at least such among them as are of the sect of Fo) are 
obliged to let their beards and hair grow. The monks of the sect of Lanzu, 
or Fo, and both of them, in all probability, assume the power of calling 
down the rain at pleasure, and are obliged to perform it when required. 


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erns 






PAGAN NATIONS. 


apper, in his extracts relating to China, tells us, that a Bonze who under- 
;akes that it shall rain, is threatened hard to be bastinadoed, if he fail of 
roducing rain within six days. 

The feast of the Lanterns is the most remarkable of the Chinese festivals, 
his is celebrated the fifteenth day of the first month; every one sets out 
Feast of Lan- some lantern or another, but of various prices, according as 
circumstances will best admit; some of them are valued at 
en thousand crowns, on account of the decorations about them, and are 
rom twenty-five to thirty feet in diameter. They are a kind of halls, or 
pacious apartments, in which they can make sumptuous entertainments, 
ake their rest, receive visits, act plays, and have balls and assemblies. 
These lanterns are illuminated with an infinite number of wax candles, and 
urrounded with bonfires. The Chinese ascribe the rise of this festival to 
in unhappy misfortune which happened in the family of a certain ihan 
arin, whose daughter, as she was walking one evening on the bank of a 
river, fell in and was drowned. The disconsolate father ran to her assist- 
nce, attended by all his domestics. In order to find her, he put out to sea, 
with a vast number of lanterns along with him. All the inhabitants of the 
place followed him with lighted flambeaux. The whole night was spent 
n search after her, but, alas! to no manner of purpose. The only conso- 
ation the mandarin had, was to find himself beloved, and that his neigh- 
ours were officious to assist him. The year following, on the same day 
of the month, bonfires were made upon the river side, &c. This ceremony 
was annually observed ; and at that time every one lighted up lanterns, 
till by degrees it grew into an established custom. Others ascribe the 
origin of this Chinese festival to an extravagant project of one of their 
emperors, who formerly proposed to shut himself up with his concubines 
in a magnificent palace, which he erected on purpose, and illuminated with 
pompous lanterns, that he might have the pleasure, if we may credit the 
Chinese history, of beholding a new sky, as a canopy over his head, for 
ever illuminated, alwa)^ calm and serene, which might make him forget 
in time the various revolutions of the old world. These irregularities 
caused an insurrection among his subjects, who demolished his costly and 
magnificent palace; and in order to transmit to posterity the remembrance 
of his shameful conduct, hung out the lanterns all over the town. This 
custom was annually repeated, and in process of time became an established 
solemn festival. 

The festival of agriculture, the establishment of which is ascribed to an 
emperor who flourished about a hundred and eighty years before the nati* 
vitv of our Blessed Saviour, is celebrated, likewise, with 

Festival of J 

Agriculture. considerable solemnity. In every town throughout the 
whole empire, when the sun is in the middle of Aquarius, “one of the 
chief magistrates, being crowned with flowers, and surrounded with musi- 




























































694 


i 

9 


cians, and a crowd of people provided with lighted flambeaux, streamer^ 
and colours, marches in procession out of the eastern gate of the city 
Several persons follow him, who carry on levers various images composet 
of wood and pasteboard, set off and embellished with silk and gold, repre¬ 
senting the ancient histories that relate to agriculture. The streets are 
hung with tapestry, and beautified with triumphal arches. The magistrate 
then advances to the east, as if he were going to meet the new season, when 
a kind of pageant appears, in the form of a cow, made of burnt clay, o 
such an enormous size, that forty men are scarcely able to carry it; and on 
the back of it sits a beautiful boy, alive, who represents the genius of hu 
bandry, in a careless dress, with one leg bare, and the other covered wit 
a kind of buskin. This youth never ceases from lashing the cow. Two 
peasants, loaded with all the various implements made use of in tillage, 
march immediately after him. All these ceremonies are emblematical 
The incessant lashes which the youth gives the cow, denote the constan 
application which is required for all rural labours; his having one leg bare 
the other buskined, is the symbol of their hurry and diligence, whic 
scarcely affords them time to dress themselves before they go to work. As 
soon as this magistrate is arrived with his pompous retinue of attendants a 
the emperor’s palace, all the flowers, and other embellishments with which 
the monstrous cow is dressed, are taken off; after that, her belly is opened 
from whence several little cows, composed of the same materials, are taken 
out, which the emperor distributes among his ministers of state, in orde 
to remind them of the care which is requisite in all affairs relating to hus¬ 
bandry, and to admonish his subjects never to let any piece of ground li 
fallow, and to avoid idleness, which is the inlet to all misfortunes. On thi 
day they are encouraged to the practice of industry, by the royal exampl 
of the emperor himself, who, according to the ancient practice, made the 
bread, which was peculiarly appropriated for the service of their sacrifices, 
out of that part of the harvest which he had gathered in with his own 
hands. 

The Chinese celebrate likewise their New-year’s Day with considerabl 
pomp, and sumptuous preparations. At that time there is a perfect cess; 

tion from all manner of business; the posts are stopped, an 
all their courts of judicature throughout the empire are sh 
up. The Chinese call these vacations the shutting up their seals, becaus 
at that time they lock up the seals which belong to each particular court in 
strong box kept for that purpose. Everybody then makes merry, and pa 
takes of the general joy. As the Chinese are superstitious to the last degre 
in respect to the observance of particular days, they are obliged to make 
formal choice of one day for shutting up their seals, and another for openin 
them again. The mathematical court, the members of which are the prope 
intendants of their lots, and choice of days, settle and determine the affair o 






Gy 


New-year’s Day. 


®) 
































































PAGAN NATIONS 


their seals, some considerable time before their new year commences. The 

choice and determination made by this court are communicated in due time 
to all the provinces 
opening the seals is 
empire. The Chinese 


; so that this peculiar ceremony of shutting up and 
performed on the very same day throughout the whole 
this grand festival of their new year, take par¬ 
ticular care to bring out their gods, and plant them, as commodiously as 
may be, over their respective doors. These idols are called their Portal 
Gods; and though this custom be observed indeed for the most part on all 
their festivals, yet it is more particularly practised at this season than at 
any other. 

The pyramidical towers have always, according to the relations of 
Father Kircher, Le Comte, Dapper, and several other historians, some 
pagod adjacent to them; for which reason there is a communication between 
the celebrated porcelain tower and the edifice which the 

Pagods. 

Chinese have distinguished by the title of the Temple of 
Remembrance. There is such a variety of these temples, that thev are 


wise appointed for the accommodation of travellers ; and, as si 
very near affinity to the Turkish caravansaries. The inner f 
temple is embellished with several images and idols; some of 
their real deities or genii; and others only symbols or hieroglyp 
the manner of the Egyptians. The walls of these pagods are 
made hollow, and full of little niches, for the more convenient s 
their idols, which are mostly represented in basso-relievo. The 
illuminated with a vast variety of lamps, which burn night a 
honour of the dead. In the centre stands an altar, and on the tal 
ing to it an idol of gigantic size, to which the temple is peculiar! 


a hollow bamboo, which 


round him, in the quality of guards. In genei 
is both long and thick, and encloses several les: 
ten divers predictions in Chinese characters, is 
idol. Censers, in which incense is for ever burning, are placed on eacl 
side of the altar. At the front of it is a wooden bowl, for no other use bu 
to receive their oblations. The altar is painted all over with a beautifu 1 
red, which colour is appropriated to those things only which are sacred. 

It is in one of the pagods that the emperor himself offers up his sacri¬ 
fices with extraordinary pomp and magnificence. No procession that is 
ever made in Europe is more grand and solemn than this 

Sacrifices of the 1 & 

Emperor. public act of the emperor’s devotion. Four-and-twentj 

trumpeters, dressed with large golden rings, or hoops; four-and-twentj 
drummers; four-and-twenty officers, with varnished or gilt staves ; on< 



























































CHINESE 


hundred soldiers, with rich and magnificent halberts ; a hundred mace 
bearers, and two principal officers, march before him. This kind of van¬ 
guard is followed by four hundred lantern-bearers, f ur hundred link-men, 
two hundred lance-bearers, adorned with large locks of silk ; four-and 
twenty standards, on which are painted the signs of the zodiac; and fifty- 
six other signs, which represent the celestial constellations. After them 
two hundred large gilt fans are carried, embellished with the figures of 
dragons, and other living creatures; four and twenty large magnificent 
umbrellas; and after them his imperial majesty’s buffet, supported by his 
gentlemen-officers—the whole furniture of which is solid gold. 

At the close of this pompous march the emperor himself appears on 
horseback, dressed in the most gorgeous apparel, surrounded with ten 
white sumpter-horses, whose, trappings are all embellished with gold and 


highest quality and distinction, dressed in their robes of state, follow his 
imperial majesty. After them march five hundred young noblemen, 
(attended by a thousand footmen; thirty-six porters, bearing on their shoulders 
► £-.jan open chair, like a triumphal car; a hundred and twenty other porters, 
bearing a covered chair; four chariots, some drawn by elephants, and others 
^iby horses. Each chair and chariot is attended by fifty servants, all richly 
\ dressed ; and all the elephants, as well as the horses, are caparisoned with 
the most magnificent housings. 

The whole procession is closed by two thousand mandarins, and two 
thousand military officers. As there is no variation in this pompous 
solemnity, and as every one is fully apprized that the ceremony will always 
be celebrated in the same pompous manner, the emperor is at no extrava¬ 
gant expense to support the grandeur of it; so that whenever he is disposed 
Id perform his public sacrifices, his subjects in general are always ready to 
attend him. 

ly of the juggling empirics who impose almanacs, calendars> 
books upon the devotees and good old women, as infalliblo 
guides for their future conduct, there are others who treat 
of divination by numbers, circles, and figures, by palmistry, 
dreams, and physiognomy. Some of these vagabonds pretend to instruct 
the female sex how to have children soon, and with success. Others pro¬ 
fess to sell the wind, as it is practised in the north of Sweden, &c. These 
last-mentioned quacks hunt always in couples. One of them, with a very 
grave and demure countenance, carries on his right shoulder a bag, in 
which his airy commodity is inclosed, out of which he delivers, at the price 


Divination 






































































col 


PAGAN 


NATIONS. 


J 


agreed on, such a quantity as the credulous purchaser imagines he shall 
have occasion for. In his left hand he carries a hammer, with which hq ^ 
strikes the ground in a formal manner, in order, as he pretends, to make 
the genius or spirit of the wind ascend, who, if you give credit to theii v 
assertions, rides conspicuously in the air in a human shape, borne on the 
wings of some bird of note. 

The ceremony, as it is instituted and appointed by the Chinese ritual 
for the conjuration or raising up of spirits, consists in pouring a certair 

Conjuration of °f wine °n the figure of a man composed of straw 

Spmls ' But nothing can be more whimsical than the manner ir t 

which they consult their domestic idols. They take two little sticks, or, 
one side flat and on the other round, and tie them fast together with thread ^ 
and having made their humble supplications to the idol, with all imaginable 
fervency and devotion, they throw the sticks down before it with a ful r - 

assurance that their petitions will be graciously heard and answered. I 
they accidentally fall on the flat side, they can expostulate with their god :\ 
however, they proceed to cast the lots a second time; and if on this repeti-. 
tion they prove as unsuccessful as before, they resent their ill-treatment, v - 
and proceed from words to blows. Notwithstanding all this, they are seldom 
discouraged, but cast their lots over and over again, till at last they prove )y ^ 
propitious. Sometimes they throw these little sticks into a pot; and afterXT'V 
they have drawn them out, consult some book of conjuration, to know-? fcf 
whether their lots be fortunate or unfortunate. 

There are other divinations of the Chinese, which consist in a curious 
inquiry into the motion of tortoises, the flight and noise of some particular^ 
birds, the various cries or sounds of beasts, their accidental rencounters itifv^V 
a morning, &c. Several who profess themselves adepts in these supersti- 
tious practices, reside in solitary dens and gloomy caverns. These people, ;4 - 1 ; * 
however, do not make prognostications their sole study and employment^ 
for they are very assiduous in their search after the philosopher’s stone 
in the composition of philtres, and other secrets equally pernicious. 

The Chinese, when they are determined to marry, have not the liberty \ 
to consult their own inclinations. They are obliged to declare their inten- 


Marriage. 


tion to their relations, or to some old women, who make 


their trade (if the expression may be allowed) to be matcl 
makers, and who are well paid for their deceitful offices. The weddin 
day having arrived, the bride is carried in a chair of state, preceded by 
several musicians, and followed by the bridegroom and several relationsU 
The bride brings no other portion than her wedding-garments, with som 
other clothes, and a few household goods. The bridegroom attends her 
to his own door. He opens the chair of state, in which before she was 
closely shut up, and conducting her into a private apartment, recommends 
her to the care of several ladies invited to the wedding, who spend the C‘; • 
























































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C93 


CHINESE. 


whilst 


whole day together in feasting, and other innocent amusements, 
the bridegroom follows the same example amongst his male friends and 
acquaintance. 

Gentil informs us that the young ladies receive their portions from their 
future husbands, one part of which is paid down, on the execution of tne 
marriage articles, and the other a little before the nuptials are solemnized, 
The bridegroom, moreover, in addition to this dowry, makes several valuable 


L V. 

presents of silks, fruits, wine, &c., to the relations of his mistress. The 
y intended bride and bridegroom never see each other till their nuptials, 
✓ <X which are always carried on by match-makers, and are fully concluded on 
both sides, so that nothing remains to complete them but the wedding cere¬ 
mony. When that is over, the bridegroom, after several particular cere 
‘)h jt monies, presents a wild duck to his father-in-law, whose servants carry it 
* v / i\7directly to the bride, as a further pledge and testimony of the bridegroom’s 
love and affection. After this, both parties are introduced into each other’s 
company for the first time: a long, thick veil, however, even then conceals 
" w mi the beauty or deformity of the bride from the eyes of the bridegroom. 
; _ They salute each other, and on their knees, with reverence, adore the 

heavens, the earth, and the spirits. After this, the bride’s father gives an 
’ •• elegant entertainment at his own house; the bride then unveils her face, 

salutes her husband, who examines all her features with the utmost atten- 

ll- 






non. 


She waits with fear and impatience to know the result of his accu¬ 
rate survey, and endeavours to read in his eyes the opinion he has formed 
ipf her. He salutes her in his turn; and after the bride has kneeled down 
four times before him, and he twice before his bride, they both sit down 
together at table. Meanwhile, the father of the bridegroom gives a sumptu, 
■ous entertainment to his friends and relations, in another room ; and the 
bride’s mother, in the same manner, entertains her female relations, and the 
wives of her husband’s friends, in her own apartment. After these repasts 

\ \ : are over, the bride and bridegroom are conducted into their bedchamber, 

' ' # 

without the former so much as having seen her husband’s father or his 
mother. But the day following she pays them a visit, in a very formal 
and ceremonious manner, when another public entertainment is prepared, 
at which she takes upon herself the office of entertaining her guests. She 
waits upon her mother-in-law at table, and eats her leavings, as a testimony 



that she is no stranger, but one of the family ; for it is a constant custom 
among them never to offer, even to the servants of strangers, the fragments 
V ' Which are taken from their own table. 

! j “The solemnization of their nuptials is always preceded by three days’ 
mourning, during which they abstain from all manner of gay amusements. 
(The reason on which this custom is grounded is, that the Chinese look 
upon the marriage of their children as an image or representation of their 
' A own death, because at such time they become their successors, as it were, 




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PAGAN NATIONS 


eforehand. The friends and relations of the father never congratulate 
im on this occasion; and in case they make him any presents, they never 
ike the least notice of the intended nuptials.” 

The Chinese in their mourning lay aside yellow and blue, which in their 
pinion are gay colours, and dress themselves only in white, a colour 
destined by them to express their sorrow from the earliest 
times. No one, from the prince to the meanest mechanic, 
vet deviates from this established custom. In general they wear girdles 
nade of hemp. Their mourning for all their relations is of longer or 
horter duration, according to proximity of blood. 

As soon as ever a person has expired, some relation or friend imme- 
liately takes his coat, ascends to the top of the house, and turning his face 
owards the north, calls as loudly as possible upon the soul of the deceased 
tree times successively. He addresses himself to the heaven, the earth, 
nd the mid region of the air. After which, he folds the coat up, and 
\irns his face towards the south; then he unfolds the coat again, and 
preads it over the deceased, there to remain three days untouched, in 
xpectation that his soul will resume its former state. The same cere- 


Mourning. 


\ stand dressed in mourning close by the coffin ; and his wives and relations 
weep aloud, with the female mourners who are hired, behind a curtain 
-..which conceals them. It is to be observed, that according to the Chinese 
ritual, as soon as the corpse of the deceased is laid in the coffin, there must 
be as much corn, rice, silver, and gold, put into his mouth as his circum¬ 
stances will admit of. They put, likewise, a quantity of nails, and several 
scissors tied up in purses, and laid at each corner of the coffin, that he may 
cut them as occasion shall require. 

The day on which the funeral is to be solemnized, all the relations and 
'I;(^friends meet at the house of the deceased, dressed in mourning, who, 
together with the priests, form the funeral procession, which is attended 
^vith the images or pictures of men, women, elephants, tigers, &c., all 
destined to be burned for the benefit of the party deceased. The priests, 
,^Q)md those who are hired to read prayers or make a funeral panegyric over 
the orrave, bring up the rear. Several persons march in the front, with 


wise 


MM 




























































lATjt V s *- 




JAPANESE. 


brazen censers of a considerable size on their shoulders. 


The children or Cj ;'pj 

the deceased march directly after the corpse, on foot, leaning upon slicks, 


which is an expression—at least, an external one—of sorrow and concern 

After the children come the wives and the more distant relations of the 
deceased, in a close litter. A great variety of ceremonies attends this pro 
cession; but we shall only take notice, that it is accompanied with the 
sound of tymbals, drums, flutes, and other instrumental music. As soon 
as the coffin has advanced about thirty yards from the house, a considerable 
quantity of red sand is thrown upon it. 

Each family has a sepulchre belonging to it, which is erected on som 
little hill, or place adjacent, embellished with figures and other decorations, 
like those at the procession. Epitaphs and other inscriptions are also i 
use among them. 


SEC. IX—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE 

JAPANESE. 

The most prevalent religious sects in Japan are those of Sinto an 
Budsdo. That of Sinto, which is the most ancient, though its adheren 
are now least numerous, is conceived to have originated from 
Religious Sects, emigrants, and to have been originally ver^y|v^ 

simple and pure in its tenets. Its followers acknowledge a Supreme, 
Being, who inhabits the highest heavens, and who is far too great to require 
their worship ; but they admit a multitude of inferior divinities, who exer¬ 
cise dominion over the earth, water, air, &c., and have great power in pro¬ 
moting the happiness or misery of the human race. They have some ) 
conception of the soul’s immortality, and believe that a happy abode immer 
diately under heaven is assigned to the spirits of the virtuous, while thos 
of the wdcked shall be doomed to wander to and fro under the firmamen^ 
Their practical precepts are directed to inculcate a virtuous life, and obe¬ 


dience to the laws of the sovereign. They abstain from animal food, and 
are reluctant to shed innocent blood, or even to touch a dead body. Their 


churches contain no visible idols, nor any representation of the Supreme 
Being; but sometimes a small image is kept in a box, to represent som^Vi (p 
inferior deity to whom the temple is consecrated. In the centre of the 
temple is frequently placed a large mirror, made of well-polished cast metal, 
which is designed to represent to the worshippers, that in like manner as 
their personal blemishes are therein displayed, so are theii secret evil 
thoughts exposed to the all-searching eyes of the immortal gods. The . 
worshippers approach these temples with great devotion of manner, and 
with the most scrupulous attention to cleanliness of person and appareu./jy^ 
Advancing reverently to the mirror, they bow themselves to the ground 
prefer their prayers, present their offerings, and then repair to their amuse¬ 
ments. The Kubo professes himself to belong to this sect, and is bound tjo\i 

1 
































































WTS)k*. 




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PAGAN NATIONS. 


A 


m 


Os' 


Sect of Budsdo. 


make a visit annually in person, or by an ambassador, to one of their ttm- 
ples, to perform his devotion and present gifts. 

Budsdo’s doctrine was brought originally from the coast of Malabar, and 
is considered the same with that of Buddha in Hindostan. Passing from 
China into Japan, it became blended with that of Sinto, and 
gave birth to a monstrous mixture of superstition. Its pecu¬ 
liar tenets are, that the souls of men and of beasts are equally immortal, 
and that the souls of the wicked are condemned to undergo punishment 
and purification, by passing after death into the bodies of the lower ani¬ 
mals. There are many other sects, very opposite in their tenets and ob¬ 
servances; but they are said to live together in great harmony, or rather to 
share in all their mutual superstitions. The Dairi, or ecclesiastical sove¬ 
reign, seems to be the general head of all these different sects, and appoints 
the principal priests throughout the country. Every sect has its respective 
church and peculiar idols, which are commonly remarkable for their un¬ 
couth and hideous form. Thunberg mentions one colossal wooden image 
which measures ten yards across the shoulders, and affords room for six 
men to sit upon its wrist. The inferior divinities are innumerable, as 
almost every trade has its tutelar god ; and in one temple not less than 
thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three are said to be ranged 
around the supreme deity. The temples are commonly built in the suburbs 
of the town, on the most elevated and suitable spots, to which are frequently 
attached beautiful avenues of cypress trees, with handsome gates. The 
idols are usually exhibited upon an altar, surrounded with flowers, incense, 
and other decorations. They are filled with the lower or secular priests, 
who attend to keep them clean, to light the lamps and fires, to present the 
flowers and incense, and to admit worshippers at all times of the day. 
Even strangers are allowed to enter, and sometimes to lodge in the tem¬ 
ples. To some of the more noted churches it is common to perform pil¬ 
grimages, especially to the temples of Tsie, the most ancient in the empire, 
and almost completely decayed with age, notwithstanding the utmost care 
to preserve its ruins. Its sole ornaments are a mirror, denoting that nothing 
can be hid from the Supreme Being, and slips of white paper hung round 
the walls, to signify that nothing but what is pure should approach his pre¬ 
sence. To this place the emperor must send an ambassador on the first 
day of every month, and every individual must make a visit at least once 
in the course of his life. Such a pilgrimage, besides its merit, is rewarded 
with an indulgence or remission of sins for a whole year. There are also, 
in Japan, orders of monks or nuns ; one of which consists of blind persons, 
a kind of beggars dispersed over the empire ; and another, called monks of 
the mountain, are a species of fortune-tellers and quack-doctors, who are 
bound to live on roots and herbs, to practise constant ablutions, and to tra¬ 
verse deserts and mountains once in a year. There are likewise severa* 
45 



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philosophical sects in the country, who disclaim all external worship; one 
of the most celebrated of which adopts the tenets of the Chinese Confucius, 
and resembles in its general principles the ancient school of Epicurus. Its 
followers acknowledge a kind of anima mundi , bu.t limit the existence of 
man to the present life; and inculcate the general practice of virtue, but 
allow, and even applaud, the commission of suicide. Almost immediately 
after the discovery of Japan by the Portuguese, the Christian religion waa 
introduced into the country by the Jesuit missionaries in the year 1549, 
and made such rapid progress, that several princes of the empire were 
soon ranked among its converts; and about the year 1582, a public embassy 
was sent from the Japanese court with letters and valuable presents to the 
Roman pontiff. But the Portuguese, who had settled in great numbers in 
Japan, intoxicated by the extent of their commerce and the success of their 
religion, became so obnoxious to the natives by their avaricious and domi¬ 
neering conduct, that the representations of the heathen priests became at 
length sufficiently powerful to procure a prohibition from the emperor 
against the new religion, which threatened to overturn all the ancient insti¬ 
tutions of the country. A violent persecution was commenced against the 
Christians, of whom twenty thousand are said to have been put to death in 
the year 1590. Still did the number of proselytes continue to increase; 
and in the years 1591 and 1592, twelve thousand were converted and bap¬ 
tized. One of the emperors, named Kubo Fide Jori, with his whole court 
and army, embraced the Christian name ; and had the Portuguese settlers 
in the country acted with ordinary prudence and gentleness, their cause 
must have triumphed ; but the insolence of some of their prelates, to some 
princes of the blood, became so insupportable, that a new persecution arose 
in the year 1596, which was carried on without intermission for the space 
of forty years, and ended in the year 1638 with the total extermination of 
the Christians, and the banishment of the Portuguese from the country. 
The Japanese government, considering the unwarrantable conduct of these 
settlers to be inseparable from their principles as Christians, have perse¬ 
vered in the enforcement of the most efficacious measures to prevent their 
re-introduction into the country; and in order to detect any concealed adhe¬ 
rents to these proscribed sentiments, all persons are required to prove their 
freedom from such heresy, by publicly trampling, at the festival of the newr 
jear, upon the images of the Catholic saints. 

Having given a general account of the two prevalent religious sects in 
Japan we shall proceed to notice more particularly some of their religious 
tenets and practices. 

If the Japanese have any idea of rewards and punishments in a future 
state, they perfectly extinguish it, both by their conduct and their system. 

Rewards and ^eir most refined conceptions amount to no more than this, 
punishments. that the soul, after its separation from the body, wings her 




























































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


703 


Morality. 


way towards Takatnans-ferra,—that is, high and sub-celestial fields, which 
lie, in their opinion, beneath the three-and-thirtieth heaven. The souls of 
the virtuous are admitted in a moment into those realms of bliss; but those 
of the vicious are refused admittance, and obliged to wander about in a dis¬ 
consolate manner for a long time, to make atonement for their sins. As to 
their notion of hell, Ksempfer assures us, that the Sintoists acknowledge no 
other than the torment of wandering like vagabonds around those sub- 
celestial fields, nor any other devil than the detestable fox, whom they con¬ 
jure in the most solemn manner; for a great number of the Japanese look 
upon that animal as the receptacle of the souls of the wicked in a future 
state. The odious name which their priests give to that creature is much 
the same with our denomination of the foul fiend. 

We shall next proceed to the morals of the Sintoists. They who are of 
this sect maintain, that in order to draw down the benediction of the gods 
upon their souls in the life to come, but more particularly in 
this, they must take indefatigable pains to keep their souls 
unspotted and undefiled, religiously abstain from every thing that may pos¬ 
sibly pollute them or their bodies—strictly observe all festivals and other 
days set apart for the service and worship of the gods, and make voluntary 
pilgrimages to the province of Isie. This part of their empire is looked 
upon by their devotees as their Holy Land, because Isanagi-Mifcotto, and 
his wife Isanami, who are the Adam and Eve of these islanders, sojourned 
there during the whole of their lives. T'ensio-daisin , who was the first of 
the race of their terrestrial gods, and the eldest son of Isanagi, sojourned 
likewise in this very province. They who carry their devotion to the 
highest pitch add penance and humiliation to these four precepts of 
Sintoism. 

Purity of soul, according to these Sintoists, consists in a strict obedience 
to the dictates of nature and the voice of reason ; in an utter abhorrence of 
what those dictates respectively prohibit; in the exact ob- 

Punty Of soul. servance 0 f t h e | aws 0 f the realm, and the commands of their 

prince; and in the absence from every action that is inconsistent with 
either the one or the other. But Sintoism, in a more peculiar manner, 
recommends to its admirers an external purity, to which its devotees are 
inviolably attached,—as devotees, indeed, in all religions generally are 
This external purity consists in not defiling themselves with blood, in ab¬ 
staining from all manner of flesh, and taking particular care not to touch 

the dead. 

The observance of solemn festivals, and of those days which are set 
apart for the service of the gods, is the third article of Sintoism. At those 
times the devotees are obliged to visit their pagods, unless 
festivals. they happen to be in a state of impurity, or their minds be 

ruffled and discomposed by any inordinate passions. But before they pre- 



























































































704 


JAPANESE. 





sume to appear in the presence of their gods, even before they depart from 
their houses, in order to go to the temple, they first purify and wash them¬ 
selves, then dress with propriety and neatness ; and, above all, take par¬ 
ticular care to put on their kamisino, which is a ceremonial habit, and 
undoubtedly looked upon as a fundamental article of their religious worship. 
They go to the temple with an a 7 ’r of gravity and sedateness; and as soon 
as they enter the outward court, there is a large conservatory of water, in 
which they are obliged to wash their hands before they proceed any fur¬ 
ther. After this ablution, they approach the temple with downcast eyes 
and an air of contrition ; then they present themselves before a window, in 
which stands a large looking-glass, which is an emblem of the Deity, who 
sees all things, past, present, and to come, at one view, as in a glass. He 
knows all the secrets, all the thoughts, of his adorers. This is the illustra¬ 
tion which the Japanese give of this looking-glass. The Sintoists fall upon 
their knees, and bow down their heads before this window ; and after 
having remained a few 7 moments in that humble posture, they lift up their 
heads, and as they say their prayers, turn their eyes with considerable 
humility towards the sacred mirror. After this, they put some pieces of 
silver through a lattice into the temple, or the charity-box, which stands 
close by the latter. This is an oblation to the gods, or rather an alms to 
their priest. After they have made this free-will offering, they ring a bell 
three times, as a testimony of their love and affection for the gods, who, as 
they imagine, take great delight in such agreeable sounds. 

The Sintoists look on pilgrimage as the fourth important article of their 
religion. Kaempfer takes notice of three kinds of it, amongst which that 
made to Isie, or Tsie, is, properly speaking, the only one 
peculiar to Sintoism. That of Isie is called Sanga , which 
signifies the devotion of ascending or going up to the temple. The temple 
of Isie bears the name of Dai-singu; that is to say, the Temple of the great 
God. The fabric is composed of wood, and covered with straw. They 
take peculiar care to preserve it in its native simplicity, in order to com 
memorate the abject state and condition of their ancestors, more particularly 
those who laid the first foundation of their empire. There is nothing 
remarkable in this temple, excepting a large brazen looking-glass, curiously 
polished, and several pieces of white paper, cut after the Chinese fashion, 
which hang upon the w r alls. This white paper is a symbol of that poverty 
of spirit w'hich the Deity requires of all those who pay their adorations to 
him, as also of the sanctity of the place. The temple is surrounded with 
a hundred little chapels, erected in honour of some of the inferior deities; 
these are only small edifices, in the form of temples; for they are so low, 
that a man can scarcely stand upright in any of them ; every chapel, how¬ 
ever, has its peculiar priest. Near to this temple of Dai-singu , and the 
chapels which surround it, is established a religious order, the members of 


Pilgrimage lo 
Isie or Tsie. 





















































































QFf 31 


PAGAN NATIONS. 




® 


<vhich assume the title and quality of the ministers and messengers of the 
gods, whose proper province it is to accommodate with convenient lodgings 
all the pilgrims who resort to that sacred place. 

The true Sintoists are obliged, once a year, or at least once in their lives, 
to perform the Sanga. The priests, at such terms, present every devout 
pilgrim with an Ofaray , which is a kind of certificate, or an absolution, 
entitling him to appear before the gods. Those who, through age, weak¬ 
ness, or their necessary avocations, cannot personally perform the Sanga, 
must at least be provided with one of these Ofarays of Isie. 

The Sanga may be performed by deputation; and the grandees of Japan, 
and the tributary kings of the monarchy, perform it all by proxy. The 
emperor discharges himself of this duty by sending ambassadors annually 
to the pagod of Isie. As to those who undertake this pilgrimage them¬ 
selves, if their circumstances be but indifferent, they go on foot, and the 
poorer sort beg the whole of the way for their daily subsistence. The 
majority of them carry a staff in their hand, and wear at their girdles a 
small bucket, which serves them got only to drink out of, but to store up 
the charitable presents which are from time to time bestowed upon them. 
They wear likewise hats made of reeds, the brims of which being very 
broad, serve them to write their names upon, and the particular places of 
their nativity, or usual residence, that in case of death, or any other unfore¬ 
seen misfortune, they may be known and challenged by their friends and 
relations. The devotees, on their return from this pilgrimage, wear over 
their common dress a little white vestment, without sleeves, on which their 
names are embroidered both before and behind. 

As soon as these pilgrims set out for the Sanga, their friends who stay 
at home hang up a cord at their doors, and twist white paper all round 
about it, the intent of which is to keep those people from the house who 
are actually in Ima —that is, in the highest degree of pollution. Should 
any person in this Ima unhappily enter the house, he would thereby 
expose the poor pilgrim to a thousand dreadful calamities and perplexing 
dreams. Signals of the same nature are placed at the entrance of several 
of their pagods: such prudent precautions, however, are not sufficient of 
themselves to crown the pilgrim’s devotion with success; for he is required, 
during his whole journey, to live as free as possible from all manner of 
impurity. 

As eoon as the pilgrim arrives at Isie, he makes a visit directly to the 
priest, to whom he is either recommended, or of whom he has himself made 
choice for his ghostly father, and with him he lodges all the time he resides 
at Isie; and if he have not money of his own sufficient to repay him for 
his trouble, he pays him out of the charitable collections he makes at the 
place. The most zealous devotees begin their pious course with visiting 
the two temples near that of Tongu, or Ten-sio-dai-sin, and take the little 




lii 






























































































f 1 


JAPANESE. 


chapels which surround them in their way. After this visitation they 
repair to a cave, which they call the country, or region of the heavens, 
because Ten-sio-dai-sin, having also retired into it, depnred the sun and 
the stars of all their radiant lustre, and spread darkness over the face of the 
whole earth, to demonstrate that he alone was the Supreme Being and the 
source of light. Not far from this cave a chapel is situate, in which is to 
be seen a Carni , mounted on the back of a cow. The term Cami signifies 
a representation, or rather an emblem of the sun. The pilgrim performs 
his devotions in this chapel, after he has said his prayers in the cave of 
Ten-sio-dai-sin. His devotions conclude with his charitable contributions 
to the priests of these sacred places. After this he is conducted to the 
temple of Ten-sio-dai-sin, to whom the pilgrim opens all the secrets of his 
heart. Although his preceding acts are indeed very meritorious, yet they 
are but the introduction to the true devotion which is due to Ten-sio-dai-sin, 
who seems to be the image of the Supreme Being, but disfigured by the 
fictions which the priests have extracted from their legends. At last, when 
the devotee is ready to return, the priest makes him a present of an Ofaray, 
which has been already cursorily mentioned. This Ofaray is a little 
wooden box, not perfectly square, being somewhat longer than it is broad. 
This box is full of little sticks, amongst which some of them are wrapped 
up in white paper—a symbol, as we have before observed, of the purity of 
the heart. On one side of the box the words Dai-Singu are written, in 
large characters; and on the other, the name of the officiating priest, with 
the additional title or epithet of Taiju —that is, the Messenger of the Gods. 
The pilgrim having received this little treasure, with all the testimonies of 
the profoundest veneration and respect, hangs it generally on the fore flap 
of his hat, so that the Ofaray falls just before his forehead : on the hind flap 
he fastens another little box, or a little straw, as it were, by way of balance. 
The priests who give, and the devotees who receive this Ofaray, ascribe 
several extraordinary virtues to it, but with quite different views. All its 
supernatural qualities, indeed, are lost within the compass of a year; but, 
however, it is still preserved in high esteem, and fixed by some upon a 
tablet in their best parlour, and by others over the street door, under a pent¬ 
house made on purpose. The Ofarays of the dead, and of those who are 
accidentally found in the streets and highways, are always concealed within 
ihe trunk of some hollow tree. The priests carry on an advantageous 
traffic with these Ofarays, especially on New-year’s Day, that being one of 
their most solemn festivals, at which time they understand well how to 
make their market to advantage, and to soothe the good humour in which 
the common people generally are at that remarkable season. 

According to the advocates of the religion of Budsdo, its founder. Budhu, 
or, as Ksempfer calls him, Siaka, was the son of one of the 

Biaka. or Budhu 

kings of Ceylon. When he was about nineteen years of 





















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


age, he not only abandoned all the pomps and vanities of the world, but 
also his wife and only son, to become the disciple of a celebrated anchoret. 
Under this great master he made a very considerable progress in the state 
of contemplation; and the more effectually to wean his thoughts from all 
external objects, he habituated himself to sit in such a posture as, according 
to the disciples of Siaka, engages the mind so intentively, that a man thereby 
descends, as it were, into himself, and is wholly wrapped up in his own 
ideas. Siaka’s posture was as follows:—He sat with his legs across 
directly under him, and his hands laid one over another, in such a manner 
that the tip of his thumbs met close together. It was in this situation that 
the divine truths were revealed to this enthusiast; that he penetrated into 
the most hidden mysteries of religion, and discovered the existence both of 
heaven and of hell; that he entertained an adequate idea of the state of 
souls after their separation from the bodies which they animated, and all 
their various transmigrations; that he was fully apprized of their rewards 
and punishments in another life ; together with the omnipotence of the 
gods, and their divine providence, &c. On this revelation he grounded 
his system, and in process of time confirmed his disciples in the steadfast 
belief of it. 

The doctrine of Siaka is, that the souls of men and beasts are equally 
immortal, and of one and the same substance; all the difference consisting 
in the bodies which they respectively animate. As soon as 
the soul is separated from the body, it enters immediately 
into a state of happiness or misery, there to be rewarded or punished, 
according to its deportment whilst united to the body. This state of bliss 
is called by a name which signifies, the seat of everlasting happiness; and 
although there be different degrees of pleasure in this paradise, and all are 
rewarded in proportion only to their respective merits, yet every inhabitant 
is so fully contented, that he esteems himself more happy than his neigh¬ 
bour, and his utmost ambition extends no farther than to enjoy to all eter¬ 
nity that share of happiness which he already possesses. Amidas is the 
sovereign lord and absolute ruler of this paradise ; he is the protector of all 
human souls, the father and god of all those who are made partakers of the 
delights of this paradise: he, in short, is the mediator and saviour of man¬ 
kind. It is through his intercession that souls obtain a remission of their 
sins, and are accounted worthy of eternal life. To live uprightly, and to 
observe strictly all the commandments of Siaka, are the two fundamental 
points which are capable of rendering them acceptable in the sight of 
Amidas. 

As there are degrees of pleasure in paradise, so there are degrees, like¬ 
wise, of pain in hell. Jemma is the judge of the wicked, and the grim 
monarch of this place of torments. He beholds in a large 
Heaven and heii. ] 00 kj n g_g| ass a j| th e mos t secre t transactions of mankind; he 


Doctrines of 
Siaka. 





















































































m 








JAPANESE. 


is, nevertheless, almost inexorable: but if the priests make intercession to 
Amidas for the sinner, and the relations of the deceased contribute by their 
liberal oblations towards the efficacy of the prayers of the priests, Amidas 
solicits the stern judge in such prevailing terms, that he not only mitigates 
the pains of the transgressor, but frequently discharges him, and sends 
him into the world again, before the term allotted for his chastisement be 
fully expired. 

After the souls of men have made an atonement for their crimes in hell, 
by undergoing those torments which Jemma thinks fit to inflict upon them, 
they return into this world, and animate the bodies of such unclean beasts 
as are most suitable to the vicious inclinations that led them astray in their 
former state: as, for instance, one takes up her residence in a toad, another 
in a serpent, &c. From these impure animals they transmigrate into 
others not so odious and contemptible, and so insensibly return in process 
of time to human bodies; in which, if they behave after the same profli¬ 
gate manner as they did before, they expose themselves after death to new 
and inexpressible torments. 

After the death of Siaka, two of his favourite disciples made a cohection 
of his maxims, and all his manuscripts, which were written with his own 
hand on the leaves of a certain tree. The whole was con- 

Sacred Book. , • • , • T , c ' 

tamed in one volume, which the Japanese, by way ot emi¬ 
nence, call Fio —that is, The Book. They call it likewise Toke-kio —that 
is, The Book of Fine Flowers. The two compilers of Siaka’s manuscripts 
were honoured with deification. They are generally placed in the temples 
of their master; one on his right hand, and the other on his left. 

The gods of Japan are exceedingly numerous, and their temples amount 
to many thousands. Within these temples there are generally no idols; 

but their squares and highways are always honoured with 
the presence of some idol, which is erected there either with 
a view to kindle the flames of devotion in the souls of travellers, or with an 
intent only to support and protect the place. Idols are erected likewise 
near their bridges, and surround their temples, chapels, and convents. The 
people purchase either the pictures or images of these idols. The former 
are in general drawn on a sheet, or half a sheet of paper. They are pasted 
like bills or advertisements, upon the gates of their cities, and other public 
buildings, or on posts at the corners of their bridges and streets. The 
people, however, are not obliged, as they pass by, to prostrate themselves, 
nor to bow the knee before them. They have generally, likewise, an 
image of their domestic and tutelar gods before the doors of their houses. 
Giwon is the particular idol which is most commonly represented by these 
images. They call him, likewise, God-su-ten-oo; the literal signification 
of which is, The Prince of the Heavens with the head of an ox. The 
Japanese ascribe to him the power of protecting them from all manner ct 


Gods. 











































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


709 




distempers; particularly the small-pox, and from other casualties incidental 
to mankind. Others, still more superstitious, or rather more whimsical 
and extravagant, imagine that they shall always be healthy and happy, 
provided the doors of their apartments be decorated with the monstrous 
figure of a savage of Jesso, who is hairy all over, and armed with a cutlass, 
which he holds in both hands, and with which, according to their notion, 
he denies admittance to all casualties and distempers whatsoever. Some¬ 
times the door is secured by the monstrous head of some devil, or the tre¬ 
mendous figure of a dragon. Sometimes they content themselves with 
adorning the door, in the manner of a festoon, with the boughs of some par¬ 
ticular trees, or with the plant called liverwort. In short, they frequently 
place their Ofarays over the doors of their apartments; and it is highly pro¬ 
bable that throughout the whole a great conformity exists between the amu¬ 
lets of the ancients and the talismans of the Arabians. 

Amidas, whom travellers sometimes call Omyto, is the god and guardian 
of souls, who preserves them, and saves them from those punishments 

which by their sins and iniquities they have deserved. He 

Amidas. . , . J . , 

is represented upon an altar, and mounted on a horse with 
seven heads, which are hieroglyphics of seven thousand ages, each head 
representing one thousand. Amidas is represented with a dog’s head, 
instead of a human face; he holds in his hands a gold ring, or circle, which 
he bites. This may be said to bear a very near affinity to the Egyptian 
circle, which was looked upon as the emblem of time. At least it demon¬ 
strates that this god is a hieroglyphic of the revolution of ages, or rather of 
eternity itself. Amidas is generally represented as dressed in a very rich 
robe, adorned with pearls and precious stones; and as he is considered the 
protector of their souls, and their saviour, is revered after a very singular 
manner, by some particular devotees, who voluntarily sacrifice their lives 
in honour to this idol, and drown themselves in his presence. This cere¬ 
mony consists principally in embarking in a pretty little boat, which is in 
general gilt, and adorned with several silken streamers ; the devotee having 
previously tied a considerable number of stones to his neck, waist, and legs. 
The destined victim, however, first takes a dance, and frisks about to the 
sound of gongums, and other instrumental music; after which he throws 
himself headlong into the river. On this solemn occasion he is attended 
by a numerous train of his friends and relations, and several Bonzes. This 
voluntary catastrophe is preceded by an intimate converse for two days 
between him and his god. 

T lat Amidas is in their opinion the Supreme Being, is undeniably evi¬ 
dent from the description which his disciples give of him; for they say he 
is an invisible, incorporeal, and immutable substance, distinct from all the 
elements; that he existed before Nature, and is the fountain and foundation 
of all good without beginning or end; in short, that he created the uni 










































































JAPANESE. 


verse, and is infinite and immense. They likewise add, that he governs 
the universe without the least trouble or care ; by which they must either 
mean an absolute order, which the Supreme Being has established from the 
beginning, by virtue of which all things are disposed in such a manner that 
Nature indispensably obeys it; or simply, that the providence of God 
governs every thing he has created, according to his own good will and 
pleasure, without the least trouble. However that may be, if the)’- acknow¬ 
ledge that Amidas governs the universe, they own, by consequence, his 
providence. Besides the temples and altars which are erected to his honour 
throughout the whole empire of Japan, a great number of convents are con¬ 
secrated to him, in which several monks and nuns reside, who are for ever 
destined to a single state on pain of death. 

Canon, called by some travellers the son of Amidas, presides over the 
waters and the fish. He is the creator of the sun and the moon. This 
idol, according to the representation of him, has four arms, 
like his father; is swallowed up by a fish as far as his mid¬ 
dle, and is crowned with flowers. He has a sceptre in one hand, a flowei 
in another, and a ring in the third ; the fourth is closed, and the arm ex¬ 
tended. Opposite him is the figure of an humble devotee, one half of 
whose body lies concealed within a shell. Four other figures are placed 
at a little distance on an altar, each of them with their hands closed like 
humble suppliants, from which, as from so many fountains, flow streams 
of water. 

Toranga is another idol of the Japanese. This hero of Japan was 
formerly a huntsman. He took possession of the empire soon after its first 
establishment, and by his extraordinary merit, in process of 
time, was revered as one of their Camis, and consequently 
was ranged among the gods. He delivered Japan from a tyrant, who, with 
eight kings of the country, his confederates and allies, laid the empire 
waste; upon which account it was thought proper to represent him with 


Canon. 


Toranga. 


eight arms, and in each hand some weapon of defence. Toranga defeated 
them with a hatchet only, and, during the combat, trod under foot a mon¬ 
strous and formidable serpent, which in all probability is looked upon as a 
hieroglyphic at Japan, as well as it is with us. His Mia, which is situated 
in the province or kingdom of Yacata, is remarkable for the four oxen which 
are gilt all over, and fixed, by way of decoration, on the four corners of 
the roof, which projects on all sides, according to the custom observed in 
the erection of all their Mias. The wall of this Mia is, moreover, embel¬ 
lished with the figures of several ancient Camis, or demi-gods of Japan, 
and the whole structure is raised after the same model with the rest. A 
number of vagrants and beggars assemble before the doors of this temple, 
and, as they sing the praises of their heroes, beg the charity and benevo¬ 
lence of the public. 

































































































* 


Jemma-o. 




J 




Apes and monkeys are said to be worshipped and to have their pagods 
in Japan. Their veneration for dogs is of modern date. The emperor 

Apes monkeys w ^° sat on ^ throne when Ksempfer resided in Japan was 
and dogs. so extravagantly fond of them, that since his reign a greater 

number of them have been kept in that kingdom than in any other nation 
in the whole world. Every street is obliged to maintain a fixed and deter¬ 
mined number of them. They are quartered upon the inhabitants; and in 
case of sickness, they are obliged to nurse and attend them. When they 
die, they are obliged to inter them in a decent manner, in the mountains 
and hills peculiarly appropriated for the interment of the people. It is 
looked upon as a capital crime, not only to kill them, but even to insult 
and treat them ill; and no one but the legal proprietor is allowed so much 
as to correct any of them. All this reverence and respect is owing to a 
celestial constellation, which the Japanese call the dog, under the influence 
of which the aforesaid emperor of Japan was born. 

Jemma-o, the judge, or, more properly speaking, the grim tyrant of the 
infernal regions, has a pagod consecrated to him some small distance from 
Miaco, situate in a very delightful grotto; in which is also 
situate a convent, to which the nobility, whose circumstances 
are but narrow, and their families large, send their younger children whom 
they cannot with any convenience support in a manner suitable to their 
character and grandeur. In the same place stands likewise a pagod of 
that infernal judge, who is styled the king of the devils. Two large devils 
are placed on each side of him; and as for himself, his figure is as mon¬ 
strous and formidable as is suitable to his function and his gloomy habita¬ 
tion. One of these devils acts as a secretary, and registers in a book 
kept for that particular purpose all the offences and transgressions of 
mankind : the province of the other is to read them distinctly over, oi 
rather to dictate what the secretary is to enter. The walls are embellished 
with frightful pictures of all the inexpressible tortures which the wicked 
undergo in the regions of hell. This pagod is prodigiously crowded by 
the people, who resort to it from all parts, with oblations and money in 
their hands, to redeem their souls from the torments of so formidable a 
judge. 

Dai-both, or Dai-but, is one of the principal deities of the empire. The 
etymological signification of his name is, the Great God, or Great Deity. 

In all probability, therefore, he may be the same as Amidas, 

Dai-both, or r J . .,,1 « , . 

Dai-but. or the Supreme Being, considered under some ot his parti¬ 

cular attributes; or he may be Budhu, perhaps, from whom the Budsdoists 
derive their denomination. This idol is set up in a very remarkable pagod 
at Miaco. The following is the most authentic account of the celebrated 
temple consecrated to the idol Dai-both:—On entering the temple itself, a 
kind of a gate is passed through, on each side of which are erected two 


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712 JAPANESE. 

monstrous figures, with several arms, full of arrows, swords, and other 
offensive weapons. These two monsters stand in a posture of defence, and 
seem prepared to combat each other. From this gate the way leads to a 
large quadrangle, with galleries on each side of it, which are supported by 
pillars of freestone. Having crossed this square, another gate presents 
itself, embellished with two large lions made of stone, which leads directly 
into the pagod, in the centre of which the idol Dai-both is seated, after the 
Oriental fashion, on an altar table, which has a slight elevation from the 
ground. This idol is of a monstrous height, his head touching the very 
roof of his temple. 

Besides the foregoing, the Japanese have numerous other gods, which 
preside over their fortune, &c.:— Daikoku , to whom they are indebted for 
all the riches they enjoy. Tossitoku , who presides over the good or ill 
fortune of mankind. Fottei , who presides over all their diversions. Sueva , 
who is the god and patron of their huntsmen, &c. 

It is one of the fundamental principles of Sintoism, to visit, as often as 
possible, the temples consecrated to the gods, and the souls 
of those saints who in their lives were conspicuous for their 
merit. This act of devotion, indeed, is always commendable, but must be 
neglected on no account at such times as are set apart for divine service. 

The festivals of the Sintos are all fixed and immovable; some are 
monthly, others annual. There are three in every month; that is, at the 
increase, full, and decrease of the moon. In regard to the first, it is a day 
rather devoted to conversation, and other innocent amusements among 
friends, than to the service of the gods. The last is set apart likewise for 
nearly the same purposes. But the fifteenth da}' of the month is, properly 
speaking, a solemn festival, and spent in acts of devotion. The Sintos 
have, moreover, five annual festivals, which are also immovable ; that is to 
say, New-year’s Day, the third day of the third month, the fifth of the fifth, 
the seventh of the seventh, and the ninth of the ninth month. The reason 
of this exceedingly curious choice of unequal numbers is, that they fall 
upon unfortunate days, and that the usual rejoicings on such festivals are, 
in the opinion of the Sintos, acceptable to the gods, and avert those evils 
and misfortunes which would otherwise infallibly fall out on those unlucky 
days. It is an established notion of the Sintoists, that the gods take delight 
in the various recreations which constantly attend their festivals, and that 
the innocent amusements of those who honour them by such public demon¬ 
strations of their joy can never offend them. 

Pilgrimages are performed by great numbers, who are generally dressed 
in white, and seldom march more than four or five in a body; one of whom 
is, as it were, their commanding officer, and carries in his 
p i D nmages. j^nd a staff, or kind of halberd, adorned with little bundles 
of white paper, fastened to one another, which may witn the greatest pro- 
































































































SSUl 




priety be called their fasces. Their discipline, or order of marching, is 
this: Two of the leaders of the van move with a slow and solemn pace, 
and every now and then, with a considerable degree of formality, make a 
halt. These two conjointly carry a kind of hand-barrow, on the top of 
which there is a bell, or something like one, of a light metal, or a large 
kettle—or, in short, some other instrument alluding to the history of their 
gods, adorned with the boughs of fir-trees, and slips of white paper, cut 
in various forms. The superior or commanding officer dances before the 
hand-barrow, and at the same time sings, in a very melancholy tone, some 
composition or another suitable to the present subject. Meanwhile another 
of these devout soldiers files off and gets forward, in order to beg from door 
to door through the next town, or to collect upon the road the charitable 
contributions of those well-disposed persons who accidentally pass by him. 

Another set of pilgrims oblige themselves to visit the three-and-thirty 
principal pagods, which are peculiarly consecrated to their god Quanwon 
or Canon. These devotees all sing, as they proceed from house to house, 
some psalm or hymn, in honour to their god, &c. They are dressed in 
white, and wear about their necks a list or catalogue of the several temples 
of Canon, which they are still to visit. This course of life—this method 
of travelling the kingdom over, in the name of some deity or other—is so 
commodious and agreeable, that thousands become pilgrims, in order to live 
free from the solicitudes and anxieties of life. 

There are others who commence pilgrims with more credit and reputa¬ 
tion than the rest, and voluntarily submit to such austerities and acts of 
self-denial as are looked upon by the majority of the people to be the 
external and visible marks of true holiness. They travel naked, even in 
frost and snow, with no other covering but a twist of straw girt round their 
loins. This penance is complied with, in order either to perform their 
solemn vows made in times of distress, or with the pleasing prospect of 
drawing down some singular blessing of the gods upon them; and they are 
such great strangers to the occupation of begging, that they will not accept 
of the least charitable contribution, even when offered to them. 

There is another set of people who dedicate themselves entirely to 
Amidas, whose very title plainly shows the devotion to which alone they 
are inviolably attached; that is, to repeat as often as possible the Namanda^ 
or prayers, which the Japanese likewise distinguish by the name of Nam - 
butz. They are a sort of religious body, or confraternity; and both citi¬ 
zens and gentlemen enter themselves as members of their society, but the 
majority of them, indeed, consist of vulgar people, who assemble in the 
streets and places of the most public resort. There they either sing or 
repeat the Namanda to the tinkling of a little bell, which they make use of 
to gather round about them a crowd of passengers, and especially of such 
credulous devotees as are of opinion that prayers are always effectual, let 


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the person wno pronounces them be ever so impious or hypocritical. As 
these prayers, according to the exalted idea which the Japanese entertain 
of them, are highly conducive to the consolation and relief of their friends 
and relations who are doing penance in another world, every one contri¬ 
butes some charitable benefaction, to extenuate the torments of their de¬ 
ceased friends. The members of this society are very punctual in the 
relief of each other under any misfortunes whatsoever; and this mutual 
testimony of their love and friendship is the basis and foundation of their 
order. They bury the dead themselves, and contribute out of their own 
private stock, or the alms which they collect, towards the interment of those 
who are unable, through their necessitous circumstances, to bear the expense. 
When any devotee of wealth and reputation presents himself to be a mem¬ 
ber, they ask him, in the first place, if he be willing to contribute, as far as 
in him lies, towards the interment of any deceased brother. If he refuse 
to enter upon this engagement, he is peremptorily denied admittance. 

The Japanese say their prayers upon a rosary or a chaplet. Each sect 
has one peculiar to itself; that belonging to the sect of Seodosin consists 
of two circles, one over the other. The first, or uppermost, 
itir prajers. cons j stg Q f f or ty beads, and the lowest of thirty. The sects 

of Ikosia and Sensju have each their respective chaplets. The latter is 
made use of by the Chinese, as well as the Japanese, and is called in the 
language of the latter FiaJcmanben. These are their most remarkable 
chaplets, by the assistance of which these islanders count their prayers, 
which are much longer than those of the Roman Catholics. They are 
obliged to repeat them a hundred and eight times over, because the Bonzes 
assure them that there are as many different sins, which render a man 
polluted and unclean; and against each of their attacks a faithful and true 
member of the Japanese church ought always to be provided with a proper 
prayer for his spiritual defence. Every morning, as soon as ever they 
rise, they are obliged to make some ejaculatory prayer, lifting up the 
fingers of their right hand. The Japanese imagine, that by this devout 
precaution they shall frustrate the wicked devices of the devil. 

The emperor of Japan was formerly the Dairi himself, who, though of 
race divine, is not honoured with the illustrious title of Mikotto, which is 
only ascribed to those gods and demi-gods who were his 
ancestors. However, his title of Ten-sin is very august and 
glorious, the signification of it being no less than the son of Heaven. In 
their common discourse, indeed, he is only called the Dairi: his person is 
looked on as sacred; and he is never permitted to touch the ground with 
his sacred feet. It is derogatory to his dignity to walk; and for that reason, 
whenever he appears in public, his guards carry him upon their shoulders. 
He is never exposed to the inclemency of the air, nor the heat of the sun; 
and so sacred is his person, that no one must presume to touch his beard 


JAPANESE. 


















































































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All his court distinguish them 


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pagan nations. 


hair, or nails, unless they take the favourable opportunity, whilst he is 
asleep, to rob him of those excrescences, which, if neglected, would appear 
slovenly and indecent. Formerly this prince was obliged to expose himself 
every morning to public view, for several hours together; at which time he 
appeared seated on his throne, with his crown upon his head ; his eyes, 
hands, and feet were all kept fixed, and his whole body seemed as im¬ 
movable as a statue. On this grotesque exhibition the tranquillity, in short, 
of the whole kingdom entirely depended. But this ceremony is now done 
away; the Dairi has at present no business upon his hands but to consult 
his ease and his diversions. Every dish that is served up at his table, and 
every plate laid upon it, must be perfectly new. By the established rules 
of their ceremonial, every implement, of what nature or kind soever, that 
is once made use of at his table, must never be brought before him any 
more ; they must be wholly destroyed and broken to pieces; for which 
reason his furniture is very cheap and very ordinary. Should they be pre¬ 
served, the consequence, it seems, might prove fatal to other people; for 
the superstitious Japanese are of opinion, that if a layman should, through 
inadvertency, eat off a plate that had been served at the table of his holi¬ 
ness, he would immediately be tormented with a sore mouth, and an inflam- 
ination in his throat. Upon the same principle, should a layman presume 
to put on any vestment whatever belonging to the Dairi, without express 
orders from the emperor, his body would infallibly be bloated like one that 
has been poisoned. 

As soon as ever the throne of the Dairi becomes vacant, a successor is 
elected without the least regard either to age or sex; but proximity of blood 
is observed with the utmost exactness, insomuch that some- 

Election of Dairi. . . r . , , .. , 

times an infant is established on the throne, and sometimes, 
likewise, the widow and relict of the deceased monarch. In case there be 
several candidates for the throne, and the right of primogeniture appears 
dubious, and difficult to be decided, then each reigns alternately so many 
years, in proportion to their respective titles to this impotent royalty: for so 
it may properly be called ; for notwithstanding the religious adoration, or 
something nearly allied to it, which is paid to this prince, yet his dignity 
is without authority, and it must never be exerted without the approbation 
of the emperor. He is a pope, and infallible with respect to the people ; 
but his infallibility ceases whenever it is repugnant to the interests of the 
secular monarch. Sometimes the Dairi abdicates his crown to promote his 
children ; and in that case, if he have a numerous issue, he has the plea¬ 
sure to see some part of their reign before he dies. 

The Dairi, in general, wears a black tunic under a scarlet robe, with a 
large veil over it, made something like our crape, the fringes of which fall 
over his hands; and upon his head he has a cap, embellished 
with divers tufts or tassels. 












































































JAPANESE 


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PAGAN NATIONS. 





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days. In short, the Dairi is held in such high veneration in Japan, that 
the water in which that prince washes his feet, is looked upon as very 
sacred. It is stored up with the utmost precaution, and no one must pre¬ 
sume to make use of it for any profane purposes whatsoever. 

The Budsdoists have a very large number of pagods, commodiously and 
agreeably situated, and in them are several altars, images, and statues, as 
tall as men, all gilt; but the whole is rather neat than mag- 
Pagods. nificent. As the religion of Budsdo is divided into several- ; 
branches, each division has its peculiar mode of worship, with proper pa¬ 
gods and priests; and both are dependent on one superior church; in which 
particular there is but a trivial difference between them and us. Near 
Jy these pagods are situated the convents, which are plentifully stored with 
monks, whose profession or trade it is to make atonement for the sins both 
of the living and the dead. There are some monks among these sects who 
are allowed to marry, and even to educate their male issue in the convent 
where they are born. 

There are various orders of hermits, nuns, &c., in Japan. Our limits 
will permit us to notice such only as are most distinguished. Among the !o 
former are the Jammabos, or soldiers of the mountains. By 
crnms. their institution they are taught to fight manfully, on all occa¬ 
sions, in defence of their gods, and the established religion. The solemn 
vow which they make, is to renounce all temporal advantages for the 
prospect of eternal happiness, and it is with this godly view that they un¬ 
dergo the severest mortifications, impose upon themselves the most arduous 
undertakings, ascend the most craggy mountains, and wash themselves 
frequently in the coldest water in the depth of the severest winter. The 
more affluent of these Jammabos have their respective habitations 
the poorer sort rove about from place to place, and beg for their 
sustenance. 

The monks of these orders dress like laymen ; but their usual dress is 
embellished with some decorations that are rather uncommon. They 
wear a sabre in their girdles, a little staff in their hands, with a brass head, 
and four rings of the same metal; and in order to excite the charity and 
compassion of those who pass by them, they also carry a shell, which in 
fashion and sound resembles a horn. They frequently wave their staves 
as they arc muttering some particular expressions in their prayers. 

They wear about their necks a scarf, or rather a silk band, adorned with 
fringes, which is longer or shorter, according to their respective qualifica¬ 
tions. The form and beauty of their fringes likewise distinguish their qua¬ 
lity, and their cap is made according to a very singular fashion. They 
carry a wallet upon their backs, with a book in it, a little money, and a 





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coat. They wear sandals on their feet, composed either of straw, or the 
riding ...v __ __ This is not, however, the only plant that is 

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looked upon as sacred; for the Japanese entertain the same idea of the fir 
and the bamboo. They imagine, that these plants have a supernatural 
influence over their future fortunes. The bamboo is deposited in the armo¬ 
ries of the emperor of Japan ; and his subjects look upon that and fire as 
emblems of his sacred majesty. 

These hermits, who originally professed Sintoism in its utmost beauty 
and extent, have entirely degenerated from their first institution. Their 
laws were severe, and their establishment simple; but they have gradually 
forsaken and neglected the austerity of the former, and the plainness of the 
latter. They have blended the worship of strange gods with their Sinto¬ 
ism, and all the superstitions and ceremonies of the Indies are added to 
their theology. By their laws they are obliged to climb up to the summit 
of the most craggy mountains; this penance, however, is never performed 
at present, but with apparent indifference and inattention. As their habita¬ 
tions are generally adjacent to some Mia, they in a very earnest and noisy 
manner beg the charity and benevolence of all those who pass by, in the 
name of the illustrious Cami, to whose service their temple is peculiarly 
devoted ; at the same time, giving them a long and tedious detail of his life, 
character, and miracles, attended with a preposterous agitation of their 
staves, on which a large number of copper rings are fastened; in the inhar¬ 
monious sound of a kind of sea-horn, of which they make use instead of a 
trumpet. Their children likewise join in the chorus, and are as noisy and 
importunate as their parents. 

The Bikunis is an order of mendicant nuns in Japan, who take on them¬ 
selves the habit either from the compulsion of their parents, or to gratify 
their own vicious inclinations. These female devotees are 
in general perfect beauties. The poorer classes, having 
several daughters, endeavour to promote those who are young and hand¬ 
some to this mendicant profession ; and some of them solicit it for them¬ 
selves, from a secret persuasion that the strongest motive to love and com¬ 
passion is beauty. The Jammabos make no scruple of selecting; their 
wives out of this society of Bikunis, or entering their daughters as religious 
members among them. This order of young ladies may with propriety be 
styled the nuns of Venus, for there are several of them, who, after they 
have been so complaisant to the public, as to devote their charms for some 
time to its service, dedicate the remainder of their youth and beauty to this 
sociable retreat; in short, they have no one mark of sanctity about them, 
but their tonsure; being obliged by the rules of their order to be shaved. 

The following is a description of the nuptial ceremony among the Japa¬ 
nese :—The bridegroom and the bride go out of town by two different ways, 

Nuptial cere- with the ‘ r respective retinues, and meet by appointment at 
momt8, the foot of a certain hill. In the retinue of the former, inde¬ 

pendently of his friends and relations, are many carriages loaded with pro- 

































































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PAGAN NATIONS. 


710 






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\isions. Having arrived at the hill, to the summit of which they ascend 
by a flight of stairs made on purpose, they there enter a tent, and seat 
themselves, one on the one side, and the other on the other, like plenipo¬ 
tentiaries assembled at the congress of peace. The parents of both parties 
place themselves behind the bride, and a band of musicians range them¬ 
selves behind the bridegroom, but all without the precincts of the tent. Both 
their retinues stay below at the foot of the hill. The bridegroom and the 
bride, each with a flambeau, then present themselves under the tent, before 
the god of marriage, who is placed upon an altar there, having the head of 
a dog, which is a lively emblem of the mutual fidelity requisite in a state 
of wedlock. The string in his hands is another symbol of the force and 
obligation of its bands. Near the god, and between the two parties, stands 
a bonze, whose office is to perform the marriage ceremony. There are 
several lighted lamps at a small distance from the tent, at one of which the 
bride lights the flambeau which she holds in her hand, pronouncing at the 
same time a form of words, which are dictated to her by the bonze ; after 
this the bridegroom lights his taper or flambeau, by that of his intended 
bride. This part of the ceremony is accompanied with loud acclamations 
of joy, and the congratulations of all the friends and relations then present 
of the newly-married couple. At the same time the bonze dismisses thf-m 
with his benediction, and their retinue make a large bonfire at the foot of 
the hill, in which are thrown all the toys and playthings with which the 
young bride amused herself in her virgin state. Others produce a distaff 
and some flax before her, to intimate, that henceforward she must apply 
herself to the prudent management of her family affairs. The ceremony 
concludes with the solemn sacrifice of two oxen to the god of marriage. 
After this the newly-married couple return with their retinues, and the 
bride is conducted to her husband’s house, where she finds every room in 
the most exact order, and embellished in the gayest manner. The pave¬ 
ment and the threshold are strewed with flowers and greens, whilst flags 
and streamers on the housetops seem to promise nothing but one continued 
series of delight, which may continue unfeigned, in all probability, the time 
of the nuptials, which are celebrated eight days successively. 

The Japanese burn their dead. If the deceased be a person of distinc¬ 
tion, all his friends and relations, dressed in mourning, repair to the place 
appointed for burning the corpse, about an hour before the 

Funeral so 1 r . , , , 

lemnities. funeral procession. I hey are preceded by several compa¬ 

nies of bonzes. The deceased, seated m a coffin, is carried by four men ; 
his head is somewhat inclined forwards, and his hands closed, as if in a 
praying posture. The spot where the body is burned is surrounded with 
four walls, covered with white cloth, the four gates only excepted, through 
which they are to enter. These gates front the four cardinal points of the 
compass. They dig a deep grave in the middle, which is filled with wood. 




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and on each side a table is placed, covered with all manner of provisions. 
On one of them stands a little chafing-dish, like a censer, full of live coals 
and sweet wood. As soon as the corpse is brought to the brink of the 
grave, they fasten a long cord to the coffin, which is made like a little bed 
for the deceased to lie on. After they have carried the little bed in form 
thrice round the grave, they lay it on the funeral pile, whilst the bonzes 
and relations of the deceased call incessantly on the name of his tutelary 
idol. After this, the superior bonze, that is, he who marched at the head 
of the procession, walks three times round the corpse with his lighted taper, 
waving it three times over his head, and pronouncing some mystic words, 
to the meaning of which the assistants themselve§ are perfect strangers. 
The last action denotes that the soul exists from all eternity, and will never 
cease to be; but this emblem seems forced and very obscure. After this 
he throws away his taper, and two of the nearest relations to the deceased 
taking it up, wave it thrice over the corpse, and then toss it into the grave 
But, according to Crasset, the bonze gives it to the youngest son of the de¬ 
ceased, who, after there has been a considerable quantity of oils, perfumes, 
and aromatic drugs poured into the grave, throws his torch into it. During 
the time that the body is consuming in the flames, the children, or nearest 
relations of the deceased, advance towards the censer that stands upon the 
table, put perfumes into it, and then worship and adore it. This ceremony 
being concluded, the friends and relations of the deceased withdraw, leaving 
none but the populace and the poor behind them, who either eat or carry 
home the entertainment provided for the deceased. 


SEC. X.—RELIGIOUS TENETS, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF 

THE THIBETIANS AND TARTARS. 

The name of the Grand Lama is given to the sovereign pontiff, or high- 
priest, of the Thibetian Tartars, who resides at Patoli, a vast palace on a 
mountain near the banks of Barampooter, about seven miles 
from Lahassa. The foot of this mountain is inhabited by 
twenty thousand lamas, or priests, who have their separate apartments 



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Grand Lama. 


around the mountain ; and, according to their respective qualities, are placed 
nearer, or at a greater distance from, the sovereign pontiff. He is not only 



worshipped by the Thibetians, but also is the great object of adoration for 
the various tribes of heathen Tartars who roam through the vast tract of 
continent which stretches from the banks of the Wolga to Correa, on the 
sea of Japan. He is not only the sovereign pontiff, the vicegerent of the 
Deity on earth, but the more remote Tartars are said to absolutely regard 
him as the Deity himself, and call him God, the everlasting Father of 
Heaven. They believe him to be immortal, and endowed with all know¬ 
ledge and virtue. Every year they come up frorj different parts to wor- 


r 






















































PAGAN NATIONS. 


721 



ship, and make rich offerings at his shrine. Even the emperor of China, 
who is a Manchou Tartar, does not fail in acknowledgments to him in his 
religious capacity; and he actually entertains, at a great expense in the 
palace of Pekin, an inferior Lama, deputed as his nuncio from Thibet. 
1 he Grand Lama, it has been said, is never to be seen but in a secret place 
of his palace, amidst a great number of lamps, sitting cross-legged on a 
cushion, and decked in every pari with gold and precious stones; where 
at a distance the people prostrate themselves before him, it not being lawful 
for any so much as to kiss his feet. He returns not the least sign of 
respect, nor ever speaks even to the greatest princes; but only lays his 
hand upon their heads, and they are fully persuaded they receive from 
thence a full forgiveness of all their sins. 

The Sunniasses, or Indian pilgrims, often visit Thibet as a holy place; 
and the Lama always entertains a body of two or three hundred in his pay. 
Besides his religious influence and authority, the Grand Lama is possessed 
of unlimited power throughout his dominions, which are very extensive. 
The inferior Lamas, who form the most numerous, as well as the most 
powerful body in the state, have the priesthood entirely in their hands; 
and, besides, fill up many monastic orders, which are held in great venera¬ 
tion among them. The whole country, like Italy, abounds with priests; 
and they entirely subsist on the great number of rich presents which are 
sent them from the utmost extent of Tartary, from the empire of the Great 
Mogul, and from almost all parts of the Indies. 

The opinion of those who are reputed the most Orthodox among the 
Thibetians is, that when the Grand Lama seems to die, either of old age or 
infirmity, his soul, in fact, only quits a crazy habitation, to look for another, 
younger or better; and it is discovered again in the body of some child by 
certain tokens, known only to the Lamas or priests, in which order he 
always appears. 

Almost all the nations of the East, except the Mohammedans, believe the 
metempsychosis as the most important article of their faith ; especially the 
inhabitants of Thibet and Ava, the Peguans, Siamese, the greatest part of 
the Chinese and Japanese, and the Monguls and Kalmucks, who changed 
the religion of Schamanism for the worship of the Grand Lama. Accord¬ 
ing to the doctrine of this metempsychosis, the soul is always in action, 
and never at rest: for no sooner does she leave her old habitation, than she 
enters a new one. The Dalay being a divine person, can find no better 
lodging than the body of his successor; or the Fo, residing in the Dalay 
Lama, which passes to his successor; and this being a god to whom all 
things are known, the Dalay Lama is therefore acquainted with every thing 
which happened during his residence in his former body. 

This religion is said to have been of three thousand years’ standing; and 
neither time, nor the influence of men, has had the power of shaking the 




































722 


TARTARS. 


authority of the Grand Lama. This theocracy extends as fully to temporal 
as to spiritual concerns. 

Though in the grand sovereignty of the Lamas, the temporal power has 
been occasionally separated from the spiritual by slight revolutions, they 
have always been united again after a time; so that in Thibet the whole con¬ 
stitution rests on the imperial pontificate in a manner elsewhere unknown. 
For as the Thibetians suppose the Grand Lama is animated by the god 
Shaka, or Fo, who at the decease of one Lama transmigrates into the next, 
and consecrates him an image of the divinity, the descending chain of 
Lamas is continued down from him in fixed degrees of sanctity: so that a 
more firmly established sacerdotal government, in doctrine, customs, and 
institutions, than actually reigns over this country, cannot be conceived. 
The supreme manager of temporal affairs is no more than the viceroy of 
the sovereign priest, who, conformable to the dictates of his religion, dwells 
in divine tranquillity in a building that is both temple and palace. If some 
of his votaries, in modern times, have dispensed with the adoration of his 
person, still certain real modifications of the Shaka religion is the only faith 
they profess, the only religion they follow. The state of sanctity which 
that religion inculcates, consists in monastic confidence, absence of thought, 
and the perfect repose of nonentity. 

To give as clear an account as possible of this religion, little more is 
required than to extract the ample account given of it in a description of 
Thibet, published in Green’s Collection of voyages, and re-published in 
Pinkerton. 

Friar Horace says, that in the main the religion of Thibet is the coun¬ 
terpart of the Romish. They believe in one God, and a trinity, but full of 

Creed of the errors 5 a paradise, hell, and purgatory, but full of errors 
Thibetians. also. They make suffrages, alms, prayers, and sacrifices foi 

the dead ; have a vast number of convents filled with monks and friars, 
amounting to thirty thousand; who, besides the three vows of poverty, obe¬ 
dience, and chastity, make several others. They have their confessors, 
who are chosen by their superiors, and receive their licenses from their 
Lama, as a bishop, without which they cannot hear confessions, or impose 
penances. They have the same form of hierarchy as in the Romish 
Church ; for they have their inferior Lamas, chosen by the Grand Lama, 
■who act as bishops in their respective diocesses, having under them simple 
Lamas, who are the religious. To these may be added, the use of holy 
w r ater, crosses, beads, and other matters. 

The chief object of worship in this country, is the same which in China 
is called Fo, but by the Lamas in Thibet, La. This prince, who was born 
one thousand and twenty-six years before Christ, and reigned in a part of 
India called Chantyencho, or as others say, Si-tyen, gave himself out to be 
God, assuming human flesh; and when he died, it was pretended, that ho 





















































































K ..> ' - 




PAGAN NATIONS. 


Titles of the 
Grand Lama. 


only withdrew for a while, and would appear again in a determinate time: 
ns he actually did, if the testimony of his devout disciples, the writings of 
the primitive fathers among them, and, in short, the tradition and authority 
of the whole church, from age to age, down to the present, are at all to be 
regarded in proof. And this imposture has been practised since as often 
as there has been occasion for it: so that the god La still lives, and is cor 
porally present in the person of the Dalay Lama. In which respect, the 
church of Thibet has infinitely the advantage of the Romish, inasmuch as 
the visible head of it is considered to be God himself, not his vicar, or 
deputy; and the incarnate deity, who is the object of divine worship, 
appears alive in human shape to receive the people’s adorations: not in the 
form of a senseless bit of bread, or playing at bo-peep in a diminutive wafer, 
which would be too gross a cheat to impose on the understandings of the Thi- 
betians, however ignorant and superstitious the missionaries represent them. 

The Great Lama, who, as we said before, is La, or Fo incarnate, is, 
according to Grueber, called in the country. Lama Konju, or the Eternal 
Father. He is also styled Dalay Lama. The same author 
says, in another letter, that Great Lama signifies the Great 
High Priest and Lama of Lamas; as he is also styled the High Priest 
of High Priests. These last titles regard only his office, or degree, in 
his ecclesiastical or religious capacity ; but with respect to his divine 
nature, or quality, which entitles him to be adored as God, they term him 
likewise the heavenly Father, ascribing to him all the attributes of the 
true deity; as, that he is omniscient, and that all things are open to his 
view, even the secrets of the heart. If, at any time, he asks questions, it is 
not, say they, for sake of information, but to remove the scruples of the 
incredulous and disaffected. They believe that Fo (or La) lives in him : 
hence those of his religion in China call him Ho-fo, or the living Fo. In 
consequence of this persuasion, he is held to be immortal, and that, when 
in appearance he dies, he only changes his abode; that he is born again in 
an entire body, and the happy place of his residence is revealed by certain 
pretended tokens, which the Tartarian nrinces themselves are obliged to 
learn of the other Lamas; who only know the child appointed by the pre¬ 
ceding Grand Lama to succeed him. 

To keep up this opinion of his immortality, the Lamas after his death 
seek, throughout the whole kingdom, for another person, as like unto him, 
in all respects, as may be, to supply his place; and thus he 
has undergone a new resurrection, or incarnation, seven times 
since his first appearance. Bernier relates the matter thus, as he had it 
from a Lama physician. When the great Lama is old, and ready to die, 
he assembles his council, and declares to them, that now he was passing 
into the body of a little child, lately born; that when this child, who was 
bred up with great care, was six or seven years of age, they (by way of 


His successor. 








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TARTARS. 


trial) laid before him a parcel of household goods mixed with his own, which 
yet he could distinguish from the rest: and this, he said, was a manifest 
proof of the transmigration. 

Grueber says, that this belief is propagated by the policy of their kings, 
and those who are in the secret of this cheat, in conjunction with the 
Lama Konju. The popish missionaries rail heavily at this imposture, 
calling it wicked and diabolical, as if besides transubstantiation, which is 
worse, they had no other impostures in their own religion. But it is done, 
doubtless, out of envy; because they have none which redounds so much 
to the honour and wealth of themselves. 


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Grueber says, the Great Lama sitteth in a remote apartment of his 


palace, adorned with gold and silver, and illuminated with lamps, in a lofty 
Homage paid to P^ ace like a couch, covered with costly tapestry. In ap- 




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him - proaching him, his votaries fall prostrate with their heads to 

the ground, and kiss him with incredible veneration. Thus, adds the 
Jesuit, hath the devil, through his innate malignity, transferred to the wor¬ 
ship of this people that veneration which is due only to the Pope of Rome, 
Christ’s vicar, in the same manner as he hath done all the other mysteries 
of the Christian religion. 

The same author further observes, that he always appears with his face 
covered; letting none see it but those who are in the secret: that he acts 




G 








his part extremely well, while the Lamas or priests, who are perpetually 


about him, attend him with great assiduity, and expound the oracles that 
are taken from his mouth. Here it must be noted, that Grueber learns all 
he writes concerning the Great Lama from the citizens of Barantola; for the 
missionaries could not see him, no Christian being admitted into his pre- 


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sence, nor, indeed, any body of a different religion, without adoring the 
pretended deity: however, they took an exact copy of his picture, as it was 
exposed to view in the entrance of the palace; to which they paid the same 
veneration as to himself in person. 


Bentink tells us, that at the foot of the high mountain near Putala, 



whereon the Dalay Lama resides, about twenty thousand Lamas dwell in 
several circles round it, according as the rank and dignities which they 
• possess render them more worthy to approach the person of their sove- 





possess 
ieign pontiff. 

According to the account transmitted by Regis the Grand Lama sits 
cross-legged on a kind of altar, with a large and magnificent cushion under 
him ; where he receives the compliments, or rather adorations, not only of 
his own subjects, but of prodigious multitudes of strangers; who make long 
journeys to offer him their homage, and obtain his blessing. Some even 
travel there from India, who never fail to enlarge before him upon their 
own merit, and magnify the sufferings they have undergone in their pain¬ 
ful pilgrimage. But next to the people of Thibet, the Tartars are most 













































PAGAN NATIONS. 



725 


devoted to the Grand Lama, some of whom resort to Lasa from the most 
distant corners. 

Princes are no more excused from this servile adoration than the mean¬ 
est of their subjects; nor do they meet with more respect from the Grand 
Lama, who never moves from his cushion, nor any other way returns the 
salute. He only lays his hand upon the head of the worshippers, who then 
think all their sins pardoned. The Lamas who drew the map observed, 
that in receiving the emperor’s ambassador, he did not kneel like the Tar¬ 
tar princes; but when he inquired after Kang-ki’s health, resting upon one 
hand, he only made a small motion, as if he intended to rise from his seat. 
He was at that time dressed in a red habit of woollen frieze, such as the 
common Lamas wear, with a yellow hat gilt. 

Grueber assures us that the grandees of the kingdom are very eager to 
procure the excrements of this divinity, which they usually wear about 
their necks as relics. In another place, he says that the Lamas make a 
great advantage by the large presents they receive for helping the grandees 
to some of his excrements, or urine; for by wearing the first about their 
necks, and mixing the latter with their victuals, they imagine themselves 
to be secure against all bodily infirmities. In confirmation of this, Ger- 
billion informs us, that the Mongols wear his excrements pulverized in 
little bags about their necks, as precious relics, capable of preserving 
them from all misfortunes, and curing them of all sorts of distempers. 
When this Jesuit was on his second journey into Western Tartary, a 
deputy from one of the principal Lamas offered the Emperor’s uncle 
a certain powder, contained in a little packet of very white paper, neatly 
wrapped up in a scarf of very white taffety: but that prince told him, that 
as it was not the custom of the Manchews to make use of such things, he 
durst not receive it. The author took this powder to be either some of 
the Great Lama’s excrements, or the ashes of something that had been 
used by him. 

Trophies are erected on the tops of the mountains in honour of the 
Great Lama, for the preservation of men and cattle. All the kings, who 
profess the religion of the Great Lama, before they are inaugurated, send 
ambassadors, with very rich presents, to crave his benediction, as a means 
to render their reigns happy. 

Formerly, the Dalay Lama was a mere spiritual prince; but he has 
now become a temporal one also, with a large patrimony; the Chian of the 
Eluths, who conquered it in the seventeenth century, 
Temporal power, mac j e h{ m a present of it, which is a much larger 

patrimony than that called St. Peter’s, usurped by the popes. Yet, for all 
this, Bentink informs us, that he does not meddle, in any sort, with the 
temporality of his dominions, or suffer any of his Lamas to meddle with 
it; hut puts all secular matters under the government of two Khans of the 
























































726 


TARTARS. 



Kalmucks, who are to furr.ish him with all things necessary for the main* 
tenance of his family. When he has any political affairs to transact, 
it is the Deva, (or Tipa, a sort of plenipotentiary,) who acts under his 
orders. 

The religion of the Great Lama seems to be more extended than any 
other in the world: for besides Thibet, which is its native seat, it has 

„ . 4 .,. spread itself over all the Indies, China, and Western Tar- 

Extent of this r 

religion, &c. tary, from one end to the other. It is true, the provinces of 
the Indies and China have, many ages ago, thrown off his jurisdiction, and 
set up chief priests of their own, who have modelled the religion of their 
respective countries according to their different fancies or interest. But 
Thibet, and the greater part of Tartary, are still subject to him in spirituals. 
The better to govern this vast dominion, he constitutes deputies, or vicars, 
to officiate in his stead. These are called Hutuktus, or Khutuktus; which, 
according to Regis, are chosen from among the disciples of the Great 
Lama. It is esteemed a real happiness to be admitted into the number of 
these last, which never exceeds two hundred ; and they on whom the 
honour of Hutuktu is conferred are considered as so many lesser Fos ; they 
are neither confined to the pagods, nor limited to Thibet, but settle where 
they please ; and soon acquire great riches, by the offerings of their nume¬ 
rous worshippers. One of them who resided among the Kalka Mongols, 
about the beginning of the last century, set up for himself, in opposition to 
his master, assuming ail the privileges and powers which the Grand Lama 
pretends to; and, in all likelihood, others from time to time will follow his 
example. 

For keeping up discipline and order in ecclesiastical matters, there is a 
kind of hierarchy in Thibet, consisting of church officers, answering to the 
archbishops, bishops, and priests. They have also their priors, abbots, and 
abbesses, superiors, provincials, or such-like degrees, for ordering what 
concerns the regular clergy. The Lamas, or priests, who preside over the 
temples throughout the country, are sent from the college of the Lama’s dis¬ 
ciples before mentioned. The other Lamas officiate as assistants at divine 
service in the churches and monasteries; or go abroad on the mission into 
foreign countries. 

Regis says, the Lamas generally wear a woollen frieze like ours, but nar¬ 
rower, and not so close; yet it is lasting, and retains its colour. They use, 
besides the hat, different kinds of bonnets, according to their several digni¬ 
ties ; one of which is somewhat remarkable, as it resembles our bishops’ 
mitres, but they wear the slit before. 

The Great Lama’s colour is red; but as the emperor of China has gained 
some footing in Thibet, those of his party, as w r ell as all the Mongol and 
Kalka Lamas, wear yellow. Bentink, speaking of these latter, observes, 
that they go habited in long yellow robes, with great sleeves, which they 



















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


r 27 



SiV 



bind about their waist with a girdle of the same colour, two fingers broad. 
They have the head and beard shaved very close, and wear yellow hats. 
They always carry a great pair of beads of coral, or yellow amber, in their 
hands, which they turn incessantly between their fingers, saying prayers 
to themselves after their manner. The nuns wear very nearly the same 
dress, excepting that they wear bonnets edged with fur, instead of hats, 
which the Lamas wear. 

There are several princes in Thibet, who assume the Lama habit, and, 
under the titles of the Grand Lama’s principal officers, act almost inde¬ 
pendently of him. The dignity of Lama is not limited to the natives of 
Thibet alone. The Tartars and Chinese, who are equally ambitious of 
this honour, go to Lassa to obtain it. 

The multitude of Lamas in Thibet is incredible, hardly a family being 
without one, either out of their devotion, or expectations of preferment in 
the Grand Lama’s service. The rules of the Lamas are too many and bur¬ 
densome to be observed by one Lama; therefore they divide the load 
among them, one confining himself to this particular duty, and another to 
that; but they are all obliged to conform to celibacy, as well as to renounce 
worldly grandeur and employments. 

As to their character, if you will take it from their greatest adversaries, 
the missionaries, most of them are debauched ; yet they govern princes, 
who offer them the chief place in assemblies, and are blindly followed by 
their votaries, who give them the best of what they have. Some of them 
are tolerably skilled in medicine; others have some notion of astronomy, 
and can calculate eclipses. Bernier met with one of these Lama physi¬ 
cians at Kashmir, who came in the train of an ambassador from Great 
Thibet. He had with him a book of recipes, which he would by no means 
part with. 

The religion of the Chinese and Russian Tartar tribes is a mixture of 
Lamaism, Islamism, and Gentooism, partaking, in some cases, also of a 
Chinese and resemblance of the corruptions of the Greek and Roman 
tJibe S « an lanar churches. The idolatrous tribes principally follow the wor¬ 
ship of the Grand Lama; but even a grosser species of idolatry is followed 
by some of the Tartars, particularly some of the Cossacks, who inhabit the 
borders of China. 

Some of them are the grossest idolaters, and worship little rude images, 
which generally consist of a small bit of wood a few inches in length; the 
upper part is rounded off, and adorned with some rude marks to resemble 
the human features, and being thus prepared, the figure is dressed up in 
rags. In fine weather and prosperous seasons, they caress these ragged 
deities, but are apt to treat them very roughly when the contrary happens. 

Others of the Tartars profess a belief in the existence of one supreme 
God. the creator of all things, who has divided the government of the 






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world, and the destiny of men, among a great number of subaltern divini¬ 
ties, who are left to act according to their own pleasure, and consequently (D 
whose favour it is necessary to obtain by special acts of homage and 
attention. 

It is the custom among some of the Tartar nations to burn their dead, 
and inter their ashes on an eminence, upon which they raise a heap of 
stones, and place on it little banners; but the greater part of the Pagan 
Tartars bury their dead, and with each man his best horse and movables, 
for his use in the other world. Others, however, throw their dead into 
open fields, to be devoured by the dogs, of which many run wild, and some 
are kept for this purpose. If the bodies are thus devoured by any number 
exceeding six, they think honourably of the deceased ; otherwise he is a 
disgrace to his relations. 

On some of the skirts of the villages are seen tombs, which are larger j ' 
and better built than the houses: each of them encloses three, four, or five 
biers, of a neat workmanship, ornamented with Chinese stuffs, some pieces 
of which are brocade. Bows, arrows, lines, and, in general, the most 
valuable articles belonging to these people, are suspended in the interior of 
the monuments, the wooden door of which is closed with a bar, supported 
at its extremities by two props. 

Although no external distinction seems to exist between the living inha¬ 
bitants, yet the same cannot be said of the dead, whose ashes repose in a 
style of greater or less magnificence, according to their wealth ; it is pro¬ 
bable that the labour of a long life would scarcely defray the expense of 
one of these sumptuous mausolea; which, however, bear no comparison 




(gfa) 


with the monuments of more civilized people. The bodies of the poorest 


supported by stakes. They all appear to hold their dead in great vene¬ 
ration, and to employ the whole of their industry and ingenuity in procur¬ 
ing them an honourable burial. They are interred with their clothes on, 
and the arms and implements that they made use of when alive; and it 
would probably be esteemed sacrilege to take any of these away. 

The Mongols on the frontiers of China have built several temples in the 
countries which they inhabit: one of these is near the river Tchikoi. It 
was formerly their principal temple, and the Lama who offi¬ 
ciated there had the superintendence of all the others. There 




The Mongols. 


is another spacious edifice of this kind, twenty-five wersts from the town 
of Selinginsk, to the south-west of the lake of Kulling Noor, which pos¬ 
sesses the supremacy over four others. 


The Bouraits and Bourettes , of Mongol origin, were not known till the 


The Bouraits. 


17th century, the period of the conquest of the west part of 
Siberia by the Russians. They also reside on the frontiers 
of China, in the government of Irkutzk, along the Angara and the Lena, 


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PAGAN NATIONS. 



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to the south of Lake Baikal, and in Daouria. Their number is estimated 
at ninety-three thousand. Still attached to a roving life, they have no other 
habitations than huts made with poles, and covered with pieces of felt tied 
with hair ropes. The fire occupies the centre. The huts of each family 
form a small village. Their furniture is very simple : broad benches serve 
for a bed, they have a pillow of hair or feathers, under which they put 
the casket containing their most valuable effects. 

The religion of the Bouraits is a mixture of Lamaism and Shamanism. 




5 J (pi 


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In their huts they have wooden idols, naked or clothed; others are of felt, 
tin, or lamb’s-skin ; and others again rude daubings with soot by the Sha¬ 
mans, who give them arbitrary names. The women are not allowed to 
k approach or to pass before them. The Bourait, when he goes out, or 
returns to his hut, bows to his idols, and this is almost the only daily mark 
of respect he pays them. He annually celebrates two festivals in honour 
of them, and at these men only have a right to be present. The priests 
preside at a sacrifice: a sheep is commonly chosen for the victim, which 
they slaughter by ripping open the belly; the heart is then taken out, 
and the Shaman places a small flock of wool cut from the back in the 
lungs, which ceremony is designed to preserve the other sheep from all 
kinds of diseases. The flesh is afterwards separated from the bones, 
dressed, and set before the idols, where it is left the whole time the Sha¬ 
man is singing. When he has finished, he repeats fresh prayers, with 
abundance of ceremonies, throwing into the fire four spoonfuls of broth, 
and as many small pieces of meat; the rest is distributed among the com¬ 
pany. Before he dismisses the assembly, the priests set up a flesh song, 
much more obstreperous than the first, accompanied with shivering, leap¬ 
ing, and howling, pronouncing the names of different demons, which makes 
the Bouraits believe that he is cursing them, and will thereby prevent those 
spirits from injuring them or their herds. Particular sacrifices take place 
on occasion of a journey, sickness, or accident. 

THE JUKOGAIES AND THE JUKUTZES. 

The Jukogaies, who are inhabitants of the parts adjacent to Lena, pay 
divine honours to their dead, after they have hung up and dried their 
skeletons in the air, and adorned them with necklaces made of glass. The 
Jukutzes seem to acknowledge the existence of a god, who is their creator 
and preserver, and the all-wise disposer of good and evil. They have an 
annual festival, which they celebrate every spring with a great degree of 
solemnity—that is, by kindling a large bonfire, which must be kept up as 
long as the festival lasts, and abstaining the whole time from all kinds of 
liquors, they being destined only for libations, which consist in pouring 
their common drink eastward into the fire. In this ceremony there seems 
to be a kind of religious adoration paid to that element. 


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TARTARS. 


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CALMONES-BARABINSKI. 

— • ! 

There are some Calmones-Barabinski, who have a clumsy wooden idol 
for their god, dressed like a merry-andrew, in a party-coloured coat. This 
idol is locked up in a cabinet, when they are indolent and inactive at home; 
but they take it along with them when they go hunting or coursing in the 
fields. On those public occasions he is carried in procession in an open 
chariot, which is kept for such particular purposes, and the first beast 
which is met with is sacrificed to his honour. If the chase has proved 
successful, the idol, at their return, is placed in his niche at the very sum¬ 
mit of a hut, which is adorned from top to bottom, before, behind, and on 
each side, with marten-skins and sable-skins, the spoils of the chase; and 
these hang there till the weather perfectly destroys them. It would be 
looked upon as a profanation, and an act of sacrilege, to make use of them 
on any common occasion, or sell them to strangers, who might employ them 
to their own use. 

THE TUNGUSES. 

The Tunguses, who are inhabitants of almost all the eastern parts of 
Siberia, practise the same kind of idolatrous worship. They acknowledge 
a god, who is called Sahamman, the creator of all things; but they never 
make their applications to him in times of distress, whether public or pri¬ 
vate ; but they pay their devotions to some particular wooden idols, of about 
a foot and a half long, carved only with a knife, which are treated with 
veneration or contempt, accordingly as they give their adorers occasion 
either to expostulate with or applaud them. 

THE WOGULTZES. 






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The Wogultzes, as well as the Tunguses, entertain some idea of a god, 
who created all things. They acknowledge, likewise, the resurrection of 
the dead, and believe that the wicked will then be punished, and the right¬ 
eous be rewarded. Their public worship consists in assembling once a 
year, about autumn, to sacrifice in an adjacent wood one beast of every 
species. After which they hang up their skins on the most beautiful trees 
in the forest, and prostrate themselves before them. This annual festival ) 
concludes with regaling themselves on the flesh of their sacrifices; after 
which they return home, and think themselves discharged from all religious 
duties for the current year. 

THE CIRCASSIAN TARTARS. 

The Circassian Tartars are reckoned as Mohammedans and Greeks, there 
being several of both those persuasions among them; idolatry, neverthe¬ 
less, has a prevailing power over them.. When any person of distinction ° 





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PAGAN NATIONS. 


among them dies, they sacrifice a he-goat, hang up his skin upon a high 
pole in the middle of the town, and come one after another to pay it divine 
adoration. This skin is never taken down till some other person of dis¬ 
tinction dies; and then they put a fresh one in its place. John de Luca, 
in his account, informs us that they sacrifice rams, and call those victims 
Curbans; and, moreover, that the places where the sacrifices are made 
are deemed so sacred, that the most determined thief among them will 
never venture to touch the least thing that is carried to them. He adds 
likewise, “ that there are bows, arrows, and scimitars hung on the trees 
in these sacred places, as public testimonies that they have performed their 


vows. 


THE OSTIACS. 

The Ostiacs, who inhabit the southern parts of the Samoides, from the 
Irtis and Oby to the river Jenitzea, have likewise two sorts of idols; so 
that in all probability it is a received custom all over Tartary. This, on 
the whole, does not differ from the practice of all other known idolaters, 
who never fail to add to their public gods their lares and guardian deities. 
Their public idols are, for the most part, placed on the top of the most 
agreeable mountains they can find, or in the middle of their forests, in 
small wooden huts, with commodious apartments contiguous to them, in 
which they deposit the bones of those beasts which have been sacrificed 
in honour of those idols. They have no stated days nor hours for the 
regular performance of their sacrifices. They only supplicate their gods 
when they stand in need of their assistance; but the priests, indeed, use 
their utmost endeavours to make the people shake off this shameful indif¬ 
ference. These priests have no regular call or ordination ; every ancient 
housekeeper having sufficient authority of his own to exercise the priest-' 
hood. And, accordingly, the worship of their public idols is somewhat 
more regular, as it is instituted by an authority more ancient and better 
known. They are peculiarly fond of these idols, and the good old men 
recommend them to their children. Their sacrifices consist in the fat of 
fish, and in beasts of various kinds. The victim is exposed in the pre¬ 
sence of the gods, with its legs tied, and after that the celebrant, or officiat¬ 
ing priest, lays before them, in the warmest terms, the petitions of their 
humble supplicants. During this kind of prayer, one of the assistants 
stands with his bow levelled at the victim, and as soon as the priest has 
concluded, and struck the beast upon the head, he discharges his arrow, 
and another thrusts a stake through its body. After this they take it by 
the tail, and drag it along three times into the presence of the idol. The 
blood is preserved in a vessel consecrated for that particular purpose, some 
part of which is used in sprinkling the hut of the idol; another partis 
drunk amono- them, and the mouth of the idol is besmeared with the 








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remainder. It is almost a universal custom among the Tartars to hang up 
the head, feet, tail, and skin, of the victim upon some particular trees; to 
regale themselves with the flesh, and to sing before and after their solemn 
entertainment. After this they rub the mouth of the idol a second time 
with the remaining fat of the sacrifice. They frequently pay the same 
deference and respect even to their domestic idols. The ceremony being 
over, the whole assembly shout for joy, and wave their sticks in the air, 
in honour of the soul of their idol, which, according to their notion, returns 
home after she has assisted at her own festival; from which it is plain and 
manifest, that however savage and stupid they are represented to be, they 
are not so senseless as to imagine that a stock or stone is absolutely the 
object which they ought to adore. The bear has likewise some part in 
their divine worship. As soon as they have killed the creature, they pull 
off its skin, and hang it, in the presence of their idol, upon a very high 
tree; they afterwards revere it, and excuse themselves with doleful lamen¬ 
tations, as if they repented of the impious deed. They ridiculously plead 
that it was the arrow, and not they who gave the fatal wound, and that the fvj (£5 . 
feathers added wings to its unhappy flight. This extravagance is grounded 
on a received notion among them, that the soul of this beast roving about & > V 
the woods, from one side to the other, will take the first opportunity of gra¬ 
tifying his resentment, in case they do not take timely care to appease its 
wrath, and make it some suitable reparation. 

By the description of the idols of the Ostiacs, we may plainly discern if 
that they bear some affinity to the Talismans ; and it is very probable that '/' 


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the infinite number of ancient idols in general owe their rise to the Tabs- 


mans, unless we should be more inclined to believe that the Talismans 
themselves were originally idols. One of the idols of the Ostiacs was a 


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Vji 'brazen goose, with her wings extended, whose peculiar province it was to 
take care of their geese and ducks, and to protect them from all disasters. 
Another very remarkable idol is that which travellers have described under 
the denomination of the Old Man of Oby. His devotees oblige him to 
-i change his place of residence once every three years, and transport him 
seif 





over the Oby, from one place to another, with a great degree of solern- 
| nity, in a vessel made for that particular purpose. This Old Man of Oby 
is the guardian of their fishery. He is composed of wood; his nose, 

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which resembles a hog’s snout, has an iron hook in it, to denote that he & 
drags the fish out of the sea into the Oby. His eyes are made of glass, 
and his head is embellished with a pair of short horns. When the ice 
dissolves, and the river overflows its banks, the Ostiacs flock to him in a 
body, to make their joint requests that he will prove propitious to their fish¬ 
ery ; but if the season do not answer their expectations, they load him with a 
thousand reproaches, and insult him in the most shameful manner; but, on 
the other hand, if they prove successful, the god, by way of retaliation, is 





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PAGAN NATIONS 


allowed his share of the booty. He has the very first-fruits of their labour; 
for before they presume to touch one dish themselves at their general feast, 
they rub his snout with some of the choicest fat. After their entertainment 
is over, they conduct the soul of the god back again, by beating the air 
with their cudgels. But, on the contrary, if the season have proved bad, 
or if they have met with any disappointments, they not only revile him, 
but they strip him naked, whip him, and throw him into the dirt, as an 
old, impotent, despicable deity. 


THE SAMOIDES. 

In regard to the Samoides, they are idolaters, as well as the Ostiacs, 
but much more savage and unpolished. They adore the sun and the 
moon, to which they add some idols, wrought in such an artless manner 
that it would be scarcely imagined they had any intention to resemble the 
human species. These idols are either kept in their proper huts, or some¬ 
where near them, or hung upon their choicest trees. They acknowledge, 
according to De Bruyn, one Supreme Being called Heya. 










































































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TARTARS. 


THEIR PRIESTS, THEIR NUPTIAL CEREMONIES AND FUNERAL SOLEMNITIES. 

The Lamas, who are regular priests of the greatest part of Tartary, have 
their heads as well as their beards shaved ; nor are these the only charac¬ 
teristics or marks of their dignity; for they wear a kind of yellow hat, and 
a yellow gown, with long sleeves, which they tie with a girdle of the same 
colour. In their hands they carry a yellow chaplet, which they are per¬ 
petually turning over, because, according to their rules, they ought to pray 
without ceasing. According to the same laws, they ought to live in a state 
of celibacy, and devote themselves to the constant practice of all good works. 
There are nuns of this order of lamas, who are subject to the same laws 
and obliged to observe the same vow. The priests of the Tunguses have a 
principal, or superior, whom they call Schamman, and devote themselves 
wholly to the study and practice of the black art, whereas the lamas know 
little or nothing of it. The schamman, in the exercise of his magical opera¬ 
tions, observes the following method:—After he has gone through his pre¬ 
liminary penances, he puts on a kind of robe, or covering, composed of 
divers pieces of old iron, some in the form of birds, others in that of beasts 
and fishes; and all are hung together by rings of the same metal. He puts 
on stockings made of the same materials, and gloves likewise of the same 
sort, made in the fashion of a bear’s paws. He puts iron horns likewise 
upon his head. Thus equipped, he takes a drum in one hand, and a little 
wand, embellished with the skins of mice, in the other; leaps and capers 
about, crossing his legs sometimes this way, and sometimes that; observing 
at the same time the tune, and accompanying it with most hideous outcries. 
In all these movements his eyes are steadfastly fixed on a hole at the top 
of his hut, and as soon as ever he discerns a blackbird, which, as is pre¬ 
tended, perches on the roof, and vanishes in a moment, he falls upon the 
ground in a kind of trance, and continues for about a quarter of an hour 
entirely deprived, to outward appearance, of all sense and reason. When 
he comes to himself, he resolves the queries of those who consult him. 

The priests of the Samoides, who are likewise magicians, when any one 
consults them, put a rope round their necks, and tie it so tightly that they 
fall down as if they were dead. When they foretell any future event, the 
blood gushes out of some part of their faces, and stops again as soon as 
they have finished their prediction. It appears that there is no material 
difference between these people and the schammans and other priests of 
the Tartars. 

THEIR OATHS. 

When any one is to take a solemn oath among the Bouraits, they carry 
the party to a high mountain, and there make him swear, with an audible 
voice, assuring him, at the time, that if he prove perjured he will never get 
down again alive. 







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PAGAN NATIONS 


The Ostiacs display all their instruments of war before the party who 
takes the oath, to intimate that if he forswear himself, one of those particu¬ 
lar weapons will infallibly in a few days be the instrument of his absolute 
destruction. The Tunguses clear themselves of any crime laid to their 
charge by the death of a dog; thrusting a knife into his left thigh, and cut¬ 
ting him open to the very mouth. After this they suck up every drop of 
his blood. The Ostiac takes his oath upon a bear’s skin, spread upon tha 
ground, on which are laid a hatchet, a knife, and a piece of bread, which 
is tendered to him. Before he eats, he declares all he knows relating to 
the matter in question, and confirms the truth of his evidence by this solemn 
imprecation:—May the bear tear me to pieces, this piece of bread choke 
me, this knife be my death, and this hatchet sever my head from my body, 
if —&c. In dubious cases, they present themselves before an idol, and 
pronounce the same oath, with this additional circumstance, that he who 
takes the oath cuts off a piece of the idol’s nose with his knife, saying,— 
If I forswear myself, mav this knife cut off my own nose in the same 
manner, &c. 


respect to the degrees of consanguinity in their marriage engagements. 
They make no scruple of cohabiting even with their mothers. The issue 
of such incestuous matches are looked on as legitimate, and have a right 
of inheritance as well as any others; but in case they be the children of a 
chan, or some other person of distinction, he u'ho is born in honourable 
wedlock obtains the preference. They take particular care to find out 
young wives; for after they are forty years of age, they look upon them 
only as governants of their families, or even simply as their domestics. 

The other Tartars are as regardless of the degrees of consanguinity as 
those we have already described. Some of the most conscientious, indeed, 
will never marry either their mothers-in-law or their sisters; but the 


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TARTARS 


contract, surrenders his daughter to his son-in-law, and at the same time 
recommends them to a happy union, as the fundamental article of wed¬ 
lock. What the Ostiacs mean by that expression is a nice point to deter 
mine. 

The Ostiac, as a trial of his wife’s honour, cuts a handful of hair off a 
bear’s skin, and presents it to her. If she be virtuous, she accepts of the 
offer without the least reluctance ; but if she be conscious of her own 
inconstancy, she ingenuously refuses to touch it; whereupon her husband 
immediately puts her away; and that is all the ill consequence that 
attends her illegal amours. Besides, she has the liberty to marry whom 
she pleases after such separation. This ingenuous confession of their 
wives is owing to their dread of being torn to pieces by the paws of the 
very bear, the hairs of whose hide are made use of as an expedient to prove 
their chastity or falsehood. This bear, according to their notion, revives at 
the expiration of three years, in order to devour the bride who is perjured 
and inconstant 


FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 

The mourning of children for their parents, among the Tartars, consists 
generally in weeping over them for several days successively; and during 
all that time they are obliged to abstain from all manner of amusements, 
and from the society of women for several months. The child must inter 
his father or mother with all the funeral pomp and solemnity of which his 
circumstances will admit, and pay his annual respects to their respective 
tombs, which must be attended not only with tears, but loud lamentations. 
These people, as well as the Indians, Chinese, &c., make provision for 
their dead, and supply them with variety of apparel. The Tunguses 
hang their dead upon some particular trees, and there leave them till they 
have nothing but skin and bone remaining; then tney inter them. The 
Jukogaies,- likewise, hang up their deceased relations in the very same 
manner, and when their skeletons are perfectly dry, adorn them with coral 
and little pieces of painted glass. Afterwards they carry them in solemn 
procession round their houses, and revere them as idols. 

The Ostiacs either bury their dead, or hide both them and their bows, 
arrows, implements of household, and provisions, in the snow, from the 
very same principle which actuates others, who are habituated to these 
customs. A widow, to testify her unfeigned sorrow for the loss of her 
dearly beloved husband, takes an idol, dresses it up in the good man’s 
clothes, lays it in the bed with her, and affects to have it always before 
ner eyes, in order to aggravate her grief, and bring her departed husband 
to her remembrance. The widows of the Ostiacs kiss the idols of their 
deceased husbands, and honour them as partners of their beds during a 
whole year, and then they are looked upon, as encumbrances, and thrown 



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PAGAN NATIONS 


neglected into some corner of the house; no more mention is then 
made of their old bedfellows, for the time of their mourning is then ac¬ 
complished. 

The Samoides hang their deceased infants, who have not attained the 
age of one year, upon trees; but they inter between two boards those who 
are of a more advanced age. They drown or otherwise make away with 
those relations who are superannuated, infirm, and who have become a 
burden to themselves and all about them. Near the place where they 
bury their dead, they hang up their fire-arms, their hatchets, their ham¬ 
mers, and, in short, all the other implements which they made use of 
during their lives. 

All these people in general acknowledge the doctrine of the metempsy¬ 
chosis, but in two different acceptations. Some are of opinion, that the 
very souls transmigrate from one body into another; others, that there is 
no other transmigration than that of the operations and faculties belonging 
to the soul of the deceased. These last, in all probability, imagine, that 
there is only an emanation of virtues, because they confound the body and 
the soul together. 


SEC. XI—RELIGIOUS DOCTRINES, CEREMONIES, AND CUSTOMS OF 

THE HINDOOS. 

The most singular people on the globe, in respect to religion, are doubt¬ 
less the Hindoos, or the inhabitants of Hindostan, a country in Asia, 
General view of bounded S. E. by the Coromandel coast and Bay of Bengal, 
Hindoos. and extending north to the boundary of Cashmere, begin¬ 

ning in Lat. 8°, and running to 35° N., near 2000 miles in length. 

Of the great antiquity of this people, and of the permanency of their 
religion and customs, there appear no reasonable grounds to doubt. In 
almost every respect, these are the same now as they were 
in the most ancient periods of the history of India, of which 
we possess the most faint knowledge. It is supposed, however, by many 
authors, that the religion of Boodha,* which still remains in the Burman 
empire, Ceylon, &c., was, in very remote times, the prevalent religion of 
Hindostan. At present, it is the Brahminical. Brahma, or Brama, the 
creating power; Vishnu, the preserver; and Siva, the 
destroyer, are their three greatest deities. Since the crea¬ 
tion of the world, however, Brahma interests himself little with mundane 
affairs. He is regarded as the father of legislators; since from his ten 
sons all science and laws proceeded, while he himself was the author of 
the Vedas, or sacred books. Of his sons, Menou is the most celebrated. 
From him the Hindoos derive the institutes which bear his name. Brahma 


* This word is spelt differently by different authors. 



































































HINDOOS. 


is represented with four hands, and a crown on his head. The image of 
the flamingo, on the wings of which he is supposed to fly, is constantly 
placed near the statue in the temple. His wife, whose name is Seraswatee, 
is regarded as the patroness of learning. Vishnu, whose province it is to 
preserve and protect mankind, is represented as constantly attended by an 
eagle, or large brown kite, and as having four hands and a number of heads, 
emblematical of his omniscience and omnipotence. He is said to have 
passed through different bodily existences, in all of which he destroyed the 
enemies of the human race. His wife, or female favorite, is Sree, the 
goddess of fortune and plenty. Siva is worshipped not only as a destroyer, 
but also as a re-producer. His principal characters are Budra, Iswara, and 
Mahadeo. As the first, he is cruel; as the second, he is worshipped as 
V the lord of all; and under the third name, he is known in the mountainous 
' parts of India. He is a great favorite with the common people. He is 
° generally represented with only one head; the number of his hands varies 
from four to thirty-two. Bound his neck there are strung a number of 
human skulls. His hat is the skin of the tiger or elephant. His wife, 
Parvaty, is the goddess of time and the punisher of evil-doers. Besides 
these great deities, there is a number of inferior ones, the principal of whom 
are those who preside over death and hell; the gods of fire, of medicine, 
of the wind, and of the atmosphere. Ganesa, whom Sir William Jones 
justly compares to Janus, is invoked the first, by the Brahmins, in all sacri¬ 
fices. His name, and that of Seraswatee, appear at the beginning of all 
writings; and his statue is placed on roads, and at the boundaries of vil¬ 
lages, &c. There are two great sects among the Hindoos; the worshippers 
of Vishnu, and those of Siva. Formerly the worship of the former appears 
to have predominated on the Coromandel coast, while on the opposite coast, 
especially in the neighborhood of Bombay, that of Siva prevailed. The 
followers of Vishnu distinguished themselves by painting their faces with 
a horizontal line; the followers of Siva draw a perpendicular line. The 
gopee chunden, a white clay, taken from a holy tank near Positra in Guze- 
rat, and chalk from the vicinity of the celebrated temple of Dwaraos, in the 
same province, are used for this purpose, as well as distinguishing the dif¬ 
ferent castes. There is, however, very little difference in point of religion 
between these or any other Hindoo sects. 

Vishnu is believed to have undergone nine avatars, or incarnations; the 
' : imost celebrated is the eighth, when he appeared as Krishna, and by his 
. victories obliged the Hindoos to substitute the offering of images instead 
human sacrifices, and milk for blood. A more particular account of 
these incarnations will be given. The tenth incarnation of Vishnu has not 


, yet taken place. The religion of the Hindoos is contained in their sacred 
1 \\books, called Vedas, the divine authority of which, however, is rejected 


>y the Jains in the south of India,—a sect who differ in some important 
































































PAGAN NATIONS 


tenets irom those who tollow the Brahminicai religion. All the Hindoo 
sects believe in the immortality of the soul, transmigration, and a future 
state of rewards and punishments; but their faith in these important points 
is intermixed and debased by the most absurd legendary tales and mystical 
allegories. 

Having presented our readers with the foregoing general view of the reli¬ 
gious system of the Hindoos, we shall proceed to such details in respect 
to their religious ceremonies and customs as our limits permit; observing, 
however, that such as would desire a full account of the various supersti¬ 
tious opinions and practices of this extraordinary people, may consult the 
ample account given by Dr. Ward, in his “View of the History, Litera¬ 
ture, and Religion of the Hindoos.” 

The first objects of worship among the Hindoos are supposed to have 
been fire, air, water, earth, and space, together with the heavenly bodies 
and aerial beings. But as such a system of mythology could 

































































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HINDOOS. 


of Doorga,) the wagtail, the peacock, the goose, and the owl; but the ho¬ 
nours they receive are not of the highest kind. 

4. Worship of Trees. —The Hindoos do not seem ever to have conse¬ 
crated groves, but several trees they esteem sacred. Toolusee, a female 
raised to deity by Vishnoo, was cursed by Lukshmee, his wife, in a fit of 
jealousy, and turned into a tree of his name ; which the Hindoos preserve 
with great care near their houses, and erect pillars to its honour. The 
heads of these pillars, which commonly open like a cup, are filled with 
earth, and the plant is placed in them. Its leaves and wood are esteemed 
sacred; and with the latter they make their beads, with which they repeat 
the names of their guardian deities. Several other trees receive almost 
an equal homage. It is considered as a great sin among the Hindoos for 
any member of a family to cut down trees planted by an ancestor; and 
the misfortunes of many a family have been ascribed to such an act of 
indiscretion. 

5. River Worship. —The Hindoos not only reverence their rivers, but 
actually worship them, dividing them into male and female deities. But 
Gunga, (the Ganges,) both in their poems, their Pooranus, and in the 
superstitious customs of the natives, appears to rank highest among the 
river deities. She is declared to have descended from Vishnoo’s heaven; 
an anniversary of which event is celebrated by particular festivities. The 
most extravagant things are related in the Pooranus respecting the purify¬ 
ing nature of these waters; and several works have been written to extol 
the saving properties of the Ganges. Its waters are carried to immense 
distances; every thing they touch becomes purified; crowds of Hindoos 
perform their worship on the river, daily, after purifying themselves in 
the stream; the sick are laid on its banks, expecting recovery from the 
mere sight of this goddess; and it is reckoned a great calamity not to die 
within sight of Gunga. Many other rivers receive the honours of divine 
worship. 

6. Worship of Fish. —Even the finny tribes are honoured by the Hin¬ 
doos, though the worship paid to them is of an inferior sort. 

7. The Worship of Books is very common among this people. The 
lower orders have such a profound respect for a book, that they think every 
thing in such a form must be divine. On several occasions a book is con¬ 
verted into an image, and worshipped with all the form used before the 
most popular idol. 

8. Worship of Stones. —The Shalugramu, as a form of Vishnoo, is more 
frequently worshipped than any other idol in India, not excepting the 
Lingu itself; which, perhaps, ought to be placed next, and which is also a 
stone. The representatives of Punchanunu and other gods are shapeless 
stones. Many images of idols sold in the markets are made of stone, and 
worshipped. 




















































































PAGAN NATIONS 


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Festivals. 


9. ./? Zog- o/' Wood. —The pedal with which rice is cleansed from the 
husk has also been raised to godship by the Hindoos. 

1 he festivals of the Hindoos are numerous. Our limits will permit us to i 
notice only the following; namely, the festival in honour of 
the god Siva, and the festival of Juggernaut. 

In the month of Choitru, an abominable festival is celebrated in honour 
of Siva, which is thus described by Mr. Ward :—“ In the year 1806 I went 

Festiva of Siva t0 ^ a ^ ee §^ atu » company with two or three friends, to 
witness these practices; at which place we arrived about five 
o clock in the morning. We overtook numerous companies who were pro¬ 
ceeding thither, having with them drums and other instruments of music; x 
also spits, canes, and different articles to pierce their tongues and sides. 
Some with tinkling rings on their ankles were dancing and exhibiting 
indecent gestures as they passed along, while others rent the air with j 
the sounds of their filthy songs. As we entered the village where the 
temple of this great goddess is situated, the crowds were so great that we 
could with difficulty get our vehicles along, and at last were completely 
blocked up. We then alighted, and went among the crowd. But who can 
describe a scene like this ? Here, men of all ages, who intended to have 
their tongues pierced, or their sides bored, were buying garlands of flowers 
to hang round their necks, or tie round their heads; there, others were 
carrying their offerings to the goddess: above the heads of the crowd were 
seen nothing but the feathers belonging to the great drums, and the instru¬ 
ments of torture which each victim was carrying in his hand. These 
wretched slaves of superstition were distinguished from others by the quan¬ 
tity of oil rubbed on their bodies, and by streaks and dots of mud all over 
them : some of the chief men belonging to each company were covered 
with ashes, or dressed in a most fantastic manner, like the fool among 
mountebanks. For the sake of low sport, some were dressed as English¬ 
women ; and others had on a hat, to excite the crowd to laugh at Euro¬ 
peans. As soon as we could force our way, we proceeded to the temple 
of Kalee, where the crowd, inflamed to madness, almost trampled upon 
one another, to obtain a sight of the idol. We went up to the door-way, 
when a Bramin, who was one of the owners of the idol, addressed one of 
my companions in broken English: “Money—money—for black mother.’ 

My friend, not much liking the looks of his black mother, declared he 
should give her nothing. From this spot we w T ent into the temple yard* 
where two or three blacksmiths had begun the work of piercing the 
tongues and boring the sides of these infatuated disciples of Shivu, or Siva. 
The first man seemed reluctant to hold out his tongue; but the black¬ 
smith, rubbing it with something like flour, and having a piece of cloth 
betwixt his fingers, laid firm hold, dragged it out, and, placing his lancet 
under it in the middle, pierced it through, and let the fellow go. The nexfe 


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HINDOOS. 


person whose tongue we saw cut directed the blacksmith to cut it on a con¬ 
trary side, as it had been already cut twice. This man seemed to go 
through the business of having his tongue slit with perfect sang-frouh 
The company of natives were entirely unmoved, and the blacksmith, pock¬ 
eting the trifling fee given by each for whom he did this favour, laughed 
at the sport. I could not help asking, whether they were not punishing 
these men for lying. After seeing the operation performed upon one or 
two more, we went to another group, where they were boring the sides. 
The first we saw undergoing this operation was a boy, who might be twelve 
or thirteen years old, and who had been brought thither by his elder bro¬ 
ther to submit to this cruelty. A thread rubbed with clarified butter was 
drawn through the skin on each side with a kind of lancet having an eye 
like a needle. He did not flinch, but hung by his hands over the shoul¬ 
ders of his brother. I asked a man who had just had his sides bored, why 
he did this ? He said, he had made a vow to Kalee at a time of dangerous 
illness, and was now performing this vow: a bystander added, it was an 
act of holiness or merit. Passing from this group, we saw a man dancing 
backwards and forwards with two canes run through his sides, as thick as 
a man’s little finger. In returning to Calcutta, we saw many with things 
of different thicknesses thrust through their sides and tongues, and several 
with the pointed handles of iron shovels, containing fire, sticking in their 
sides. Into this fire, every now and then, they threw Indian pitch, which 
for the moment blazed very high. I saw one man whose singular mode of 
self-torture struck me much : his breast, arms, and other parts of his body 
were entirely covered with pins, as thick as nails or packing-needles. This 
is called vanuphora.* The person had made a vow to Shivu thus to pierce 
his body, praying the god to remove some evil from him. 

“ Some sunyasees at this festival put swords through the holes in their 
tongues ; others spears ; others thick pieces of round iron, which they call 
arrows. Many, as a bravado, put other things through their tongues, as 
living snakes, bamboos, ramrods, &c. Others, to excite the attention of 
the crowd still more, procure images of houses, gods, temples, &c., and, 
placing them on a single bamboo, hold them up in their hands, and put the 
bamboo through their tongues. In 1805, at Calcutta, a few base fellows 
made a bamboo stage, placed a prostitute upon it, and carried her through 
the streets, her paramour accompanying them, having one of her ankle 
ornaments in the slit of his tongue. Another year, a man put his finger 
through the tongue of another person, and they went along dancing and 
making indecent gestures together. Others put bamboos, ropes, canes, the 
stalk of a climbing-plant, the long tube of the hooka, &c., through their 
sides, and rubbing these things with oil, while two persons go before, and 


Piercing with arrows. 


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two behind to hold the ends of the things which have been passed through 
the sides, they dance backwards and forwards, making indecent gestures, 
lhese people pass through the streets with these marks of self-torture upon 
them, followed by crowds of idle people. They are paid by the towns of 
villages where these acts are performed, and a levy is made on the inha¬ 
bitants to defray the expense. On the evening of this day, some sunyasees 
pierce the skin of their foreheads, and place a rod of iron on it as a socket, 
and on this rod fasten a lamp, which is kept burning all night. The per¬ 
sons bearing these lamps sit all night in or near Shivu’s temple, occasion¬ 
ally calling upon this god by different names. On the same evening, dif¬ 
ferent parties of sunyasees hold conversations respecting Shivu in verse. 


manner 


raise up the end on which the man 
with the rope the machine is turned, 
circle of about thirty feet in diameter 

The festival of Juggernaut is annually held on the seacoast of Orissa, 
where there is a celebrated temple, and an idol of the god. The idol is a 
Festival of Jug carve( ^ block of wood, with a frightful visage, painted black, 
gemaut. an d a distended mouth of a bloody colour. He is dressed 

in gorgeous apparel, and his appellation is one of the numerous names of 
Vishnu, the preserving power of the universe, according to the theology 
of the Bramins. On festival days the throne of the idol is placed upon a 
stupendous movable tower, about sixty feet in height, resting on wheels, 
which indent the ground deeply as they turn slowly under the ponderous 
machine. He is accompanied by two other idols; his brother Balaram. 


swinging, 








































































HINDOOS 


tower, and sitting on thrones of nearly an equal height. Attached to the 
principal tower are six ropes, of the length and size of a ship’s cable, by 
which the people draw it along. The priests and attendants are stationed 
around the throne on the car; and occasionally address the worshippers in 
libidinous songs and gestures. Both the walls of the temple and sides of 
the car are covered with the most indecent emblems, in large and durable 
sculpture. Obscenity and blood are the characteristics of the idol’s wor¬ 
ship. As the tower moves along, devotees throwing themselves under the 
wheels are crushed to death; and such acts are hailed with the acclama¬ 
tions of the multitude as the most acceptable sacrifices. A body of pros¬ 
titutes are maintained in the temple for the use of the worshippers; and 
various other systematic indecencies, which will not admit of description, 
form a part of the service. A number of sacred bulls are kept in the place, 
which are generally fed with vegetables from the hands of the pilgrims ; 
but, from the scarcity of the vegetation, are commonly seen walking about, 
and eating the fresh ordure of the worshipping crowds. In the temple 
also is preserved a bone of Krishna, which is considered as a most venera- 

are allowed to see. 


ble and precious relic, and which few persons 

The following account of the burning of a Gentoo woman on the funeral 
pile of her deceased husband, is taken from the Voyages of Stavorinus, who 
„ . , was an eve-witness to the ceremony. “ We found,” says 

Burning of a J J J 

Widow. M. Stavorinus, “ the body of the deceased lying upon a 

couch, covered with a piece of white cotton, and strewed with betel leaves. 
The woman who was to be the victim sat upon the couch, with her face 
turned to that of the deceased. She was richly adorned, and held a little 
green branch in her right hand, with which she drove away the flies from 
the body. She seemed like one buried in the most profound meditation, 
yet betrayed no signs of fear. Many of her relations attended upon her, 


dftlps 


































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


745 




S ' 1 


In the mean time, the body of the husband was taken and washed in 
the river. 1 he woman was also led to the Ganges for ablution, where she 
divested herself of all her ornaments. Her head was covered with a piece 
of silk, and a cloth was tied round her body, in which the priests put some 
arched rice. 

She then took a farewell of her friends, and was conducted by two of 
her female relations to the pile. When she came to it, she scattered 
flowers and parched rice upon the spectators, and put some into the mouth 
of the corpse. 1 wo priests next led her three times round it, while she 
threw rice among the bystanders, who gathered it up with great eagerness. 
The last time she went round, she placed a little earthen burning-lamp to 
each of the four corners of the pile, then laid herself down on the right 
side, next to the body, which she embraced with both her arms, a piece of 
white cotton was spread over them both, they were bound together with 
two easy bandages, and a quantity of fire-wood, straw, and rosin, was laid 
upon them. In the last place, her nearest relations, to whom, on the banks 
ol the river, she had given her nose-jewels, came with a burning torch, and 
set the straw on fire, and in a moment the whole was in a flame. The 
noise of the drums, and the shouts of the spectators, were such, that the 
shrieks of the unfortunate woman, if she uttered any, could not have been 
heard.” 

Voluntary suicide is considered an act of great merit. The person who 
is about to offer himself, is directed first to offer an atonement for all his 
sins, by making a present of gold to the Bramins,and honour, 
ing them with a feast ; afterwards, putting on new apparel, 
and adorning himself with garlands of flowers, he is accompanied to the 
river by a band of music. If he has any property, he gives it to whom he 
pleases: then, sitting down by the side of the river, he repeats the name 
of his idol, and proclaims, that he is now about to renounce his life in this 
place, in order to obtain such or such a benefit. After this, he and his 
friends proceed in a boat, and fastening pans of water to his body, he 
plunges into the stream. The spectators cry out, “ Huree bul! Huree bul ! 
Huzza ! Huzza !” and then retire. Sometimes a person of property kindly 
interferes, and offers to relieve the wants of the victim if he will abstain 
from drowning himself; but the deluded man replies, that he wants nothing, 
as he is going to heaven. 

People in some parts of India, particularly the inhabitants of Orissa, ana 
of the eastern parts of Bengal, frequently offer their children to the goddess 
Gunga. The following reason is assigned for this practice: 
when a woman has been long married, and has no children, 
it is common for the man, or his wife, or both of them, to make a vow to 
the goddess Gunga, that if she will bestow the blessing of children upon 
them, they will devote the first-born to her. If after this vow they have 


Voluntary Sui 
citle. 






































































HINDOOS. 


children, the eldest is nourished till a proper age, which may be three, 
four, or more years, according to circumstances, when, on a particular day, 
appointed for bathing in any holy part of the river, they take the child 
with them, and offer it to this goddess : the child is encouraged to go 
farther and farther into the water, till it is carried away by the stream, or is 
pushed off by its inhuman parents. Sometimes a stranger seizes the child, 
and brings it up, but it is abandoned by its parents from the moment it 
floats in the water, and if no one be found more humane than they, it infal¬ 
libly perishes. The principal places in Bengal where this species of 
murder is practised, are Gunga-Saguru, where the river Hoogley disem¬ 
bogues itself into the sea ; Voidyuvatee, a town about fourteen miles to the 
north of Calcutta; Trivenee, Nudeeya, Chakduh, and Pruyagu. 

A sick person after his removal to the banks of the Ganges, if he pos¬ 
sesses sufficient strength, directs quantities of food, garments, &c., to be 
„ presented to the Bramins. That he may not be compelled 

death - to cross Voiturunee, whose waters are hot, in his way to 

the seat of judgment, he presents to a Bramin a black cow. When about 
to expire, the relations place the body up to the middle in the river, and 
direct the dying man to call aloud on the gods to assist him in doing so. 

The burning of the body is one of the first ceremonies which the Hindoos 
perform for the help of the dead in a future state. If this ceremony have 
not been attended to, the shraddhu, or rites for the repose of the dead, can¬ 
not be performed. If a person be unable to provide wood, cloth, clarified 
butter, rice, water pans, and other things, besides the fee to the priest, he 
must beg among his neighbours. If the body be thrown into the river, or 
burned without the accustomed ceremonies, (as is sometimes the case,) the 
ceremonies may be performed over an image of the deceased, made of 
kooshu grass. 

Immediately after death the attendants lay out the body on a sheet, 
placing two pieces of wood under the head and feet; after which they 
anoint the corpse with clarified butter, bathe it with the waters of the 
Ganges, put round the loins a new garment, and another over the left 
shoulder, and then draw the sheet on which the body lies over the whole. 
The heir-at-law next bathes himself, puts on new garments, and boils 
some rice, a ball of which, and a lighted brand, he puts to the mouth 
©f the deceased, repeating incantations. The pile having been prepared, 
he sets fire to it, and occasionally throws on it clarified butter and other 
combustibles. When the body is consumed, he washes the ashes into the 
river; the attendants bathe, and, presenting a drink-offering to the deceased 
return home ; before they enter the house, however, each one touches fire 
and chews some bitter leaves, to signify that parting with relations by death 
is an unpleasant task. 

The Bramins undergo voluntary austerities of great severity. Of one, 






















































































PAGAN NATIONS 


gers gives the following account. After having finished various 
services, he went into the green on which the pagod stood, 
where two bamboos were raised like poles, in the shape of 
a gibbet, at the top of which two ropes were fixed with a slip-knot. Under¬ 
neath was a square pit, where he lighted a fire, and laid some sticks near 
it. After this he turned himself thrice round the fire, observing, by way 
of respect, to have the pit always at his right; then prostrating himself 
several times, he went up, twisted the ropes about his feet, then suspend¬ 
ing himself with his head downwards, and his face turned towards the 
flame, he swung himself up and down like a bell, and increased the fire by 
throwing wood into it, which was in his reach. After this painful exer¬ 
cise, which lasted half an hour, he came down, went round the pit, and 
returning into the pagod, seated himself as before. In this manner did this 
Bramin exercise himself daily, not with the view of obtaining heaven, for 
that he looked upon as granted, but in order to attain a pure and exalted 
degree of felicity. However, he was censured by the rest of the Bramins, 
for violating, as they said, the law, in not having made choice of such a 
holy place as the Joguis are permitted to spend their whole lives in. 

Another Bramin had his head thrust through an iron collar, of twenty- 
four pound weight, made like a rail, four feet in diameter at the top. fie 
had enjoined himself to carry it till such time as he had collected a great 
sum of money, in order to complete the building of an hospital. 

Two others had long heavy chains upon their legs, one end of which 
came over their shoulders, and the other dragged upon the ground after 
them. 

Another chained himself by the foot to a tree, with a firm resolution of 
dying in that place. 

Another walked in wooden shoes stuck full of nails in the inside: 
whenever he put them on he used to lie along the ground with his hands 
clasped. 


Religious auste 
rities. 


DIFFERENT SECTS AMONG THE BRAMINS. 

The brief sketch of the Hindoos already given will rather have excited 
than satisfied the curiosity of the reader, so that the following more extended 
account may not be unwelcome. 

The Bramins are divided into several sects, and are six in number,—viz., 
the Vishnuvas, the Seivias, the Smaertas, the Schaervaeckas, the Pasendas, 
and the Tschecteas. 

The Vishnuvas are so called, because they acknowledge no other god 
than Vishnu. Some Soudras assume the quality of Daetseri,— i. e. ser¬ 
vants. The Bramins are also called Daetsja, or Dasa, which also signifies 
servants, but with this difference, that the Bramins are servants of God, 
and the S< udras those of the Bramins; who assure them that they are infi- 



































































HINDOOS. 


nitely more agreeable to Vishnu upon that account, and also that those Sou- 
dras who die in defending or preserving the Bramins, go after their deaths 
into Devendre-Locon, a kind of paradise, which will afterwards be men¬ 
tioned. The Vishnuvas are of two sorts; the one are called Tadvadi- 
Vishnuvas, or Madva-Vishnuvas. Tadvadi is a word in the Samscortam 
language, signifying a divine, from Tadva, divinity. Madva is the name 
of their founder. The other sort of Vishnuvas are called Ramanouja, from 
Ramanowa-Atsjaria, the founder of that sect. The Tadvadi are distin¬ 
guished by a red streak, which is made by themselves daily, from the nose 
to the forehead, and on the temples, and by a little round mark, which they 
make at the junction of the arm and shoulder-blade, and on the two nipples. 
They pretend that this is Vishnu’s mark; that it defends them from the 
devil, and Jamma, the judge of hell. They promise Vishnu neither to 
serve nor acknowledge any other god but himself, and add, that a virtuous 
life must illustrate this promise, and that otherwise they will be punished 
for breaking their vows. The chief of the Tadvadi lives at Combecomne, 
a place known in Palliaccate. He has generally a bamboo cane in his 
hand, and is obliged either to live single, or, when he marries, to relinquish 
all his possessions. 

The Ramanoujas draw with namou, a kind of chalk, a figure resembling 
the letter Y, which extends from the nose to the forehead ; but they mark 
themselves indelibly at one time with fire, at the junction of the arm and the 
shoulder-blade: this, they say, is sufficient, and dispenses them from the 
necessity of marking their bodies daily. They are a kind of Quietists, and 
assert that it is sufficient for a man to give himself once to God with a sin¬ 
cerity of heart, and to have made a vow of being his only ; and that if they 
should happen after this to lead a dissolute life, Vishnu would not punish 
them for it; for it is their opinion he never abandons those whom he has 
once loved. These Ramanoujas go bareheaded, and with their hair cut 
very short, except that they leave a tuft upon the crown, which hangs 
behind in a knot. Their principal chief resides at Cansjevaram, a famous 
city of the kingdom of Carnata. He has the privilege of wearing a piece 
of linen cloth wound round his head whenever he speaks to any person. 
They boast that they are better men than the Tadvadi, because they never 
interfere with traffic. 

The second sect of the Bramins is that of the Seivias, who acknowledge 
Eswara for the sovereign god, making him superior to Vishnu. Those of 
the Soudras who join themselves to the Bramins of this sect are called 
Tangam. The Seivias are known by three or four streaks, which they 
make upon their heads with cow-dung ashes. Some wear a Lingam about 
their necks, which is a stone of a certain shape, and others wear it in their 
hair. Their children of eight or ten years old also wear it; but then it is 
covered with wax, ana is tied about their arms with a small cord. This 





















































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


Lingam is a public testimony of their being wholly devoted to Eswara : 
and the Soudras who wear it abstain, like the Brarnins, from every thing 
that has life. 

The third sect is called Smaertas, and was founded by Sancra Atsjaria. 
The Smaertas say that Vishnu and Eswara are one and the same god, and 
worshipped only under different representations or images ; and they do 
not approve of the disputes which the two preceding sects have among 
themselves about either of these names. These are not distinguished from 
one another by any exterior mark, and have few followers among the com¬ 
mon people. 

The fourth sect is that of the Schaerwaeckas, who are a kind of Epicu¬ 
reans, who do not believe in the immortality of the soul, and treat every 
thing they hear mentioned concerning a life to come as foolish and ridicu¬ 
lous ; with the exception of this particular, they may be said to lead very 
regular and exemplary lives. 

The fifth sect, called the Pasendas, look upon every thing which the 
first three maintain as fabulous, and agree with the fourth in their notions 
of the mortality of the soul; but they are far from being as strict in their 
morals. The members of this sect dare not always own themselves to be 
of it; for some of them have been torn to pieces, from a hatred of their 
impious doctrine. 

The Tschecteas are the sixth sect. These pretend that Tschecti is the 
true god, and that Vishnu, Eswara, and Brahma are his creatures, and exist 
only through him. They refuse to follow the precepts of the Vedam, and 
reject every thing that cannot be demonstrated by the testimony of the 
senses. The last three sects are looked upon as heretics, and are too odious 
to gain over many followers. 

THE VANAPRASTAS, THE SAN-JASIIS AND THE AVADOUTAS. 

The Brarnins have also their anchorets, who distinguish themselves 
from the rest of mankind by a peculiar way of life, to which they ascribe 
a certain degree of perfection. Those of the first tribe are called Jaguis ; 
those of the caste of the Soudras are named Joquis. There are three kinds 
of Jaguis, viz. the Vanaprastas, the San-jasiis, and the Avadoutas. 

The Vanaprastas live retired in the woods, together with their wives 
and children, and feed only on such herbs and fruits as they can get with¬ 
out labour. A great many scruple to pluck up even the least root, imagin¬ 
ing they should commit a sin, were they thus to dislodge the soul of a plant 
from the body in which it resides. This is looked upon as a very holy 

way of life. 

The San-jasiis affect a greater abstinence, and abstain from marriage, 
betel, and all pleasures in general. They are allowed to make but one 

meal, and to live on alms; and instead of a copper cup, which others 
48 


3k 




V 












































































HINDOOS 


generally carry about them, are permitted to use earthen-ware only. Their 
clothes are dyed with red earth, and they have a long bamboo cane in their 
hands. They are forbidden to touch either gold or silver, much less to 
carry any about them : they are not permitted to have any fixed habitation, 
nor suffered to lie two nights together in the same place, once a year ex¬ 
cepted, when they are allowed to continue two months together in the 
same place. They then make choice of such a spot as is thought to be 
holy, and there they are suffered to spend not only two months, but all 
their lifetime, if they think proper. They are bound to be always ready 
to oppose six enemies,—viz. first, Cama, lust; second, Croota, anger ; third, 
Lopa, avarice; fourth, Madda, pride ; fifth, the love of the things of this 
world; sixth, Matsara, a thirst for revenge. Those only of the tribe of the 
Bramins, who lead this kind of life, are called San-jasiis , Tor if they be 
Sattreas, or Veinsjas, they are called Perma-Ampha ; and if Soudras, they 
are then called Joguis: the latter indulge themselves in greater liberties 
than the true San-jasiis. .. • 

The Avadoutas leave their wives and children and abandon even what 
the San-jasiis keep, such as an earthen porringer, a bamboo cane, clothes, 
&c. Their whole property in the world consists only in a little piece of 
linen cloth, but some of them are even destitute of that slight covering, and 
go stark naked. They rub their bodies with ashes; and whenever they 
are hungry, they go at once into any house, where, without so much as 
speaking one word, they only hold out their hands, and immediately eat 
whatever is given them. Some of these will not even give themselves the 
trouble to ask for alms in this manner, but lay themselves down on the 
bank of some river, where the country people, who look upon these rivers 
as holy, never fail to bring them milk and fruits in abundance ; so that these 
lazy devotees are not so miserable as some people may imagine. 


OF THE VEDAM, AND THE PRIVILEGES WHICH IT ALLOWS THE BRAMINS. 

The Yedam is the book of the law among these people, and contains all 
they are to believe or practise. It is written in the Sanscrit tongue, which 
is understood by those of the Bramins who never traffic. It was divided 
into four parts,—viz., first, the Rago-Vedam, which treats of the first cause, 
of the first matter, of the angels, of the soul, of rewards and punishments, 
of the generation and corruption of creatures, of sin, and the manner in 
which it may be remitted, &c.; secondly, Tssoure-Vedam, which treats of 
the powers that preside over and govern all things ; thirdly, Sama-Vedam, 
containing a system of morality to prompt men to the practice of virtue, 
to shun vice, and hate the wicked; and fourthly, Addaravana-Vedam, 
which treated of their religious ceremonies, temples, sacrifices, and feasts. 
The last part has been lost for many years; and it is to this circumstance 
that the Bramins impute the diminution of their honours, and the power 











































































PAGAN 


NATIONS. 


■O, 


they formerly enjoyed. The Vedam is with the Bramins of indisputable 
authority, being obliged to submit to its decisions whenever it is appealed 
to, however, as they used to dispute frequently on the manner of inter¬ 
preting it, the sense of it has been fixed by the Jastras, or Declarations. 

This book allows the Bramins five privileges. The first is, to celebrate 
the Jagam, which is a feast accompanied with a sacrifice. They strangle 
their victims, whether it be that they are forbidden to shed the blood of 
any animal, or in order to have it more entire. They afterwards cut it 
up, then burn it, at the same time repeating certain prayers adapted to 
the solemnity; but they reserve the heart, which is divided among those 
Bramins who assist at the feast, who are not allowed to eat flesh on any 
other occasion. A number of Bramins shun this solemnity, merely from 
the horror with which they are seized at the thoughts of eating the 
victim. 

The celebration of the Jagam is very expensive; for the person at whose 
expense it is made, is obliged to maintain all the Bramins who assist at it, 
even if they should amount to a thousand; and they sometimes continue at 
his house ten, twenty, and even thirty days. He was formerly obliged to 
give them whatever they took it into their heads to ask of him, but now 
the act of treating them absolves him from all other expenses. They per- 
form this sacrifice merely that they may deserve to go to Devendre-Locon, 
which is the mansion of the blessed, where Devendre will preside over 
them. Those Bramins who hope to go into heaven itself, take care never 
to celebrate the Jagam. 

The second privilege of the Bramins, is their being allowed to instruct 
the Sattreas in the manner of celebrating this feast, from which the Veinsjas. 
as well as the Soudras, are excluded. 

The third privilege is the permission of reading the Vedam. 

The fourth is a liberty of teaching it to other Bramins and the Settreas, & 
who, because they have learned it of the Bramins, are therefore allowed to 
read it, but not to teach it to others. The Veinsjas dare not read it, nor 
repeat any part of it, nor even hear any of it repeated ; but the same pro¬ 
hibition does not exist in regard to the Jastra. As for the Soudras, they 
are not allowed so much as to speak of the Vedam, nor even to learn the 
Jastra. 

The fifth privilege is, the liberty allowed them of begging. The other 
tribes are suffered to give alms, but they are not permitted to receive any; 
and indeed there is not any thing that the Bramins recommend so much in 
their writings as alms-giving and charity, provided it be exercised towards 
themselves ; but they never fail to hint, that they are no ways meritorious 
when bestowed on any other persons. As for themselves, they only extend 
their charity to some few Bramins; and all the answer which they would 
give to a Soudra, who should tell them of their great necessity, would be 


i 
































































HINDOOS. 


Po, po, i. e., Go on, go on. They receive the most alms from the devotees 
on those solemn days which are called Samcramanan, and at the burials 
of those who leave some property behind them. Some of them are so in¬ 
fatuated with the merit of this charity, that the alms they bestow on the 
Bramins and Joguis brings them to utter ruin, and indeed their doors are 
continually crowded with them. 

THE EMPLOYMENTS AND MAINTENANCE OF THE BRAMINS. 





The Bramins are the instructors of the people, whom they are obliged 
to educate in reading, writing, and accounts, and to instruct their disciples 
in all things relating to religion. If they be in good circumstances, they 
are not allowed to take any recompense; but if poor, they have the liberty 
of receiving from their disciples whatever may be necessary for their sub¬ 
sisting in a decent manner. Their kings are obliged to provide for them, 
to enable them to teach gratis ; but the number of Bramins is so great that 
it is impossible to provide for them all. It is asserted that they possess a 
third part of the revenues of the country, notwithstanding which, a great 
number of them are reduced to the necessity of begging; others traffic, or 
practise physic. They are forbidden to follow any mechanical trades, under 
which husbandry, painting, &c., are ranked. They cannot perform cer¬ 
tain offices without derogating from their quality, such as washing the feet, 
folding betel, &c., for any person whatever, not even for the king himself; 
and a Bramin who should demean himself in this manner, would be de¬ 
graded and expelled the society of the remainder. But they may be secre* 
taries, ambassadors, and counsellors, and these employments are generally 
exercised by them only. 

To those Bramins whom the king maintains he gives villages, but not 
in the character of pastors, or teachers, as our rectors, but as proprietors and 
possessors. It has sometimes happened, as under the reign of Rama Raja, 
whose memory is still cursed on that account, that the kings have claimed 
those possessions, or commanded the Bramins to give them a moiety of the 
revenue of those villages; but other kings, either moved with compassion, 
or tired out with their complaints, have dispensed with this division of their 
revenues. But the Bramins, fearing that they might at some future time 
De dispossessed of the villages, in order to assist the exigencies of the state, 
upon pretence that they have enjoyed them long enough, ask leave to allow 
certain persons who are extremely poor to hold a share in their villages, 
which they have no sooner obtained, than they make a private engagement 
with some of their relations. This permission is engraved on copper, and 
all those villages which are divided in this manner, are not liable to be 
re-demanded ; for the kings who succeed the donor would be afraid that the 
complaints of the poor would make them obnoxious to Vishnu, or Eswara 























































PAGAN NATIONS. 


MARRIAGES OF THE BRAMINS. 

Those Bramins who have sons, endeavour to marry them early; the 
rich are more expeditious in this matter than the poor, but those of the 
three first castes never marry them till such time as they have received the 
Dsandhem. 

When a Bramin goes to demand a young woman in marriage foi his 
son, he pays the highest regard to presages. If he meets a sinister sign in 
his way, he then postpones the affair to some other day; in case he has a 
bad sign a second time, he again puts it off; but if the same happens a 
third time, he then lays aside all thoughts of the match, from a firm persua¬ 
sion that it would be unhappy. To hear a serpent named the first day 
on which a Bramin is going upon such an affair is a bad sign, but seeing 
one is enough to make him lay it wholly aside. The Veinsjas have a 
particular custom among them, and that is, the melting down a half-pagod, 
or half-ducat of gold ; in case the gold, after it is thus melted down, appears 
with a shining hue, it is then a propitious sign ; but in case it be dull, 
they change their resolution; the Bramins, however, laugh at this kind of 
divination. 

The man whose daughter is sought for in marriage, desires to see the 
youth who is to be his future son-in-law, when he makes the necessary in¬ 
quiries into his circumstances. In case he finds matters to his satisfaction, 
lie then allows him to visit her in the presence of her parents ; and if the 
young couple be then pleased with each other, and the parents give their 
consent, they are immediately married. The consent of the Soudras must 
be purchased, and they oblige the lover, before they allow him to marry 
their daughter, to give them a certain sum of money over and above the 
bargain, or, in other words, a luck-penny; and this they call a gift, for 
they would be ashamed to have it thought that they sold their daughters. 

When the parties are agreed, they make choice of a fortunate day ; for 
these people have a calendar, in which the lucky and unlucky days are set 
down. Then the relations on both sides meet, and perform a ceremony 
which answers to our betrothings. The bride’s father presents betel to the 
bridegroom’s relations, and declares to the company that he has given his 
daughter to N—, a member of the family of the persons present. This 
being done, the bridegroom’s relations give betel to those of the bride, when 
they make the same declaration, and take the company for witnesses; and 
when this is performed, the couple are married, provided it be at a proper 
time ; for they are not allowed to marry in all seasons of the year. There 
are certain months appointed for that purpose, and these are February, 
May, June, October, and the beginning of November ; as also certain 
stated hours in those months, all which they observe very carefully. 

When the time for consummating the marriage is come, they light the 



































































HINDOOS. 






if 


4 


fire Homam with the wood of ravisitou. The Bramin blesses the former, 
which being done, the bridegroom takes three handfuls of rice, and throws 
it on the bride’s head, who does the same to him. Afterwards the bride’s 
father clothes her in a dress according to his condition, and washes the 
bridegroom’s feet, the bride’s mother observing to pour out the water. 
This being done, the father puts his daughter’s hand in his own, puts 
water into it, some pieces of money, and giving it to the bridegroom, says, 
at the same time, “ I have no longer any thing to do with you, and I give 
you up to the power of another.” The tali, which is a ribbon with a 
golden head hanging to it, is held ready, and being shown to the company, 
some prayers and blessings are pronounced, after which the bridegroom 
takes it, and hangs it about the bride’s neck. It is by this knot that he 
particularly secures the possession of her; for before he had tied the tali 
on, the remainder of the ceremonies might have been made to no purpose, 
for it has sometimes happened, that when the bridegroom was going to fix 
it on, the bride’s father has discovered that he is not satisfied with the 
bridegroom’s gift, when an additional offering has carried off the bride with 
her father’s consent. But when once the tali is put on, the marriage is 
indissoluble ; and whenever the husband dies, the tali is burnt along with 
him, to show that the marriage bands are broken. Besides these particular 
ceremonies, the people have notice of the wedding by a pandal, which is 
raised some days previous to it before the bride’s door. The whole con¬ 
cludes with an entertainment, which the bride’s father gives to the common 
: friends ; and during this festivity, which continues five days, alms are 
given to the poor, and the fire Homam is kept in. The seventh day the 
new-married couple set out for the bridegroom’s house, whither they fre¬ 
quently go by torch-light. The bride and the bridegroom are carried in a 
sedan, pass through the chief streets of the city, and are accompanied by 
their friends, who are either on horseback or mounted on elephants. In 
case the bride be not of an age fit for consummating the marriage, her re¬ 
lations do not leave her above three or four days in her husband’s house, 
after which she is brought back to that of her father ; but if she be arrived 
at puberty, she stays with her husband. 



OF THE LUCKY OR UNLUCKY DAYS, AND OF THE PANJAMGAM. 

The Bramins are superstitiously of opinion, that there are certain days 
on which it would be impossible for them to succeed in any affair what¬ 
ever. But this fatal prejudice often makes them neglect the most favour¬ 
able opportunities, when they happen to fall out on such a day as is 
marked an unlucky one in the panjamgam, i. e. in an almanac, in which 
both the lucky and unlucky days are set down. This panjamgam, which 
they look upon as infallible, is of two kinds ; the one was made by Bra- 
haspeti, doctor of the Devetas, or good angels, wherein he has set down 































































PAGAN NATIONS 


tne lucky and unlucky days, and even those which are but half-lucky, or 
so during a few hours only. A new one is annually made on this model, 
which serves for a guide to the country people. The other panjamgam, 
they say, was composed by Succra, doctor of the Ratsjastas, or devils. 
T. his is so very particular as to take notice of every hour in the natural day, 
which this people divide into sixty hours. 

It is evident that they must often let opportunities slip, if, to the great 
number of days and hours during which they are diverted from attempting 
any affair, we should add their great credulity with regard to signs and 
presages. It is a good sign when they see the bird Garrouda, or what is 
called Pala, flying before them, and cross-ways, from right to left. Other 
birds are, on the contrary, of good augury, if they fly from left to right. If 
a magpie, of which there are great numbers in that country, happens to 
touch any person in its flight, they immediately conclude that such person, 
or one of his relations, will die in six weeks. If any one happen to 

sneeze while a person is going out of the house, he turns back again 

immediately. 

DAILY EXERCISES OF THE BRAMINS. 

The Bramins are obliged to observe certain ceremonies, which it is 
impossible for them to dispense with without violating the law. They 
are obliged to wake two hours, or one at least, before the dawn, and begin 
by repeating the several names of God. In case they have no business 
that obliges them to rise so soon, they then may lie half an hour longer in 
bed, and repeat the name of God to themselves. On rising, they wash 
their hands, their face and feet, and seat themselves either on a board or a 
carpet, but never on the bare earth, nor on their beds, with their faces 

turned towards the north or east, but never to the south nor west. The 

reason of their turning towards the east, is because the sun rises in that 
quarter of the heavens ; and towards the north, because those places which 
they look upon as most holy are on that side. They afterwards begin to 
sing the story of Gasjendre Mootsjam ; but in case the sun be not yet 
risen, they sing some hymn. This being done they rise, wash their 
mouths and their teeth ; or if there be any sacred river near their houses, 
or some Tan, i. e. pool of water, they then go and wash at home, and put 
themselves in it; but in case there be none, they bathe at home, and put 
on clean clothes. 

The Bramins call such clothes clean as have not been put on since they 
have been washed, or have been wetted since they were worn: they are 
looked upon as clean so long as they have not been worn nor touched by 
any person. But as silks are spoiled by wetting, they have found out a 
remedy in this case, by declaring that silk clothes are naturally pure. 
However, if any one were to eat with a silk gown on, it would immediately 






















































756 


HINDOOS. 


become unclean; and for this reason they throw it off before they sit down 
to table. 

Being dressed, they sit down again in the same place, and take some 
well-water just drawn ; for if it were a day old, it would be too stale; in 
this they dip that thing with which they mark their faces, pour water into 
their hands thrice, and throw it as many times into their mouths, observing 
not to touch it with their hands. This being done, they repeat the twenty- 
four names of God, which they call making Japon, by touching so many 
parts of the body. 

At sunrise they pour water thrice into the hollow of their hands, and 
throw it on the ground, repeating a short prayer at the same time. This 
ceremony, which is performed for the sun’s sake, is founded on the chimera 
that the sun rises between certain mountains, and is obliged to pass through 
a narrow passage, which is infested by certain genii or spirits, who endea¬ 
vour to check his progress. Some Bramins one day threw up water into 
the sun, which made such a noise, that it frightened away those devils, and 
put them to flight. We are very sensible, say the modern Bramins, that 
what we now do is of no manner of advantage to the sun; however, we 
thereby give him a testimony of the good-will we bear him, in imitation of 
those who really succoured him. 

They afterwards begin again to throw water thrice into their mouths, 
as they pay their adorations to the sun, and to the beings who preside over 
the worlds situated under the heavens. If they be of the sect of the 
Yishnuvas, they take a kind of chaplet, the beads of which are made of a 
very fragrant wood called Toleja; but the beads of those of the caste of 
the Seivias are made of coral or crystal. Some put this chaplet about 
their necks; others hold it in their hands, but hidden under their coats, 
or in a pocket made for that purpose. At the end of every prayer they 
let drop a bead. Those who have not much time to spare say only 
twenty-eight prayers; those who have more leisure, repeat one hundred 
and twenty-eight; but those devotees who have nothing to do, repeat a 
thousand. 

These prayers being ended, they worship Salagrammas, and wash it 
with clean water. This is an idol made of a particular stone, having a hole 
in it, in which they say are the coats of arms of God. Tiertum is the 
name of the water in which they wash it, which is kept for another reli¬ 
gious use, as will be seen in the sequel. The idol Salagramma being thus 
washed, is dressed in a clean suit, or wrapped up in linen, and anointed 
with a perfume composed of sandal, odoriferous flowers, and leaves of toleja. 
The same ceremony is performed before another little idol of copper, on 
each side of which they light up one or more wax tapers, according to 
their circumstances or devotion. They present the victuals just dressed, 
or else fruits or milk. They scatter flowers over it, turn thrice, and some- 









































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


times more, round it; and at every turn they fall prostrate on the ground, 
with their hands clasped and their arms stretched out. They afterwards 
set the idol on the ground, take the tiertum, or water with which they had 
washed Salagramma, throw it once on their heads and thrice in their 
mouths, with a few leaves of toleja, and anoint their foreheads with some 
angaram, which is a preparation of the gum called benjamin. It is said 
that the angaram has the virtue of fortifying the mind against sin, but then 
it must have been offered to the idol; as also the toleja, which they put 
into their ears, to prevent the impurity they might otherwise contract by 
touching a dead carcass or a Soudra. The virtue of the tiertum is so great 
as to purify them from all the sins they may have committed from their 
infancy. After having presented the whole company with tiertum, they 
burn a little incense, and then have the liberty to go and breakfast with 
those Bramins who assisted at the ceremony. They pray before and after 
meals, wash their hands, throw water thrice into their mouths, make japon, 
and take tiertum again ; and after this ceremony, they are altogether as 
pure as they were before. They repeat this ceremony as often as they 
imagine they have been polluted. 

If they do not breakfast nor eat before noon, the ablution at daybreak is 
not sufficient; they therefore repeat it, and return to their idol, before which 
they strew flowers, or, for want of these, some toleja, and present it with 
whatever they are to eat; for the Bramins dare not take any sustenance 
before it has been offered to it. A little before sunset they wash themselves 
again, mark themselves, perform japon, and give water to the sun. If they 
be Grahastas—i. e., married—they sup. It has been already observed, that 
the Bramasariis and the Sansjasii make but one meal a day. Lastly, they 
say a prayer, and after that go to rest. 

In the morning, at noon, and in the evening, after they have performed 
the ceremony of the twenty-four names of God, they read the Poranes, or 
ancient chronicles; and this book is held in such great veneration among 
these people, that they carefully observe to wash their ears, in order Uat 
being pure, they thereby may be more worthy to hear so holy a work 
read. 

Nevertheless, this exercise is not so punctually observed, but that a great 
many Bramins dispense with several circumstances in it. However, they 
are indisputably obliged to perform the tiertum and the japon; and if a 
single person in a house performs every thing according to the foregoing 
injunctions, it suffices for the whole family. Indeed, very few execute 
punctually all the things prescribed by the law, except those who are em¬ 
ployed in the public worship of the idols. 




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CUSTOMS OBSERVED DURING THE SICKNESS, OR AT THE DEATH OF THE 

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When a Bramin falls sick, though the vessels of the body be ever so 
much overcharged with blood, they yet always prefer abstinence to bleed¬ 
ing ; but then they frequently make him fast so long, that he quite loses the 
habit of eating ; by which means he is unable to swallow, when they after¬ 
wards think proper to give him sustenance. 

When the symptoms of death appear, a Bramin is sent for to pray with 
the sick person, and alms are given to the poor. In the mean time, the 
sick person is repeating continually the name of God; and when he is no 
longer able to do it, his friends ring it incessantly in his ears. 

The Vedam declares, that as God has promised to assist those who think 
on his name, and repeat it, he is obliged to succour them in this extreme ; 
but in case their speech fails them, and their friends do this office for them, 
it is the same thing as if they themselves had performed it. If the sick 
person be married, and his senses are not yet gone, he asks his wife whe¬ 
ther she will be burned, or buried with him. If she answers in the affirm¬ 
ative, she is obliged to adhere to her promise, and it then becomes her 
duty, because of the oath by which she bound herself at her marriage, in 
presence of the Bramin and the fire Homam. She then took an oath that 
her soul should not be separated from that of her husband, and she could 
not, without being guilty of a great sin, violate an oath which the presence 
of the Bramin and the fire had made sacred. In case she has any chil¬ 
dren, and loves them better than she did her deceased husband, then she 
is at liberty either to live with them or die with him. If she dreads the 
fire, she must not be forced to throw herself into it; but the general opi¬ 
nion is, that no virtuous woman will refuse to make herself a sacrifice on 
this occasion; for, according to the Vedam, the duty of a wife consists in 
the three following particulars:—The first is, a blind and implicit compli¬ 
ance in all the desires and wishes of her husband. 

The second duty of a virtuous wife is to observe a great modesty and 
simplicity in her dress, and not to lead a dissolute life when her husband is 
out of town. 

The third is to die when her husband leaves the world. However, some 
women, before they marry, put in this clause, viz. that they shall not be 
burned with him, and oblige their husbands to ratify it. The Bramins 
leave a woman at her liberty to answer either “Yes” or “No,” when her 
husband asks her in his expiring moments, whether she be willing to fol¬ 
low him to death. They themselves confess that the forcing a woman tc 
it, either by violence or threats, is a crime that merits hell. But the Set- 
treas, who are the nobles, constrain their wives to submit to this cruel cus¬ 
tom, thinking that their surviving them would cast a stain on their honour; 




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PAGAN NATIONS. 


759 



and once, at tne death of a Settrea, threescore women threw themselves on 
his funeral pile, and were there consumed. 

They believe that when the sick person is at the point of death, two 
Jamma-doutas, or judges of hell, always appear to him, whose hideous 
ligure terrifies him ; but then a Vishnu-douta is present at the same time. 
In case the dying man has led a virtuous life, the latter carries away his 
soul in a magnificent flying chariot; but if he has been a wicked wretch, 
one of the Jamma-doutas carries him to Jamma-locon, or the place where 
Jamma presides. This judge orders his registrar to acquaint him with the 
particulars of the life of the deceased, pursuant to the information he had 
received from Vishnu; when these being read, he sends him back into 
the world, where he skips up and down like a hobgoblin for ten days 
together, till such time as his doom is pronounced. It is for this reason 
that the Bramins, after the death of a relation, feed a magpie for ten days, 
from a notion they entertain, that his soul may possibly be among those 
birds. 

As soon as the sick man is dead, his beard is shaved, he is washed, is 
clothed in a clean suit, and his mouth is rubbed with lime and pounded 
betel, and the women also rub it with raw rice. When he is carried from 
his house to some place adjacent to the city, he is attended by his friends, 
who wash their hands, and put a little rice on his mouth. They wash their 
hands a second time, and begin a Beteani round the pile on which the body 
lies. This Beteani is a kind of procession which a Perrea makes, who is 
followed by certain persons that beat on a little drum, when they go thrice 
round the corpse. This being done, one of the company preaches to the 
rest, in Death’s name, and observes that his empire equally extends over 
all things—over the young and old, rich and poor; that those who lead a 
life of virtue shall be happy after death, but that those who tread the paths 
of vice must expect nothing but torment. 

All the Bramins are not burned after their deaths; for some of them 
are buried. The Vishnus and Smartas are always burned, from an opi¬ 
nion which prevails among them, that though they have served Vishnu 
ever so faithfully, they yet contract certain impurities, which are tho¬ 
roughly purged by fire. On the contrary, the Seivias and Sensjasiis 
maintain, that their sins will not be imputed to them, though they have not 
exactly filled up all the duties of life; consequently, that they have no oc¬ 
casion for this purification, and therefore maybe quietly laid in the ground. 
The former have an eye chiefly to God’s justice ; the latter rely more on 

his mercy. 

OF WOMEN WHO ARE BURNT OR BURIED WITH THEIR HUSBANDS. 

When a woman has promised to follow her husband either to the funeral 
pile or the grave, he is no sooner dead than preparation is immediately 
































































7G0 


HINDOOS. 


made for the interment of both ; nor can she retract nor suspend the per¬ 
formance of her promise. She must be consumed on the same day, and 
in the same fire in which her husband’s body is burnt. The Bramins 
and Veinsjas are extremely rigorous on this article; but the Settreas allow 
their wives to burn themselves at different times, and in different places, 
when their husbands either died in a foreign country, or many years 
before. 

Notice being given of the husband’s death, the woman is seated in a 
chair before the door, splendidly dressed after the manner of the country. 
Then the instruments begin to strike up; the drums beat; upon which 
betel is given her to chew, and she is entertained by conversation, for fear 
lest, by thinking too intensely on her impending fate, she should repent of 
her choice. The Settreas and the Soudras mix something with the betel, 
which has the property of benumbing all the senses, and locking up all the 
faculties of the soul ; but the Bramins never do this, because they would 
have this sacrifice a voluntary one. 

At her leaving the house she bids her friends farewell, having a citron 
or lemon in one hand, and a looking-glass in the other, and all the time re¬ 
peating the name of God incessantly ; some use the word Naraina, others 
Ramma, or some other name. If she be of the caste of the Bramins, or of 
the Veinsjas, she then, instead of a lemon and a looking-glass, holds some 
of those red flowers in her hand which are strewed in the temple and 
before the idols, and it is necessary that these flowers should have been 
presented to it. An idol is also hung about her neck. 

The woman, being thus equipped walks on foot to the place where the 
corpse of her husband was burnt; and if she be of the caste of the Settreas, 
or that of the Soudras, she is accompanied by her relations, who employ 
a great many exhortations, and cheer up her spirits ; but if she be the 
wife of a Bramin, she is drawn on a kind of sledge. Not far from the 
funeral pile is a pond, where she goes and washes herself. They take off 
her jewels and other ornaments, when a Bramin prays by her, and alms are 
distributed among the Bramins. On coming out of the water, she wraps 
herself up in a yellow shroud, and draws near to the pile. It is raised in 
a pretty deep hole, the earth of which being all thrown on one side, forms 
by that means an eminence, on which she ascends. The wood with which 
the corpse of her husband had been consumed, is half burnt, and casts a 
dreadful blaze ; but to prevent this sight from terrifying her, they place a 
mat between her and the fire, so that she does not see it. It is on this 
eminence that she takes the last farewell of her relations, who all exhort 
her to behave with great bravery on this occasion. She then takes some 
kitchen utensils, such as a pilang, or a pestle to pound rice, a soup, or 
little fan to winnow it after it be pounded, and tosses them into the fire 
over the mat. She afterwards takes a pot full of oil, part of which she 





































































PAGAN NATIONS 


pours on her head, repeating incessa 


ntly the name of God ; when at last, 
the mat being taken away, she throws herself into the fire with the pot of 
oil. She then is immediately covered with wood five or six feet deep, 
while others pour oil and butter on the fire to make it blaze the more. 
Sometimes, when the female slaves find their mistress is greatly afflicted at 
the loss of her husband, they promise her, in case she be resolved not to 
survive him, to burn themselves along with her, and are always as good as 
their words. There is less ceremony used upon their account; they dance 
near the funeral pile, and throw themselves into it, one after another. 

The burning of the women of the first caste is accompanied with still 
more barbarous circumstances. These ascend the funeral pile, and lay 
themselves down by the corpse of their husbands, as if they were going to 
sleep with them. Being thus placed, the funeral pile is raised over them, 




































































HINDOOS 


exposed to insults of every kind ; for which reason, those among them who 
are gifted with heroic sentiments, prefer death to so wretched a life. As 
they are incapacitated from enjoying the most inconsiderable trifle, and are 
not allowed to have the least honours paid them, they do not inherit the 
smallest portion of their husband’s estate, but lie at the mercy of their 
eldest son, who succeeds to it, and has an absolute empire over them. If 
such a woman has only daughters, the inheritance devolves on her hus¬ 
band’s brother, who is obliged only barely to maintain her and her daugh¬ 
ters ; but they never fail to reproach her with it so long as she lives ; and 
are often reproaching her with not loving her husband, since she had not 
the courage to die with him. To this may be added their artful insinua¬ 
tions, in assuring them that if they either burn or bury themselves with 
their husbands, they will save their souls from hell, and that all those who 
thus submit to death out of pure love and affection feel none of those 
torments which the fire causes on other occasions. These things con¬ 
sidered, we may easily account for their devoting themselves to death in 
this manner 


OF MOURNING AND THE PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD. 

The Bramins have various methods of expressing their sorrow for the 
death of their relations. At the death of one older than themselves, they 
shave their beards, and cut off their whiskers, abstain from betel ten days, 
and eat but one meal a day during that term, which is precisely the time 
that his soul may possibly be condemned to skip up and down the world. 
But in case the deceased were younger, they do not impose on themselves 
this penance; as their wives are always younger, they are consequently 
never obliged to mourn in this manner for them, much less for their chil¬ 
dren. The Soudras do not make this distinction, for they mourn for the 
young as well as the old, and not only shave their beards, but also their 
heads, leaving only a tuft on the crown of it, and wrap the rest with a 
punger instead of a piece of linen, which they commonly use for that pur¬ 
pose, and likewise abstain from betel for three or four days. When a 
Soudra loses a child, he neither has his beard nor head shaved, but 
deprives himself of betel for the first three days, and puts a punger about 
his head. 

When any person in a house dies, all the bearded slaves shave them¬ 
selves ; and if the deceased were a ploughman, of the family of the Vettalas, 





































































>• 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


7 68 


or of that of the Ambrias, which are the two principal among the Soudras, 
twelve sorts of persons are to pay him the last duties,—viz., 1. The Bra- 
mins, who serve the pagods. 2. The Beteanis, or Perreas, who beat the 
drum. 3. The Pannejevas, who play on long horn flutes 4. The gold¬ 
smiths. 5. The carpenters. 6. The locksmiths. 7. The Vasseris. 8. 
The barbers. 9. The Poumaliandes, who scatter flowers round the dead. 
10. The Canapules, who are writers or secretaries. 11. The Salevadis. 
12. The Kaicules, or courtesans. The Bramins, the Canapules, and Pou¬ 
maliandes, do not at this time practise this custom. A certain tax or duty 
is paid to all those who come on this occasion, and a Vasseri gives to each 
person present a punger, which they fix on their heads, so as to let it hang 
half an ell down their backs. They prostrate themselves in the place 
where the alms called Nili, or rice that has not been winnowed, are 
bestowed. 

The fire of the pile being out, they gather up the remnants of the bones 
which are not consumed, and throw them into the Ganges; for the waters 
ol that river being reputed very holy, are therefore of great comfort to the 
soul of the deceased. They also think to procure him a superlative degree 
of felicity, by building, pursuant to his last will, Tampandals, or huts, in 
the highways, in which all these passengers who are thirsty have cold 
and warm water given them, or Canje,— i. e. water in which rice has been 
boiled, and sometimes a few beans. 

They often build pagods over the graves of the dead ; but as they are 
considered impure, no religious act is therefore ever performed in them. 
Some figures are indeed to be met with ; but these are not the object of any 
religious worship, and are no more than merely the images of those persons 
who were either burned or buried in that place. If they pay them any 
honours, such as the presenting them victuals, or incensing them, it is only 
with this view,—to engage the soul of the deceased, in case it be a Rats- 
jasja, or devil, not to do them any harm, nor frighten them in any manner. 
They also dig wells and tanks for the service of the public, and imagine 
that the benefit which will thereby accrue to every individual will be of 
advantage to the departed soul. 

OF THE IDOLS AND THEIR WORSHIP. 


Divine worship among the Bramins does not, as with the Christians, con¬ 
sist in the assemblage of people who meet regularly to pray, hear sermons, 
and sing the praises of God. There are certain nights on which the 
images of Vishnu, and others on which that of Eswara, are carried in pro¬ 
cession through the city. This ceremony is performed monthly in honour 
of Eswara, on the day of Amavali, or the first day on which the moon does 
not appear ; and the ninth after the new moon, viz. the day of Jeccadesi, 
in honour of Vishnu. The following is the manner of this procession;— 


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764 


HINDOOS. 


The image of this god is set on a prancing horse, carved in wood, stand¬ 
ing only on his hind legs, which are fixed on the board on which he is car¬ 
ried. The men who carry this machine upon their shoulders do not walk 
straight forward, but wheel up and down, in imitation of the pacing of a 
manege horse. Torches are carried before the idol, who has a sombreiro 
or umbrella over its head: at the side of the horse is a man who fans his 
idol, and drives away the flies. When they have gone their rounds, they 
place it again in the pagod, when a number of young prostitutes, consecrated 
to the latter, dance in honour of the god ; they likewise sing hymns, and 
play on instruments made of horn, the drums beating at the same time. 

Though the Bramins think the bare touch of a Soudra would pollute 
their pagods and images, they yet do not look on public prostitutes as 
unworthy of dancing before the objects of their religious worship ; nor do 
they suppose they are excluded the felicities of the next life, especially if 
they keep constant to the man to whom they first made a sacrifice of their 
chastity. 

The worship of images consists in honouring them, and in dressing them 
up in those ornaments which, according to tradition, are most agreeable to 
them. As for instance, Vishnu delights in having his statues decked with 
flowers, rich clothes, and precious stones ; and the Vishnuvas never fail to 
indulge him in his desires. Eswara has a different taste, and delights in 
having his statues washed with essences ; and his worshippers are very 
careful to sprinkle them with water in which pounded sandal has been 
steeped, or with other odoriferous waters. They testify the veneration 
they have for those idols, by lighting up lamps before them, and those of 
their wives, and by presenting victuals to them twice a day. He who 
carries the dish, having a little bell in his hand, is preceded by one who 
plays on the flute, and a drummer. After the rice has stood an hour 
before the idol, the above-mentioned person comes and takes it back, then 
this mess is considered as a gift which is bestowed by the god on those 
who eat it. 

OF GOOD WORKS AND RELIGIOUS AUSTERITIES. 

The Bramins think that rewards and punishments are not distributed 
in this life; as man, in their opinion, has a variety of births, they believe 
that divine justice is exercised only in the life to come. Thus every man 
who suffers expiates the sins he had committed in the preceding life, and 
before he assumes the body which is punished. As very few have so good 
an opinion of their purity as to imagine it will absolutely entitle them to a 
place either in Veicontam or in Surgam, most of them rely entirely on the 
merits of certain exercises, which convey a forgiveness of sins along with 
them. Besides those austerities which are expressly enjoined by the 
Vedam, there are others which are exercised out of pure whim by certain 



































































r -*■ 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


devotees, who aspire at a greater perfection than other people. Mr. Rogers 
saw an instance of this mortification in the little pagod of Parvati, near that 
of Eswara, which, according to the account he has given of it, exceeds all 
the austerities that were ever practised by any religious order. 

This Bramin abstained from whatever is usually eaten, and fed only on 
a little sweet milk, and a little fruit. He continued sitting all the day long 
without once stirring from his place, and never laid down to sleep, but 
keeping himself in a very uneasy posture, endeavoured to refrain from sleep 
as long as possible, repeating incessantly the thousand names of Eswara. 
He had the idol representing that deity, which he adorned with flowers, 
lighted up a lamp before it, and incensed it. He had no sooner finished 
this exercise, but rising up, he placed his head in the place where his heels 
should be, and in this posture repeated several pretty long prayers; which 
being done, he went and sat down in the same place where he had stood 
before, and began again the same exercise. 

THE PILGRIMAGES OF THE BRAMINS. 

According to the Bramins, the condition of a man who dies in sin is not 
altogether desperate ; and they imagine themselves in possession of cer¬ 
tain resources, by which they procure the remission of a person’s sins as 
effectually as if he himself performed what they do for him. The 
Ganges is to these people an inexhaustible fund of holiness. Whenever 
they meet with any human bones, they gather them up in a very devout 
manner, and throw them into this river, and fancy that for every year 
they continue in it, the soul of the creature to whom they belonged enjoys 
a thousand years of felicity in the heaven of Devendre. Its waters, how¬ 
ever, have not the virtue of cleansing sinners so thoroughly as to procure 
their immediate admission into heaven ; it only secures them from being 
excluded according to their merits, since after they have resided a certain 
limited time in the heaven which that river obtains them, they are doomed 
to return again upon the earth, to be born again, and begin another life. 
However, they have this advantage when they return again upon the earth, 
which is, that they are not in a worse condition than in the preceding life, 
but, on the contrary, are happier; and this last stage, or life, is so merito¬ 
rious, that the moment the soul leaves the body, it instantly takes its flight 
to the regions of perfect bliss and felicity. 

The pilgrimage to Gaya, a city situated to the south, and thirty leagues 
from Casi, enjoys a particular privilege, and salvation is there easily 
obtained for the dead. Here a rock is shown, in which, they say, God 
left the print of his foot; and for the security of so precious a relic 
this city is fortified on all sides. The following is the order of this pil¬ 
grimage. 

The pilgrims go first to Preyaga, where they are allowed (o pass a 
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month. E rerv morning before sunrise they wash themselves in the Ganges, 
to cleanse themselves from their sins; the month being expired, they go to 
Casi, where they again bathe themselves in the river; thence they go to 
Gaya, where they make a particular kind of dough. They break off some 
little pieces of it, and every time they put one of them upon the rock, they 
repeat the names of one of their deceased friends; and in this manner 
repeat the names of their deceased friends and relations to the seventh 
generation, and even higher. The Vedam promises that all whose names 
are repeated in this manner, feel the immediate efficacy of it, and although 
they were in the hell of Jamma, yet they would be immediately wafted 
into the mansions of Devendre. 


RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE EAST INDIES IN 

GENERAL. 

THE DEITIES OF THE EAST INDIES. 


BKAMA. 


Brama is the first person of a kind of Trinity in the heathen theology 
This first person is not only the grand progenitor of all mankind, but has 
also created as many worlds as he has considerable parts in his body. 

The Bramins, as Kircher tells us, relate, that the first world, which is 
situated over heaven, was made from Brama’s brain ; the second from his 
eyes, the third from his mouth, the fourth from his left ear, the fifth from 
the palate of his mouth and tongue, the sixth from his heart, the seventh 
from his belly, the eighth from his privities, the ninth from his left thigh, 
the tenth from his knees, the eleventh from his heel, the twelfth from the 
toes of his right foot, the thirteenth from the sole of his left foot, and the 
fourteenth from the air with which Brama is surrounded. They pretend, 
that there is some affinity or relation between these fourteen worlds, and 
the parts of Brama’s body; and add, that all those men who are formed in 
these different worlds, partake of the character and inclinations peculiar 
to each of them, which they preserve in this world as long as they live. 
Thus those created in the first world are wise and learned; those of the 
second, penetrating; those of the third, eloquent; of the fourth, cunning and 
artful; of the fifth, gluttonous; of the sixth, generous and splendid; of the 
seventh, niggardly; those of the eighth are addicted to pleasures, particu¬ 
larly those of love; the ninth are laborious; the tenth, country people and 
rustics; Hhe eleventh consist of the dregs of the people, and are employed 
in the lowest offices; the twelfth, infamous wretches and vile rascals; the 
thirteenth are unjust and merciless wretches; the fourteenth are ingenious 
and dexterous people. On these principles the Bramins ground all the 
rules of physiognomy, and think, that by looking on a person’s face, they 
can tell the particular world from whence he originally came ; after which, 


V 




























































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


they boldly pronounce the character and inclinations of the person whose 
face they have thus examined. 

Although the theology of the Indians be very much confused, it is never¬ 
theless manifest that they ascribe to Brama the direction of the fate of man¬ 
kind and the destiny of the world, the disposal of events, and their various 
revolutions. But this is much more than they ought to ascribe to a god 
who, though he be a creator, is nevertheless dependent, and a created 
being ; since the Bramins relate that he is the son of Quivelinga, who is 
no other than Priapus, or nature. 

The following is an ingenious fiction of the Bramins, which imparts to 
us the idea which they entertain of the creation of the world, and which 
induces us to believe that they look upon matter as the essence of the 
Deity itself. They tell us, the spider is the first cause and first principle 
of all things; that the universe was produced by that insect spinning out 
its own entrails and belly, so that it brought forth first the elements, and 
secondly the celestial globes ; that it governs all things by its wisdom and 
providence, directs every thing by its conduct; and that things are to con¬ 
tinue in this state till the end of ages, which will never happen till this 
insect shall have withdrawn into its body the several threads or filaments 
which had issued out of it, when all things will be destroyed, and the world 
no longer exist, but in the belly of a spider. 

Della Valle says, there is a temple dedicated to Brama, in Hagra ; its 
statue stands in the midst of the temple, amongst a great number of idols 
of white marble. It has several arms, and three faces. This statue has 
not the least drapery about it, and is represented with a long, sharp, but 
ill-shaped beard, like all the rest of the figure, which has too prominent a 
belly in proportion to its height. This defect ought probably to be ascribed 
to the ignorance of the sculptor, unless we are to consider it as a caprice 
of the Indians, who, perhaps, with the people of Sumatra, think that the 
most pot-bellied people are the best shaped. This statue of Brama stands 
upright; at its feet are two other small statues, representing his children ; 
and on both sides of it two images of women, a little less than Brama, one 
to the right, and the other to the left, representing his two wives. In 
another corner of the pagod, to the left of Brama, two nudities are placed 
representing bearded men, which are almost of the same height. The last 
figures represent two devotees, who were formerly Brama’s disciples. 

IXORA. 

Ixora, who is the same as Eswara, is not to be confounded with lxoretta. 
who, according to Baldseus, is properly the bud of the world. Some 
idolatrous doctors, according to Baldaeus, affirm, that one day the universe 
dwindled away in so extraordinary a manner, that lxoretta alone remained, 
who existed in the shape of a drop of dew ; but that lxoretta in process of 


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768 


HINDOOS. 


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time recovered all his strength ; that this bud was at first no larger than a 
grain of mustard-seed, but afterwards swelled to the size of a pearl, when 
lastly it became like an egg, in which five elements were contained : the 
egg was covered with seven coats like those of an onion, whence fire an l 
air issued. From the egg, divided into two unequal portions, the heaven 
and earth were formed; and the seven coats were divided in the same 
manner: of the upper part of it seven heavens were formed, and of the 
lower seven worlds. Nevertheless, a thread or string which cuts the egg 
diametrically through the centre, united together in some measure all 
these several parts. Ixoretta placed himself on the top of the string. A 
mountain was made on the earth, on the top of which there appeared a tri¬ 
angular figure, having a round thing in the middle, which they call 
Q,uivelingo. These two figures represent the two sexes. They add, that 
Ixoretta and Quivelinga are one and the same thing, and their opinion is 
grounded on the near relation they bear to each other. 

The head of Ixora is adorned with long and beautiful hair; his face is 
white and shining, and a crescent is represented on his head. His three 
eyes denote the extent of his foresight and penetration. One day Brama 
being desirous of seeing Ixora’s head, took his flight for that purpose 
towards heaven, but in spite of all his endeavours, he was not suffered to 
gratify his desires. On the other side, Vishnu, the god of metamorphoses 
or changes, endeavoured to pierce through to the place where Ixora’s feet 
stood : in order to succeed in this attempt, he transformed himself into a 
hog, and made a great hole in the ground with his snout; but in vain ha 
endeavoured to push forward, for his snout could never reach the place 
on which stood the feet of the god. The body of Ixora is so prodigiously 
bulky, that the serpent Baltegu, which surrounds seven worlds and as 
many seas, was not long enough to serve him as a bracelet. 

Ixora is represented standing on a pedestal, with sixteen arms, each of 
which grasps something ; those of the right side hold fire, silver, a drum, a 
pair of beads, a rope, a stick, a wheel, and a serpent; those of the left, a 
heart, a musical instrument, a bell, a china bowl, a chain, a Bramin’s head, 
a trident, and an axe or hatchet. By these sixteen arms, the power and 
strength of God are represented. He has an elephant’s skin over his 
shoulders, and is likewise clothed with a tiger’s skin, the spots of which 
represent the stars in the firmament. He is surrounded with a great num¬ 
bel of serpents, which probably the Indians, as well as the Egyptians, have 
made the emblem of the revolution of ages. He wears a necklace, to 
which is suspended a little bell, denoting Ixora’s vigilance: this necklace 
is made of the skin of an animal, called by the Indians Mandega. He has 
another necklace set off with flowers, and a third, garnished witn several 
heads of Brama ; and a fourth, to which are attached ihe bones of Chatti, 
Ixora’s wife. The theology of the Bramins of Malabar and Coromandel, 
















































































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relates that this god has two wives, Chatti Grienga, his dearly beloved and 
inseparable consort, who resides behind him, and conceals herself in his 
hair : as for Chatti, his other wife, she dies and comes to life annually, in 
the same manner as Brama; and Ixora, every time she dies, takes her 
bones and ties them to his fourth necklace. We must not omit, that the 
body of this deity is smeared over with earth and ashes, to denote genera¬ 
tion and destruction. 

PUDA, THE PEXAIOS, ETC. 

They associate to Ixora certain deities, whom the Malabarians and the 
remainder of the Indian idolaters call by the name of Puda, Pexaios, and 
Pes. Puda is represented under the shape of a squat, thick, pot-bellied, 
beardless man, with three serpents over his head. He has one serpent 
upon his left arm, in the form of a ring, and two upon his thighs, and a 
shepherd’s crook is seen in his left hand. The Pexaios and Pes are 
larger, and wrought with greater skill than Puda—all of them bear some 
relation to the rural gods of the ancient heathens. 

QUENAVADY. 

duenavady is seated on a throne behind a curtain, which is drawn back 
whenever any devotee comes to pay homage to him. This god is the 
eldest son of Ixora. He is represented with the head, the teeth, and the 
trunk of an elephant, with a crescent on the crown of his head ; he has 
long hair, large eyes, broad ears, and red spots on the face; but the 
remainder of the body, which glitters like gold, is of a human shape. He 
has four arms, and a prodigiously wide and prominent belly; his loins are 
girded either with a piece of stuff or painted linen, which, tied under his 
navel, hangs down before on his thighs. He has several gold rings on 
his feet; in one of his hands he holds a discus, or quoit, in another a long 
staff, in the third an instrument made in the shape of a porringer, and in 
the fourth a kind of string. Ixora begot duenavady in a solitude to which 
he had banished himself for having cut off one of Brama’s heads ; and the 
reason of that created deity resembling an elephant is, because his parents 
metamorphosed themselves into those creatures when they begot him. 
This transformation was made in the midst of a wood, and the offspring of 
their commerce was tainted with the brutish fierceness of wild beasts. 

The Indian doctors represent duenavady as an insatiable deity, who 
devours every thing that is set before him. They relate that he dwells in 
the midst of a sea of sugar, in a delicious place, where riches and pleasure 
flow with uninterrupted abundance, so that the senses may there riot in 
whatever they can possibly desire. It is here that duenavady eats, or 
rather devours, perpetually his victuals. Two women who stand by his 
side are incessantly throwing sugar down his throat with very large spoons; 

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and to prevent the uniformity of the viands from creating a loathing in the 
god, he has placed round him several other dainties, and a prodigious 
quantity of all sorts of fruit. 

It is to this god the Indians offer the first-fruits of their works: authorc 
set his name at the head of their writings; artificers, and tradespeople ol 
all kinds, invoke his name before they engage in any work whatever. 
The Indians say, that a man must serve Q,uenavady six-and-thirty years 
before he can obtain any thing for which he prays ; at the end of twelve 
years he moves his right ear, though almost imperceptibly, which signifies 
that he requires still twelve years more worship ; after which he moves his 
left ear, to denote they must serve him the remaining twelve years with 
the utmost strictness. 

The fourth of the moon of August is a very unlucky day in the opinion 
of the Indians of Coromandel and Malabar, because of the curse which 
Quenavady uttered in his anger against the moon, for laughing at him one 
day when he happened to fall down. The choleric god protested that 
whoever should presume to look on the moon that day should fall into 
great misfortunes, and be cut off from his caste. The idolaters, because of 
this curse, confine themselves to their houses the fourth of the moon of 
August; on which day they neither undertake the most inconsiderable 
affair without doors, nor do they even look into the water, for fear of seeing 
the reflection of the moon in it. In fine, if they chance to be so unlucky 
as to be on a journey in this season, they are sure to cover their faces very 
closely. 

VISHNU, VICHNU, OR VISTNUM. 

This god, who is son to Quivelinga, is inferior to Ixora; he is often 
represented under a hideous shape, as black as a negro, and with four 
arms. This god governs the world, and resides in the sea of sugar; but a 
very whimsical circumstance is, that he there spends his whole time in 
sleeping, and yet directs the affairs of the universe ; he uses the serpent 
Anatum for a throne, and its five heads serve as so many cushions, on 
which the sleeping god reposes himself. 

The god Vishnu has on his breast the mark of a kick, which Ricxi, who 
was originally a genius of India, gave him one day as he was in a deep 
sleep. Liximi and Siri Pagoda are looked upon as his wives, the latter of 
whom he met with in a rose which had a thousand leaves. 


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The Ten Incarnations or Metamorphoses of Vishnu. 

Vishnu has already metamorphosed himself nine times in this world, and 
is to undergo a tenth transformation. These metamorphoses comprehend 
all the mystery of the Indian theology; he first assumed the shape of a fish, 


























































































A^syx 


PAGAN NATIONS 


in order to search for the Vedam at the bottom of the sea, whither it had 
been carried by an evil genius who had forced it away from the Deutas. 
Vishnu, at the urgent request of the Deutas, plunged into the sea, killed 
this evil genius, and returned with the Vedam, which he found in a shell. 
The figure represents Vishnu coming out of the fish, whose form he had 
assumed ; his two right hands hold the Vedam open, and a ring; his two 
left a sabre, and a shell in which the Vedam was inclosed: the monster is 
seen headless at his feet. 

Second Incarnation. 

The second metamorphosis of Vishnu was into a tortoise. One day the 
sea being elated with pride, presumed to give an insolent account of its 
power and riches. Brama, accompanied with certain demons, was ordered 
to punish this element for its insolence; accordingly, they took up the 
mountain of Merupa, which is all of massy gold, and placed it in the midst 
of the sea; they wound the serpent Signag, or Scissia, as the Bramins call 
it, several times round this mountain ; then using this serpent as a cable, 
they lifted up the mountain, and afterwards let it fall again, till they at last 
forced this haughty element to restore all the wealth which had made it so 
proud. The sea was forced to throw up again the following things—viz., 
silver, a very precious jewel, the tree Parsatig, a vessel in which the 
water called Sora was contained, Dannewanter, the Indian Esculapius, the 
moon, the white cow, the Amarith, or water of eternal life, the elephant 
with seven trunks, the virgin Remba, the seven-headed horse, the bow 
called Dennock, a shell called Sank, and the poison Sahar. Thus was the 
sea humbled, all its wealth was distributed in different places, when, the 
expedition being ended, Brama reascended into heaven. 

Third Incarnation. 

A powerful genius, Renniaxem by name, took the earth one day and 
rolled it in his hand like a bowl; but not satisfied with having thus far 
tried his skill, and imagining himself to be the peaceable possessor of the 
terrestrial globe, he went and hid himself in Patalam, which is the bottom 
of the abyss. Vishnu, who was asleep at the instant when he took his 
flight, awaking on a sudden, was surprised to see the earth was gone ; upon 
which he immediately transformed himself into a hog, pierced as far as 
Patalam by the help of his snout, armed with two monstrous tusks, attacked 
the thief, killed him, and then laying the earth on his tusks, returned from 
the abyss with this important conquest. 

Fourth Incarnation. 

Brama, in the first age, subdued the giant or devil called by the Indians 
Hirrenkessep, and kept him in a very tedious and severe confinement. 
After he had thus suffered for twelve years, the giant implored the mercy 























































































^xgX ( c 




HINDOOS 


of Brama, who, taking pity on the unhappy wretcn, indulged him with 
most uncommon favours; for he released him out of prison, made him a 
powerful monarch, and to assure him that he should continue to live, he 
granted him the following privilege,—viz. that it should be impossible for 
him to die, unless in the most extraordinary and uncommon manner. 
Hirrenkessep was hereby secured from the insults of the heaven, the earth, 
the sun, the moon, thunder, lightning, the day, the night, the wind, storms, 
and all accidents of that kind. The giant, having recovered his liberty, 
raised several armies, and made such rapid conquests, that he soon became 
the terror of the universe. He carried his insolence to such a pitch, that, 
forgetting who he was, he commanded that himself only should be adored 
as God. The Bramins opposed this impious worship, and besought Vishnu 
to deliver them from the tyranny with which they were oppressed. Vishnu 
assured them that the wife of this tyrant should bring forth a child, who 
should free them from his usurpation. Vishnu’s promise was fulfilled : the 
giant became the father of a son, whom he would have brought up in the 
worship of himself only; but the babe, so far from owning him to be 
God, made a solemn confession of his faith, by which he acknowledged 
Vishnu as creator of the fourteen worlds, and father of truth, &c. The 
tyrant, highly incensed, treated this little martyr to the Bramin’s faith very 
inhumanly, and was going to knock him down with his staff, when the 
child escaped the blow, by hiding himself behind a pillar, which received 
the stroke, and immediately split in two, when lo ! a dreadful monster 
issued out of it. Vishnu had assumed that shape purposely to chastise the 
insolence of this tyrant. The metamorphosed god seized the giant by the 
middle, and tore him to pieces. 


Fifth Incarnation. 

In the time that Mavaly governed the world— i. e., during the golden 
age of the Indians, there was a wonderful profusion of all things, so that 
no one would work; no subordination was to be seen, every thing was in 
common, and a man needed only put forth his hand to take whatever he 
wanted. Vishnu, desirous of putting a stop to a circumstance which might 
be attended with very ill consequences, resolved therefore to dethrone 
Mavaly, and to bring want, hunger, misery, and poverty into the world 
To succeed in his attempt, he employed artifice, and assuming the shape 
of a poor Bramin, presented himself to Mavaly as a beggar craving alms. 
Mavaly offered him kingdoms and treasures: to which the Bramin an¬ 
swered, that he begged only three feet of ground for himself to inhabit with 
Ins baggage, consisting of an umbrella, a book of devotion after the Bramin 
worship, and a goblet. 

It must be observed, that the furniture of a Bramin consists only in these 
three particulars. He required at the same time, that for the more solemn 


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PAGAN NATIONS. 


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ratification of his right to this ground, Mavaly should pour water into h 
hand. The latter, surprised at the Bramin’s modesty, pressed him 
peatedly, but in vain, to accept of those advantages which, to all outward 
appearance, were infinitely greater than the three feet of ground he re¬ 
quested. However, as he was just going to bestow the three feet of ground' 
on the Bramin, Mavaly’s wife, suspecting some trick, strongly opposed the 
grant. But Mavaly refused to forswear himself, and taking the vessel in 
which the water appointed for the fatal ratification was contained, he poured 
some of it into the Bramin’s hand, who drank it ofT; when immediately resum¬ 
ing his divinity, he covered the earth with one foot, and heaven with the 
other: after which, going to appropriate to himself the rest of the ground 
which the unhappy Mavaly had then granted him, he set his foot upon 
his throat, and knocked him backwards into the abyss, which he measured 
at the same time. The husband and wife being thus dethroned by an arti 
fice so unworthy of Vishnu, made heavy complaints to him upon that ac¬ 
count, when the god, moved with his complaints, restored Mavaly as king 
of the abyss. Ever since this revolution, riches and poverty, abundance 
and misery, prosperity and adversity, the natural result of the inequality 
of conditions, have alternately prevailed in the world: but Vishnu, in 
order to transmit to posterity a type of the felicity which mankind enjoyed 
under the reign of Mavaly, instituted a festival called by the Malabarians 
Ona, and by them celebrated in the month of August; it is a kind of 
bacchanal, during which the Indians of all ranks and conditions dress 
themselves as richly as their circumstances will possibly allow, they feast 
one another to the best of their abilities, and spend that season in joy and 
festivity. 

Sixth Incarnation. 

A Bramin, who was a very good man, having married a very virtuous 
female Bramin, withdrew with his wife to the banks of the river, called by 
the Indian legends Bewa. They pitched upon this place for their fixed 
habitation, and resolved there to spend their days in devotion. In this 
calm state there was one circumstance wanting to complete their happi¬ 
ness, and that was children—the Bramin’s wife not bringing him any. 
The Banians look upon those nuptials as dishonourable which are not 
crowned with children. Our pious pair, inconsolable at the reproach 
which was cast upon them, resolved to withdraw to the desert, there to 
implore, with greater fervency than ever, the blessing of Heaven, in order 
that they might have children; and for this purpose were resolved to 
make choice of some remote and unfrequented place. Our couple, after 
having long wandered through the fields, at last arrived at a pagod, situated 
in the midst of a little, but very agreeable grove. Here they offered up 
very long prayers, but to no effect, which made them conclude that the 
beauty of the place was the sole cause of their prayers being rejected 


















































































774 


HINDOOS. 


Hereupen they resolved to see if they could not succeed better in the plains, 
and continued, for that purpose, always exposed to the burning rays of the 
sun, and the inclemencies of the weather. But still this rigorous penance 
availed them nothing. At last they made a resolution to suffer the extremes 
of hunger, till such time as it should please the power they worshipped 
either to hear their prayers, or put an end to their lives. For nine days 
they underwent this rigorous trial; after which Vishnu appeared to them 
under the shape of a beautiful child, and asked them the occasion of these 
repeated austerities. They satisfied his demands ; upon which Vishnu 
revealing himself, promised them three children, and vanished away in an 
instant. Two of these three children were produced by transmigration ; 
the souls of the Bramin and his wife, whom a too severe abstinence and an 
over-violent affliction had brought to their graves, transmigrated into the 
bodies of two new-born children ; these afterwards grew up, were married, 
and gave birth to a child, the last fruit of Vishnu’s promise. The father, 
according to the legend, was called Sandichemi, the mother Rameka, and 
the child Prasserum : Rameka had a sister that was married to a giant who 
had a thousand arms. 

Seventh Incarnation. 

One Rawana, born a Bramin, had formerly an extraordinary devotion 
for Ixora, to whom he daily offered a hundred flowers. The god Ixora 
being one day desirous of making a trial of his faith, stole one of them 
away, and afterwards complained that the oblation was less than usual. 
Rawana counted the flowers, and finding but ninety-nine, was immediately 
disposed to pluck out one ,of his eyes, to make up the deficiency. Ixora, 
satisfied with this pledge of his fidelity, would not suffer him to do it, and 
as an acknowledgment, offered to grant him whatever he should request. 
The Bramin desired that the government of the world might be committed 
to him, which was granted. In the mean time, Rawana continued his 
devout exercises ; and his prayers, though they were frequent, were yet 
very selfish ; upon which Ixora spoke to him as follows :—“ As I have 
indulged thee in all thou demandedst of me, why dost thou still continue to 
address me in prayer? What is it thou now wantest of me?” “ I have 
one thing more to request of thee,” says the importunate Rawana, “ and 
that is, to give me ten heads, to govern this universe which thou hast 
given me,and survey all things in it with my own eyes; and twenty arms, 
to exercise my power therein.” Ixora granted him also this request; 
after which, Rawana fixed upon Lanca for the place of his residence, and 
fortified himself very strongly in it; when, after a long and prudent reign, 
he forgot all his obligations to Ixora, and would have obliged his subjects 
to acknowledge him only for God. Upon this Vishnu assumed a human 
shape, and came upon the earth under the name of Ram, the wife of 
a Rajah bringing him into the world, to chastise Rawana’s insolence. 


























































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


Ram performed several wonderful exploits : he first killed Rawana, who 
had metamorphosed himself into a stag ; but the soul of the cunning Raw- 
ana immediately quitted the stag, and went and shot itself into the body of 
a Faquir. In this new disguise he played Ram a true Faquir’s trick, by 
carrying off his wife Sitha; but Hanuman, the ape-god, revenged this 
affront which Rawana, transformed into this mock devotee, had put upon 
Ram. The ape made a dreadful havoc in Lanca; nor were Rawana, or 
the giants, his subjects, able to put a stop to it; and when they, by the 
virtue of certain magical words, had at last found out the secret of taking 
Hanuman prisoner, they nevertheless ct>u!d not put him to death, because 
of the help that Ram continually afforded him. Rawana asked the ape by 
what means his strength might be subdued ; but the ape imposed upon 
him, by telling him he must dip his tail in oil, surround it with flax or 
hemp, and afterwards set fire to it ; assuring him that by this means 
he would lose his strength. Hanuman being thus equipped, set fire to 
Rawana’s palace, and destroyed part of Lanca. We have taken a par¬ 
ticular notice of this incident, because of its great resemblance to the story 
of Samson, and shall add, that Rawana’s obstinate refusal to give up the 
woman he had carried off, the punishment which Ram and his brother 
Lekeman inflicted upon him on that account, and Ram’s passage through 
the waters, have a great affinity with the history of Moses. At last Ram 
and Lekeman killed the ravisher Rawana with arrows ; and the ape Han¬ 
uman fought as bravely for them at this juncture as he had done on former 
occasions. 

Eighth Incarnation. 

The history of this incarnation includes several particulars which bear 
some relation to the life of Moses and that of our Blessed Saviour. Vishnu 
became man under the form of a child, called in the Indian legend, Kristna* 
is rescued from the fury of a Raja, who was destined to die by the hand 
of a child. 

Ninth Incarnation. 

Vishnu went by the name of Boudhe, in order to reveal himself to men. 
This Boudhe, according to the doctrine of the Banians, had neither fathei 
nor mother: he is invisible, and all spirit; but whenever he reveals him¬ 
self to his faithful servants, under heaven, he assumes the figure under 
which Vishnu is worshipped by the East Indians. They affirm that 
Boudhe, who is the mediator of mankind, prays to Mahedu day and night 
for them. 

Tenth Incarnation. 

The time for this incarnation is not yet come ; Vishnu will one day 
reveal himself, with Kellenki, or Kelki, which is the name the Bramins 
give to a white, winged horse, adorned with rich trappings, whom they 
suppose to be in the heavens: the horse is led by a king, who has a lifted 
































































776 


LAPLANDERS. 


Sabre m his hand ; and this monarch is undoubtedly Vishnu. The horse 
has always his right foot lifted up ; but whenever he shall think fit to set 
it down upon the earth, in order to punish the impious and the wicked, it 
will then sink under the weight of it; the serpent Signag shall then 
no longer be able to support the earth ; the tortoise, oppressed with the 
weight, shall plunge to the bottom of the sea, and mankind in general shall 
be destroyed. Such will be the end of the last age of the world ; after 
which the first age is to return again ; for the Indians and other idolaters 
of the East suppose a revolution in the universe, like to that of the Pla- 
tonists. * 


SEC. XII.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE 

LAPLANDERS. 

From the time that so large a portion of Lapland fell under the domi¬ 
nion of Sweden, repeated attempts were made to convert the natives to the 
Christian faith; and the same object was diligently prosecuted by the 
Danish government. The Laplanders, however, continued to retain a 
strong attachment to their ancient mythology; and, even so late as the 
middle of the eighteenth century, a great part of the nation secretly wor¬ 
shipped idols, while publicly professing the Christian religion. 

To these idols were presented various offerings and sacrifices. Upon 
any change of habitation, libations were made of whey or milk, to conci¬ 
liate the guardian divinity of the place; and of brandy to 
the Lares or household gods, who were supposed to reside 
under the fire-place. To conciliate the favour of the deities to their chil¬ 
dren, sacrifices of sheep or deer were offered, before the child was born : 
a dog was buried alive at the moment of the birth; and some other animal 
killed when the infant was at the breast. Offerings and sacrifices were 
usually made for the removal of epidemic disorders, for success in hunt¬ 
ing, &c. In these cases, sometimes the whole of the victim was presented, 
sometimes only a part, sometimes merely the bones, while the blood was 
sprinkled upon staves, which were left on the spot, or mingled with the 
waters of an adjacent river or lake. The liver of a bear, the horns and 
other parts of a deer, taken in the chase, were very frequently consecrated 
to the deity of the place. 

The Laplanders, according to Picart, worship their gods under the form 
ol a tree, or block of wood, the top of which they form into a rude resem¬ 
blance of a man’s head. In the head thev were wont to 

idols. i . , ... . 

drive a large nail, to which was fastened a flint stone, that 
he might make himself a fire whenever lie found one needful. Some¬ 
times their god was raised upon a kind of table, which served in capacity 
of an altar. Their domestic deity, or household god, they represented 
under the form of a large stone, carved in a rude manner, and bearing some 



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PAGAN NATIONS 


resemblance to a human face. The sacrifices which were offered to these 
idols were presented by a privileged class of men, named Noaaids, who 
divided the victims with great expertness, and wore at the time of sacri¬ 
ficing a peculiar habit. 

The Laplanders still retain much of their ancient superstitious spirit, 
even in the Christian rites which they have adopted. They particularly 
regard the sacrament as a powerful charm to preserve them 
from the attempts of evil spirits. It is not long since they 
used to take a cloth with them to church, into which they were accus¬ 
tomed to spit out the sacramental bread, which they wrapped up with great 
care, and afterwards divided into as great a number as possible of small 
crumbs. One of these crumbs was given to every one of their cattle, in 
the full persuasion that the herd would thus be secure from all injury. 
Their very deficient acquaintance with Christianity may, in some measure, 
be ascribed to the very inefficient manner in which they are instructed. It 
has generally been the practice of the Missionaries and pastors to address 
the natives by means of an interpreter, and the attempts of the Danish 
government to remedy this defect have hitherto proved unsuccessful. 

The Laplanders rarely intermarry with the Norwegian, or other neigh¬ 
bouring nations. Their matrimonial negotiations are conducted with extra- 
ordinary formality and decorum. When a young man has 
selected his object, he communicates his wishes to his own 
family, who repair in a body to the dwelling of the young woman’s parents, 
carrying a slight present, such as a ring or ornamental girdle, to the fair 
one, and a quantity of brandy to entertain the friends. When arrived at 
the hut, the suitor is left without, till he shall be invited to enter; and as 
soon as the rest of the party .have entered, their spokesman fills out a bum¬ 
per of brandy, which he offers to the girl’s father, and the acceptance of 
which indicates his approbation of the match to be proposed. After the 


Present state, 































































LAPLANDERS 


ner betrothed, the young man is allowed to visit the bride, whose favour 
he generally endeavours to conciliate by presenting tobacco, brandy, or 
whatever he thinks will be most acceptable. On the marriage day the 
bride appears in her best dress, but her head, commonly closely covered, 
is, on this occasion, only adorned with a bandeau or fillet, while her hair 
flows loose upon her shoulders. The bans are usually published only once. 
The marriage ceremony, which is very short, is sometimes performed 
before, and sometimes after the entertainment. The wedding feast is cele¬ 
brated in a frugal and sober manner, without music, dancing, or any other 
festivity. Such of the guests as are able, make a present to the bride of 
money, rein-deer, or other useful articles, to begin the stock, or furnish the 
dwelling of the young couple. In some parts of Lapland it is the custom 
that the friends and relations 01 the parties meet together, a few days after 
.the marriage, and partake of a homely entertainment, consisting usually 
of a mess of broth, a little roast mutton, and metheglin. The bridegroom 
usually remains with the parents of the bride for the space of one year; 
and, at his departure, receives what portion they are able to give with their 
daughter, to establish the young people in the world. It is usual, at the 
birth of a child, to assign a female rein-deer, with all her future offspring, 
as a provision for the boy or girl, who is thus, when grown up, not unfre- 
quently the owner of a considerable herd. 

The funerals of the Laplanders are conducted with little ceremony. 

htly wrapped in a coarse cloth, is carried to the grave by 
the friends and relatives, who are entertained with a slight 
repast, and a small portion of metheglin. In former times, 
tom to raise a heap of stones over the grave ; but an old 
sledge, turned with its bottom upwards, is now the only monument placed 
the spot of interment. Before the conversion of the Laplanders tc 


Funerals. 


over 


three years after the decease of a relative, were accustomed, from time tcvfSlS/ 
time, to deposit, in holes dug beside the grave, small quantities of tobacco* 
or of whatever was most agreeable to their departed friend during his life-^ : * 

time. ® M 


SEC. XIII.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF INDIAN 

TRIBES. 

The aborigines of New England not only believed in a plurality of gods 
who made and govern the several nations of the world, but they made deities 
of every thing they imagined to be great, powerful, benefi 
cial, or hurtful to mankind; yet they conceived an almighty 


Indians of New 
England. 


























































Canadians. 


Being, who dwells in the south-west regions of the heavens, to be superior 
to all the rest. This almighty Being they called Kichtan, who at first, 
according to their tradition, made a man and a woman out of a stone; but, 
upon some dislike, destroyed them again, and then made another couple 
out of a tree, from whom descended all the nations of the earth: but how 
they came to be scattered and dispersed into countries so remote from one 
another, they cannot tell. They believed their supreme God to be a good 
being, and paid a sort of acknowledgment to him for plenty, victory, and 
other benefits. But there is another power, which they call Hobamocko, 
(i. e. the devil,) of whom they stood in greater awe, and worshipped 
merely from a principle of fear. The immortality of the soul was in some 
sort universally believed among them. When good men die, they said, 
their spirits go to Kichtan, where they meet their friends, and enjoy all 
manner of pleasures. When wicked men die, they go to Kichtan also; 
but are commanded to walk away, and to wander about in restless discon¬ 
tent and darkness for eveT. 

The original inhabitants of Canada, like other heathen, had an idea of a 
supreme Being, whom they considered as the creator and governor of the 
world. It is said, that most of the nations which speak the 
Algonquin language, give this being the appellation of the 
Great Hare, but some call him Michabou, and others Atahocan. They 
believe that he was born upon the waters, together with his whole court, 
who were composed of four-footed animals, like himself; that he formed the 
earth of a grain of sand taken from the bottom of the ocean ; and that he 
created men of the bodies of dead animals. Some mention a god of the 
waters, who opposed the designs of the Great Hare, who is called the 
great Tiger. They have a third called Matcomek, whom they invoke in 
the winter season. 

According to the Iroquois, in the third generation there came a deluge, 
in which not a soul was saved; so that, in order to repeople the earth, it 
was necessary to change beasts into men. Besides the first 
Iroquois. Being, or Great Spirit, they hold an infinite number of genii, 
or inferior spirits, both good and evil, who have each their peculiar form 
of worship. They ascribe to these beings a kind of immensity and omni¬ 
presence, and constantly invoke them as the guardians of mankind ; and 
they only address themselves to the evil genii, to beg of them to do them 
no hurt. The) believe in the immortality of the soul, and say that the 
region of their everlasting abode lies so far westward, that the souls are 
several months in arriving at it, and have vast difficulties to surmount. 
The happiness that they hope to enjoy is not believed to be the recompense 
of virtue only, but to have been a good hunter, brave in war, &c., are the 
chief merits which entitle them to their paradise: this they and other 
American natives describe as a delightful country blessed with perpetual 




PAGAN NATIONS. 














































































Y>>V 

r 'i^' ~I r_. a&XH 




isr*^ A.^syr&.:><4 


INDIAN TRIBES. 




spring, whose forests abound with game, whose rivers swarm with fish, 
where famine is never felt, but uninterrupted plenty shall be enjoyed with¬ 
out labour or fatigue.* 

The Indians of Virginia gave the names of Okee , Quioccos , or Kiwasa , 
to the idol which they worshipped. These names might possibly be so 
many epithets, which they varied according to the several 
Virginians. functions they ascribed to this deity, or the different notions 
they might form to themselves of it in their religious exercises, and com¬ 
mon discourses. Moreover, they were of opinion that this idol is not one 
sole being, but that there were many more of the same nature, besides the 
tutelary gods. They gave the general name of Gluioccos to all these genii, 
or beings, so that the name of Kiwasa might be particularly applied to the 
idol in question. 

These savages consecrated chapels and oratories to this deity, in which 
the idol was often represented under a variety of shapes. They even kept 
some of these in the most retired part of their houses, to whom they com¬ 
municated their affairs, and consulted them upon occasion. In this case 
they made use of them in the quality of tutelary gods, from whom they 
supposed they received blessings on their families. 

The sacerdotal vestment of their priests was like a woman’s petticoat 
plaited, which they put about their necks, and tied over their right shoulder; 
but they always kept one arm out to use it as the occasion required, 
j This cloak was made round at the bottom, and descended no lower than 
the middle of the thigh: it was made of soft, well-dressed skins, with the 
hair outwards. 

These priests shaved their heads close, the crown excepted, wffiere they 
left only a little tuft, that reached from the top of the forehead to the nape 
of the neck, and even on the top of the forehead. They here left a border 
of hair, which, whether it was owing to nature, or the stiffness contracted 
by the fat and colours with which they daubed themselves, bristled up, and 
came forward like the corner of a square cap. 

The Virginians had a great veneration for their priests; and the latter 
endeavoured to procure it, by daubing themselves all over in a very fright- 
ful manner; dressing themselves in a very odd habit, and tricking up their 

•ji ? 

hair after a very whimsical manner. Every thing they said was consi- 
. ! dered as an oracle, and made a strong impression on the minds of the 
people: they often withdrew from society, and lived in woods or in 
huts, far removed from any habitation. They were difficult of access; 
and did not give themselves any trouble about provisions, because care was 
always taken to set food for them near their habitations. They were always 
addressed in cases of great necessity. They also acted in the quality of 

* Hannah Adams’s Diet, of Ali Religions. 








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PAGAN NATIONS. 


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physicians, because of the great knowledge they were supposed to have ot 
nature. In fine, peace or war was determined by their voice, nor was anv 
thing of importance undertaken without first consulting them. 

They had not any stated times nor fixed days on which they celebrated 
cneir festivals, but they regulated them only by the different seasons of the 
year. As, for instance, they celebrated one day at the arrival of their wild 
birds, another upon the return of the hunting season, and for the maturity 
of their fruits ; but the greatest festival of all was at harvest time. They 
then spent severa* days in diverting themselves, and enjoyed most of their 
amusements, such as martial dances, and heroic songs. 

After their return from war, or escaping some danger, they lighted fires, 
and made merry about them, each having his gourd-bottle, or his little bell, 
in his hand. Men, women, and children, often danced in a confused man¬ 
ner about these fires. Their devotions in general consisted only of accla¬ 
mations of joy, mixed with dances and songs ; except in seasons of sorrow 
and affliction, when they were changed into howlings. The priests pre¬ 
sided at this solemnity, dressed in their sacerdotal ornaments, part of which 
were the gourd-bottle, the petticoat above-mentioned, and the serpents’ or 
weasels’ skins, the tails of which were dexterously tied upon their heads 
like a tiara, or triple-crown. These priests began the song, and always 
opened the religious exercise, to which they often added incantations, part 
of the mysteries of which were comprehended in the songs above-men¬ 
tioned. The noise, the gestures, the wry faces, in a word, every thing 
contributed to render these incantations terrible. 

The deities of the ancient Mexicans are said to have exceeded two thou¬ 
sand, who had their respective temples, ceremonies, and sacrifices. There 
was hardly a street without its tutelary divinity, nor was 
there scarcely a disease which had not its peculiar altar, to 
which the Mexicans flocked in order to be healed. Their principal deity 
was Vitzliputzli , whom they considered the sovereign lord of all things, 
and creator of heaven and earth. The greatest god after Vitzliputzli was 
the Sun. Another of their divinities was Tlaloch , whom some writers 
confound with Tescalipuca. But these were considered brothers, of equal 
strength, and so similar in disposition, that the sovereign power of war 
was divided between them. Tescalipuca was, however, more appropri¬ 
ately the god of penance, whom the Mexicans invoked in seasons of 
adversity. The Mercury and Plulus of the Mexicans, the former of whom 
was sometimes called Quitzalcoalt, was represented under a human shape, 
except that it had the head of a bird, with a painted paper mitre upon its 
head, and a scythe in its hand. The body of it was covered with jewels 
of extraordinary value. Besides the foregoing, the Mexicans worshipped 
various other deities, among whom we shall mention only Tozi , a beauti¬ 
ful woman, for whom, at her death, Vitzliputzli procured divine honours. 

50 


Mexicans. 



































































782 


MEXICANS. 


Nearly all their divinities were clothed with terror, and delighted in ven¬ 
geance. The figures of serpents, of tigers, and of other destructive ani¬ 
mals, decorated their temples. Fasts, mortifications, and penances, all 
rigid, and many of them excruciating to an extreme degree, were the means 
which they employed to appease the wrath of the gods. But of all offer¬ 
ings, human sacrifices were deemed the most acceptable. At the dedica¬ 
tion of the great temple at Mexico, it is reported there were 60 or 70,000 
human sacrifices. The usual amount of them was about 20,000. 

When the bloody sacrifices of the Mexicans took place, the victims 
about to be slain were assembled at a charnal-house on a terrace. A 
priest, holding in his hand an idol made of wheat-maize and honey, drew 
near to these unhappy wretches, and presenting it to each of them, cried 
out at the same time, “ There is your God !” 

This done, they withdrew, going off on the other side of the terrace, 
when the victims were immediately brought upon it, being the place 
appointed for the sacrifice. Six ministers of, the idol here slaughtered 
these victims; and having torn out their hearts, they threw the bodies 
down the staircase, from the top to the bottom of the terrace. 

They never sacrificed less than forty of these victims at a time ; and 
those nations who either bordered on, or were tributary to, the Mexicans, 
imitated them in this bloody worship. 

Another religious ceremony, which indeed does not seem so barbarous as 
the former, was the duel of the victim, if we may give this name to the 
liberty he was allowed of defending himself against the priest who was to 
sacrifice him. The captive, whose feet were tied to a stone, parried the 
instrument with which the priest struck at him, and even attacked him in 
his turn. If he had the good fortune to conquer the priest, he was released, 
and considered as a brave man ; but if the priest came off conqueror, 
he first killed him, then stripped off his skin, and had his limbs dressed 
and served up at one of those meals called by them their religious meals. 

The high priest was called Tapizlin in the Mexican language. It 
is pretended that his dignity was equal to that of the pope. He wore 
on his head a crown of beautiful feathers of various colours, with golden 
pendants, enriched with emeralds, at his ears, and a small blue tube, similar 
to that of the god of penance, ran through his lip. He was clothed in 
a scarlet robe, or rather mantle. The vestments of their priests were 
frequently changed according to the different seasons or festivals. 

The priesthood of Vitzliputzli was hereditary, and that of the other gods 
elective. Children were often destined from their most tender years to the 
service of idols, and officiated as clerks, and singing boys, when but mere 
striplings. The priests used to incense four times every day the god, 
whose ministers they were ; but at midnight, the principal ministers of the 
temple rose to perform the nocturnal office, viz., to sound a trumpet and 




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PAGAN NATIONS. 


783 


-=a®iill 


horn for a considerable time, and to play on certain instruments, accompa¬ 
nied with voices, which together celebrated the praises of the idol. After 
this, the priest, whose turn it was, took the thurible, saluted the idol, and 
incensed it, himself being clothed in a black mantle. In fine, after the in¬ 
censing was over, they all went together into a chapel, where they prac¬ 
tised all those rigorous penances which have been already described. 

The Mexicans, at the end of every month, which among them consisted 
of twenty days, used to observe a solemn day of devotion, mixed with 
rejoicings. They then sacrificed some captives, and ran up and down the 
streets clothed in the skins of those miserable victims that had been just 
flayed. They danced, they sang, they collected alms for the priests, the 
giving of which among them, as in other places, was looked upon as an 
effect of real piety. The great festival of Vitzliputzli was celebrated 
in the month of May, two days before which, the nuns used to make 
a figure of maize and honey, representing that god. Then having dressed 
it in as magnificent a manner as possible, they seated it on an azure throne, 
which was supported by a kind of shaft. The nuns, who on that festival 
used to call themselves the sisters of Vitzliputzli, carried it in procession 
on their shoulders, to the area before the temple, where the young monks 
before cited received the idol, and, after having paid homage to it, carried 
it also on their shoulders to the steps of the sanctuary. 

The festival of Tescalipuca was celebrated the nineteenth of the same 
month, when the priests granted the people a remission of their sins. At 
the same time they sacrifice a captive, which we may almost consider as 
an imperfect image of the death which our blessed Saviour suffered for the 
redemption of mankind. 

The Mexicans used to celebrate a jubilee every four years, which was 
nothing more than the feast of penance, such as we have already described, 
except that it was more solemn, there being at that time a more general 
and plenary remission of sins. We are assured that the Mexicans sacri¬ 
ficed many human victims at this season. And the youth used to make a 
kind of challenge, who should first, and in one breath, get to the top of the 
temple. This enterprise was a very difficult one, since it gained applause 
to all those who had the glory of coming first to the goal, not to mention 
that they were distinguished from the rest of their countrymen, and, more¬ 
over, had the privilege of carrying off the sacred viands, of which they 
made the same use as Catholics do of relics. 

Forty days before the feast of Q,uitzalcoalt, the merchants purchased a 
slave of a very fine shape, who, during that time, represented the deity to 
whom he was to be sacrificed as a victim on the day of the festival; but 
they first washed him in the lake of the gods, which was the name they 
gave to the water which fitted him for the fatal apotheosis which ended 
with his death. 






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MEXICANS. 



784 

Marriage was solemnized by the authority of the priests, and a public 
instrument was drawn up, in which were mentioned the particulars of the 
wife’s fortune, which the husband was obliged to return in case of separa¬ 
tion. After their having agreed upon the articles, the couple went to the 
temple, where one of the sacrificing priests examined their resolutions by 
certain precise questions appointed for that purpose. He afterwards took 
up the husband’s mantle and the woman’s veil, and with one of his hands 
tied them together at one corner, to signify the inward tie of the wills. 
They then returned to their house, bound in this manner, accompanied by 
the sacrificing priest. Then they went and visited the hearth or fire, 
which they looked upon as the mediator of all disputes between man and. 
wife. They used to go seven times round it, successively, the sacrificing 
priest walking before; after which ceremony they both sat down, in order 
to be equally warmed by the heat of the fire, which gave the perfection to 
marriage. 

Burials and all funeral rites were regulated by their priests. They 
generally buried their dead in their gardens or houses, and commonly chose 
the courtyard for that purpose; they sometimes buried them in those 
places where they sacrificed to the idols. In fine, they frequently burned 
them, after which they buried their ashes in the temples, together with 
their movables, their utensils, and all they thought might be useful to them 
in the next world. They used to sing at funerals, and even made feasts 
on those occasions, which custom, how ridiculous soever it may be, some 
Christian nations have not been able to persuade themselves to lay aside. 
Above all, they buried their great lords in a very magnificent manner, and 
used to carry their bodies with great pomp and a numerous train into the 
temples. The priests walked first with their pans of copal, singing fune¬ 
ral hymns with a melancholy tone, accompanied with the hoarse and 
mournful sound of flutes. They lifted the body several times on high 
while they were sacrificing those who were appointed to serve the illustri 
ous dead. The domestics were put to death to keep their masters com¬ 
pany. It was a testimony of great affection, but very common among the 
lawful wives, to solemnize, by their deaths, the funerals of their husbands. 
They buried a great quantity of gold and silver with the deceased for th* 
expense of his journey, which they imagined was long and troublesome. 
The common people imitated the grandees in proportion to their substance. 
The friends of the deceased came and made presents to him, and talked to 
him as if he were still living ; the same ceremonies were practised whether 
they burned or buried the dead. We must not omit to state that they car¬ 
ried with them the achievements and trophies of the deceased, in case he 
were a man of quality, and that the priest who read the funeral service was 
dressed so as to set forth the glory of the idol whom the nobleman repre¬ 
sented. The funeral lasted ten days. 


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The city of Mexico is said to have contained nearly 2000 small temples, 
and 360 which were adorned with steeples. The whole empire of Mexico 
contained about 40,000 temples, endowed with very considerable revenues. 
For the service in the grand temple of Mexico itself, above 5000 priests 
were appointed ; and the number in the whole empire is said to have 
amounted to nearly a million. The whole priesthood, excepting that of 
the conquered nations, was governed by two high priests, who were also 
the oracles of the kings. Besides the service in the temple, their clergy 
were to instruct the youth, to compose the calendars, and to paint the 
mythological pictures. The Mexicans had also priestesses, but they 
were not allowed to offer up sacrifices. They likewise had monastic 
orders, especially one, into which no person was admitted under sixty years 
of age. 

The Peruvians, previously to being governed by their Incas, worshipped 
a great number of gods, or rather genii. There was no nation, family, 
city, street, or even house, but had its peculiar gods ; and for this particu¬ 
lar reason, that they thought none but the god to whom they immediately 
devoted themselves was able to assist them in time of need. They wor¬ 
shipped herbs, plants, flowers, trees, mountains, caves, tigers, lions, adders; 
in fine, every thing that appeared wonderful in their eyes was thought 
worthy of adoration. 

These ancient idolaters of Peru offered not only the fruits of the earth 
and animals to these gods, but also their captives, like the rest of the 
Americans. It was their custom to sacrifice their own children, whenever 
there was a scarcity of victims. 

Some other idolaters offered their own blood to their deities, which they 
drew from their arms and thighs, according as the sacrifice was more 
or less solemn ; and they even used, on extraordinary occasions, to bleed 
themselves at the tips of their nostrils, or between the eyebrows. 

Such was the state of idolatry all over Peru, when the Inca Mancocapac , 
the lawgiver of that vast empire, taught the savages the worship of the 
Sun. From this time, sacrifices of various kinds of animals were offered 
in honour of the sun, and also cocoa, corn, rich clothes, and a liquor made 
of water and maize. They always presented the last offering to the sun, 
in the following manner: when they were very thirsty, they first satisfied 
their hunger, and afterwards dipped the tip of their finger in the vessel 
into which the liquor was poured ; this being done, they lifted up their 
eyes to heaven in a very submissive manner ; shook that finger on which 
the drop hung, and offered it to the sun as an acknowledgment for his 
goodness in providing drink for them. At the same time they gave two 
or three kisses to the air. This oblation being made, they all drank as they 
thought proper. 

Every time they entered their temples, the chief man in the company 














































































AFRICAN TRIBES. 



Caribbees. 





i 






laid his hand on one of his eyebrows, and whether he tore off any of the 
hairs or not, he blew it into the air before the idol, as a mark of its being 
an oblation. They paid the same adoration to trees, and to all those things 
which a divine virtue had made sacred and religious. 

The savages or Indians of the Caribbee Islands, if they may be so 
called, have no words, it is said, to express a supreme Being ; but acknow¬ 
ledge a good and an evil principle, both of which they call 
Maboia. They believe in a multitude of good spirits, one 
of whom each savage appropriates to himself, under the title of Chemen. 
To these Chemens they offer the first of their fruits, and sometimes out of 
gratitude make a feast to their honour. They make better images re¬ 
sembling the form under which Maboia reveals himself to them, in order to 
prevent his doing them any harm. They wear these images about their 
necks, and pretend that they give them ease. They also fast and cut 
themselves for his sake. 

There was formerly at Campeche a square theatre, or scaffold, built of 
earth and stone, about four cubits high. Upon the theatre was fixed 

_ , . the marble statue of a man, whom two animals of an extra- 

Campeche and 

Tobasco. ordinary shape seemed ready to tear in pieces. Near this 

figure a serpent was also represented, forty-seven feet in length, and of a 
proportionable thickness, which swallowed up a lion. These two last 
figures were made of marble like the rest, and enclosed in some measure 
by palisadoes. On the pavement were bows and arrows, bones and skulls. 
This is all we are told by Purchas concerning these figures, which possibly 
might have some mysterious signification couched under them. 

In the sacrifices made to their idols, by the natives of Tobasco, they 
used to rip up the victim’s breast and tear out his heart; they afterwards 
set, or rather enclosed the bloody body of the victim in a hollow made in 
a particular part of the lion’s neck. The blood of the victim fell into a 
stone reservoir, on the side of which was placed a stone statue representing 
a man, who seemed to look steadfastly at the blood of the sacrificed victim. 
As to the heart, the sacrificing priest, after having torn it out, smeared the 
idol’s face with it, and then threw it into the fire, which was lighted for 
that purpose. 


SEC. XIV.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF AFRICAN 

TRIBES. 

The natives of Africa universally believe in a Supreme Being, and have 
some ideas of a future state. They address this being by a fetishe or 
fetish, which is a sort of charm or manner of conducting their worship. 
The term is often applied to whatever represents their divinities. 

The Negroes of Congo believe in a good and an evil principle, which 














































PAGAN NATIONS. 




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are both supposed to reside in the sky. The former sends ram, the latter 
withholds it; but they do not seem to consider either of 
them as possessing any influence over human affairs. After 
death they all take their place in the sky, and enjoy a happy existence, 
without any regard being paid to their good or bad actions while here 
below. 

Each town has a grand kissey, or presiding divinity. It is the figure 
of a man, the body stuck with feathers, rags, and bits of iron, and resembles 
nothing so much as one of our scarecrows. The chenoo of Gooloo had a 
kissey so redoubtable that if any person attempted to shoot at it, he would 
fall down dead, and the flint would drop out of the musket. This powerful 
divinity was the figure of a man, about two feet high, rudely carved 
in wood, and covered with rags. 

Kolloh is the name of a great spirit, who is supposed to reside in the 
vicinity of Yangroo, in Western Africa. He makes his abode in the 
woods, and is rarely seen except on mournful occasions, such as the death 
of the king or of some of their head men, or when a person has been buried 
without the usual ceremonies of dancing, drinking palm-wine, &c., in re¬ 
membrance of their departed friends. 

The Kolloh is made of bamboo sticks in the form of an oval basket, about 
three feet long, and so deep that it goes on to the man’s shoulders. It is 
covered with a piece of net, and stuck all around with porcupine quills on 
the nose. It has a frightful appearance, and has a great effect in exciting 
the terror of the inhabitants. 

A certain man pretends to have some very intimate intercourse with this 
Beelzebub, and therefore he is called by the spirit to take the Kollah 
on his head, and to go about with it on certain occasions to see that the 
various ceremonies of the country are strictly observed, and if any are 
absent he seeks them out and drives them to the place of assembly.—He 
is a faithful servant of the Devil. 

The Kolloh-man carries a stick in his hand, to show his authority; and 
to give notice of his coming he rings a bell, which is fixed inside of the 
Kolloh or basket. These Kolloh-men are a set of plunderers, who disturb 
the peace and greatly deceive the ignorant natives. 

The fetishes of Whidah may be divided into three classes ; the serpent , 
tall trees , and the sea. The serpent is the most celebrated, the others 
being subordinate to the power of this deity. This snake 
has a large, round head, beautiful, piercing eyes, a short, 
pointed tongue, resembling a dart: its pace slow and solemn, except when 
it seizes on its prey, then very rapid; its tail sharp and short, its skin of 
an elegant smoothness, adorned with beautiful colours, upon a light gray 
ground : it is amazingly familiar and tame. Rich offerings are made to 
this deity; priests and priestesses appointed for its service ; it is invoked 




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788 


AFRICAN TRIBES. 


Benin. 


in extremely wet, dry, or barren seasons; and, in a word, on all the great 
difficulties and occurrences of life. 

The people of Benin believe in an invisible deity, who created heaven 
and earth, and governs them with absolute power; but they conceive it 
needless to worship him, because he is always doing good 
without their services. They also believe in a malignant 
deity, to whom they sacrifice men and animals, to satiate his thirst of blood, 
and prevent him from doing them mischief. But they have innumerable 
objects of worship ; as elephants* teeth, claws, bones, dead men’s heads, or 
any trifle that chance throws in their way, to which they make a daily 
offering of a few boiled yams, mixed with palm oil. On great occasions 
they sacrifice a cock, treating the divinity with the blood only, and reserv¬ 
ing the flesh for themselves. Persons of high rank give an annual feast to 
their gods, at which multitudes of cattle are offered to the idols and eaten 
by the people. Each offers his own sacrifices, without giving the priests 
any sort of trouble. 

Picart has given a particular account of a ceremony of some tribes in 
Guinea, around a sacred tree, called the tree of the Fetish. At the foot 
thereof, he says, they set a table, which is embellished below 
with boughs wreathed in the form of crowns. The table is 
covered with palm wine, rice, millet, &c., in order to drink and eat after 
their service is over, in honour of their fetishes. The whole day is spent 
in dancing and capering round the tree of the fetish, and in singing and 
drumming upon divers instruments of brass. Their priest frequently sits 
near the centre of the place before a kind of altar, on which he offers up 
some sacrifices to the fetishes. Men, women, and children, sit promiscu¬ 
ously round the celebrant, who reads or pronounces a kind of homily to 
them. At the conclusion, he takes a wisp of straw, twisted hard, which 
he dips into a pot full of some particular liquor, in which there is a ser¬ 
pent. He either besmears, or sprinkles the children with this holy water, 
mumbling over them a certain form of words. He observes the same 
ceremony with respect to the altar, and afterwards empties the pot; and 
then his assistants close the service with some inarticulate, unintelligible 
sounds, loud acclamations, and clapping of hands. On this solemn day, 
they wash their faces and bodies with more care and pains than on any 
other, for they practise ablutions. They wash themselves every morn- 
ing, and afterwards draw white lines upon their faces, with a piece of 
earth, like chalk or lime, as acts of devotion, performed in honour of the 
fetish. 

The priest, attended by two women, frequently repairs to the tree of the 
fetish, m order to accomplish his magical incantations ; at the foot of which 
appears a black dog, which answers all his interrogatories. 

1 he religion of the Dahomans, hke that of the neighbouring kingdoms 



































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


789 


consists of such a mass of superstition as can hardly be described. The 
objects of their devotion are the sun and moon, various and 
mals and trees, and other substances. The Portuguese word 
fetico , or, as the English pronounce it, fetish , signifying witchcraft, has 
been adopted by most of the maritime natives of Africa, as well as by the 
Europeans who trade thither. Of their amulets , or charms , the principal 
is a scrap of parchment, containing a sentence of the Koran, which the 
natives purchase from the Moors who visit the country, and which they 
hang up in their apartments, and decorate with a variety of rude images. 
Among the objects of their idolatrous worship is a species of snake or ser¬ 
pent, called Daboa ; they put it in a basket, and place it in the temple 
destined for it, where they secretly feed it with rats, but pretend that it 
lives upon air. The temple is served by priestesses, supported at the 
king’s expense. Every year there is a festival in honour of this serpent, 
at which the grandees assist, and for which the king supplies the neces¬ 
sary articles. It lasts usually seven days, during which time the people 
abandon themselves to drinking, music, and dancing. Great faith is 
placed in the serpent. Those who labour under bodily pains, appiy the 
animal to the part affected, and pregnant women offer prayers to it for a 
favourable delivery. The tiger is also held in veneration, and there is a 
temple dedicated to the devil, or bad demon. Notwithstanding these su¬ 
perstitions, the people have a confused idea of a Supreme Being, all-pow¬ 
erful and infinite, whom they endeavour to propitiate by their fetish; but 
pay him no other worship, as they are convinced that he is too good to do 
them any evil. 

The Ashantees are, perhaps, the most polished nation of negroes to be 
met with in Western Africa. They are, however, gross idolaters, and most 
lavish of human blood in sacrifices at their funerals and fes- 
Ashantees. t i va ] s# They say that, at the beginning of the world, God 

created three black men, and three white, with the same number of wo¬ 
men, and placed before them a large box, or calabash, and a sealed paper. 
The black men had the privilege of choosing, and they took the box ex¬ 
pecting it contained every thing; but when they opened it, they found 
only gold, iron, and other metals, of which they did not know the use. 
The white men opened the paper, which told them every thing. This 
happened in Africa, where God left the black men in the bush. The white 
men he conducted to the water side, where he taught them to build a ship, 
which carried them to another country. From hence they returned, after 
a long period, with various merchandise, to trade with the black men, who 
might have been superior people if they had chosen right. The kings 
and governors are believed to dwell with God after death, enjoying to eter¬ 
nity the luxuries and state they possessed on earth: the paradise of the 
poor affords only a cessation from labour. There are two orders of men 






































































THE MALAGASY. 


attached to the inferior deities called fetishes. Every family has its domes¬ 
tic fetish, to which they offer yams, &c.; some of them are wooden figures ; 
others are of fanciful forms, and different materials. When the Ashantees 
drink, they spill a little of the liquor on the ground, as an offering to the 
fetish; and when they rise from their chairs or stools, their attendants 
hastily lay the seat on its side, to prevent the devil, or evil spirits, from 
slipping into their master’s place. This evil spirit is supposed to be 
white; doubtless from the same motive or feeling which induces Europeans 
to say that he is black: for, indeed, who would wish to resemble the devil, 
either in colour or shape, however some of us may not object to a resem¬ 
blance to him in character ? 

SEC. XV.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE 

MALAGASY. 

The latest, and no doubt the most correct, account of the superstitious 
rites and ceremonies of the people of Madagascar is to be found in Ellis’s 
History of Madagascar. From that work, the greater part of the informa¬ 
tion about to be given has been obtained. 

It has long been thought, that the Malagasy were a people favourably 
prepared by circumstances to receive Christianity, for they have usually 
been represented as being free from popular idols and religious observances 
to any extent that would render them averse to the influences of a better 
religion than their own. This impression, however, only arose from a want 
of that knowledge which has latterly been painfully obtained. 

The same feelings and passions which move in the breasts of other 
people, are at work in the hearts of the Malagasy, and they, moved by the 
same hopes and fears, and joys and sorrows, that characterize humanity, 
have, in their destitution of the light of revelation, sought a refuge to arm 
them against evil, and to inspire them with hope, in a belief of charms. 
They cannot regard creation around them without being convinced of an 
unseen and powerful agency, and being unable to account for effects visible 
to their eyes, and possessing no impression of a superintending Providence 
they consider that charms alone could have effected what is above their 
apprehension. 

But while the Malagasy believe in ody, (charms,) they have a conviction 
of the infallibility of the sikidy, or divination, by which the charm must 
be decided, and to this must also be added, an undefined belief in some 
superior, though unknown power, whose will the diviner’s art is about to 
make known. The art of the diviner is considered as certain in its result 
though the premises from which that result issues are avowedly laid in 
chances. The Mohammedan is not more wedded to the doctrine of fate 
than the Malagasy to their “ vintana”—a stern and unbending destiny. 

Though Madagascar has no visible objects of worship calculated to claim 


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veneration, ana cnarm tne senses to any great degree, and recognises no 
order of priests, yet it is not without its idols, its ceremonies, its sacrifices, 
and its divinations. It has, too, its altars, its vows, and its forbidden things 
(forbidden because hateful to the supposed genius of the place,) as well as. 
its mythology, oaths, and forms of benediction. No people surpass the 
Malagasy in credulity; ghosts, witches apparitions, legendary wonders, 
and feats of ferocious giants and monsters, have their full influence over 
their minds. The people appeal to a superior but unknown power to pro¬ 
tect them from sorcery, and to purge the land from the evils of witchcraft, 
the innocent blood is shed of numberless human victims, who are perse¬ 
cuted, poisoned, speared, strangled, or hurled over a fatal precipice. Being 
without divine truth, the Malagasy cling tenaciously to the superstitions of 
their forefathers. 

Though they speak of God, pray to God, appeal to God, and bless in 
the name of God, yet is the notion they form of God so vague, uncertain, 
and, indeed, contradictory, that it can hardly be said with truth that they 
know any thing of the creator, preserver, and redeemer of mankind. “Ra- 
dama, king of Madagascar, was, a few years ago, offered the knighthood of 
the order of St. Patrick, which he declined, assigning as his reason that he 
could not take the oath which required him to say that he believed in God, 
meaning the God of the Europeans.” There is no doubt that the real 
belief of the Malagasy, concerning God, is far from being what the terms 
found in their language would seem to imply. 

The terms for God in the native language are Andriamanitra and Zan- 
ahary, or Andria-nanahary, but the notions entertained, respecting them, 
are of the most confused kind; whatever is great, or grand, or new, or 
extraordinary, is at once called Andriamanitra. Rice, money, thunder and 
lightning, with earthquakes, and other things, are called God. A book is 
god, a deceased king is god, velvet is son of god, and silk is god in the 
highest degree. “ It is related of Radama, that in a heavy thunder-storm 
which occurred one evening, he amused himself in firing off some pieces 
of cannon. The British agent went to him, and inquired his reason for 
doing so. ‘Oh !’ said the king, ‘we are answering one another—both of 
us are gods. God above is speaking by his thunder and lightning, and 
I am replying by my powder and cannon.’ Mr. Hastie pointed out tc 
him the presumption of his conduct, and the king ordered the firing to 


cease. 


The Malagasy believe that when the body dies, the mind becomes 
“levona,”—i. e. vanished, invisible, and that the life becomes “rivotra,”— 
air, or wind, a mere breeze. Some of the inhabitants on parts of the coast 
believe in the existence of four superior divinities, or lords, who govern the 
four quarters of the earth—in the interior of the country this belief is 
regarded as a fable. The doctrine of a future state of retribution is not 

















































792 


THE MALAGASY. 


known to the Malagasy. No conceptions are entertained of the relation 
existing between the creator and the created, and no moral responsibility 
impressed on the mind. Chicanery, lying, and cheating, are considered 
but very light offences, compared with trampling on a grave, eating pork 
in places where it is forbidden, running after an owl, or wild cat, or pre 
paring any kind of enchantment. 

The Malagasy practise the ceremony of circumcision, purification, and 
offering sacrifice; but they have no traditions of the creation, the fall of 
man, the deluge, the favoured people of God, or of the Messiah. The 
doctrine of a Mediator, the birth of a Redeemer, the salvation of man, the 
renewal of the heart, the resurrection, the general judgment, and the glory 
to be revealed, are unknown to them. 

There are twelve or fifteen principal idols in the vicinity of Tananariva, 
which excite the religious dread of the people, and four of these are 
regarded as superior to the rest. They are supposed to exert more influ¬ 
ence in protecting and benefiting the Sovereign and the country than the 
others, and are therefore national idols. Different clans and districts have 
their own idols, which are little known beyond their immediate neighbour¬ 
hood. The idols of Imerina have no power among the Sakalavas, nor have 
the Sakalava gods any influence in Imerina. 

Not only has every clan its own idol, but every house and family its 
ody, or charm ; many wear crocodiles’ teeth as receptacles of their ody, 
and in this they put their trust in all circumstances of sickness and peril, 
in life and in death. 

It is not known whether the kings who raised the national idols to their 
present elevation, instituted any public worship, for none is now offered to 
them ; yet still they are called God, and regarded as such. A native Ma¬ 
lagasy thus describes the idol gods:—“The idols are called God, prayed to, 
praised, thanked, highly regarded, honoured, and lifted up : they are said to 
be that which causes to live, and causes to die, and are supposed to see the 
future, the past, and the present, and to be able to cast down the thunder¬ 
bolts, pour down the hail, to remove the disease, and inflict curses, and to 
assemble the snake tribe against all who calumniate them. It is said, also, 
that their calumniators are strangled by them. They are called ‘means 
of life,’ and are kept in boxes.” The serpents of Madagascar are very 
numerous; they are regarded as the particular agents of the idols, and on 
this account are looked upon with much apprehension. The national idols 
of Madagascar are kept very secret: to endeavour to see them is a crime. 
No strangers are allowed to approach the houses where they are pre¬ 
served, so that the materials of which they are made and the forms given 
to them cannot be described here. When one of them is carried in 
public, its appearance is that of a small image wrapped in red cloth. It 
is elevated on a pole, that it may be borne along with greater ease, and 


V 



































































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PAGAN NATIONS 


at the same time make an impression on the awe-struck multitude. 
Though it is carried along in this public manner, the people are forbidden 
to gaze upon it—an inconsistency that can hardly be accounted for. The 
sovereign gives the red velvet in which the idol is enveloped. A Malagasy 
idol was given on a certain occasion, and its appearance was of the most 
extraordinary kind. 

The household gods of Madagascar are of many kinds : any thing which 
strikes the fancy, or allures the eye, will do for a god. One man worship¬ 
ped a piece of silver about the size of a walnut, shaped like a bullock ; he 
called it his “ bullock of money.” An old chief had hung up in his dwell¬ 
ing an odd-looking bushy plant; this was his god. 

The names of the principal idols already alluded to are as follows:— 


1. Rakelimalaza. 5. Ramanjaibola. 

2. Ramahavaly. 6. Rafaronatra. 

3. Ramanjakatsiroa. 7. Ratsimahavaly. 

4. Raf’antaka. 8. Rabehaza. 


9. Ravalolona. 

10. Rafohitanana. 

11. Razanaharitsi- 

mandry. 


12. Ralehifotsy. 

13. Ralehimalemalema. 

14. Ratsisirnba. 

15. Ralandrema. 


Of these fifteen, the two first are by far the most important. 

At a distance of seven miles eastward of Tananariva, is situated the 
village of Ambohimanambola ; this place is the residence of Rakelima¬ 
laza. The whole of the hill occupied by the village is looked upon as 
sacred. The signification of the name of the idol is “Renowned although 
diminutive.” 

There are certain animals and objects which may not be admitted within 
the sacred precincts, and they have the name of Fady. Every idol has 
its own particular Fady. Gunpowder, pigs, onions, a shell-fish called 
sifotra, robes that are striped or spotted, goats, horses, cats, owls, with fire¬ 
arms, and any thing of a black colour, form, for the most part, the Fady 
of Rakelimalaza. The benefits supposed to be conferred by this idol are,— 
rendering the sovereign invisible and victorious, defending those who cross 
rivers from crocodiles, protecting true worshippers from sorcery, and extin¬ 
guishing fires. 

Ramahavaly ranks next in importance ; the signification of his name is, 
“Capable of replying:” his residence is at Ambohitany, though a house 
is prepared at the capital for his occasional residence. There is a steep 
hady or fosse round the idol-house, and no stranger is allowed to draw near 
to it, lest the power of the charms of the idol should suffer injury. The 
Fady of articles forbidden to approach Ramahavaly, are the flesh of ani¬ 
mals killed at funerals, and other things. This idol most strictly forbids 
the killing of serpents. 

Ramahavaly is considered as the physician of Imerina, and is frequently 
taken from one place to another to arrest the progress of disease. A cere¬ 
mony, called Miafana, takes place at the capital, almost every year, wherein 
a guardian of the idol officiates as priest, and sprinkles the people assem¬ 
bled as they pass by, in the presence of the idol, with honied water. 
































































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MALAGASY. 




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While the sprinkling goes on, the priest cries out, “ Take courage, you, 
your wives and children ! You have Ramahavaly ! take courage for your¬ 
selves and your property! He is the pieserver of life; and should dis¬ 
eases invade, he will suddenly arrest them, and prevent them coming near 
to injure you.” 

The name of the idol kept at the capital is Ramanjakatsiroa,— i. e. t 
“There are not two sovereigns,” or, “The king is supreme.” This idol 
is, however, considered to be inferior to both Rakelimalaza, and Rama¬ 
havaly. 

The idol called Ranakandriana, on a high mountain at Andringitra, is 
supposed to have imparted the knowledge of divination to the Malagasy; 
and he is said, also, to reply when any one addresses him. It is not an 
improbable supposition that this belief has been brought about by the echo 
of the place, every sound being reverberated very distinctly among the 
rocks. Some years ago, King Radama resolved to visit Ranakandriana, 
to ascertain whether it was really true that an answer was given by him 
to any question proposed. No sooner had the monarch entered the dark 
cavern of the idol, and saluted the invisible divinity, than he heard a low 
and solemn voice reply to him. He then presented a small donation of 
money, but immediately seized the hand that was gently put forth to 
receive it. This hand he held fast, crying out, “This is no god—this is a 
human being!” At his command the impostor was then dragged forth; 
and thus the spell was broken, and the disbelief of the king in the practised ^ 
superstition confirmed. 

There are many inferior idols, and among them Keli-manjaka-lanitra, 

“ Little, but ruling the heavens;” Manara-mody, “ The restorer to one’s 
home;” Rakapila, “Half dishevelled;” Randrano-vola, “The silver 
water;” Randrano-mena, “The red water;” Ramanandroany, “The go¬ 
vernor of the past part of the day;” Rafortribe, and others. Ramanan¬ 
droany is considered potent in punishing an unknown thief; and the owner 
of the lost property thus addresses him: “As to whoever stole our pro- j -, v 
perty, O Ramanandroany! kill him by day, destroy him by night, and tV- 

strangle him ! Let there be none among men like him: let him not be \ r 

able to increase in riches—not even a farthing—but let him pick up his 
livelihood as a hen pecks rice-grains : let his eyes be blinded, and his knees 
be swollen, O Ramanandroany !” 

When any one wishes to obtain a favour from an idol, he accompanies 
his request with a present and a vow. The keeper of the idol receives the 
offering in the name of the idol, and retains it for his own benefit. What¬ 
ever be the object of desire, it is stated to the keeper, who repeats it to the j 

idol; and if the request be favourably received, a wisp of straw is rapidly 
whirled round by the keeper; but if the straw move not, it is a sign that 1 -n 

i •j i • . . . , « ° a i 


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the idol is not propitious. If the request be for a safe return from war, 

/ r) *' (Ol! 


Y- y V 


C: 





















































PAGAN NATIONS 


or prosperity in any enterprise, or the birth of a child, the vow made with 
the request must be fulfilled as soon as may be after the benefit has been 
obtained. To fulfil the vow is to bring the promised offering: this is called 
Manala-voady, the signification of which is, “ to fetch away, or remove the 
vow.” 

Sacrifices and offerings are not compulsory. Each individual gives what 
he pleases, according to his riches or poverty. In some places the idol 
has the head, the blood, and the fat only, while the carcass is devoured by 
the sacrificers and their friends:—this is a very convenient arrangement 
for the sacrificers. 

There are many occasions on which the idols are publicly exhibited, and 
their antipathies are then proclaimed ; the following is one of these procla¬ 
mations :—“ Practise abstinence well; let each of you take good heed to 
avoid what is prohibited by his idol, whose antipathies are the pig;—let 
him take heed that it have no access to the villages of his abode. The 
snail, musket, and onions, let them not be borne there ; and the goat and 
the horse, suffer them not to ascend his villages; and in the time of thunder 
(that is, summer) the children shall not play at kicking each other blue. 
Ye shall not throw dirt at each other; for these things are his antipathies, 
so do not these things, but take good heed.” 

The processions of the idols are curious. In one of them the first man 
carries the symbol of the idol on the top of a pole twenty feet in height. 
Round the symbol, and round the top of the pole, is wrapped scarlet velvet, 
which hang down like the skirts of a child’s doll. The next man bears a 
bullock’s horn, filled with honey-water, while in his right hand he holds a 
bunch of twigs, to be used in sprinkling. Then come fifty fine young 
men, each one carrying in his left hand a bundle of grass containing a ser¬ 
pent ; his right hand is left free, that he may seize the reptile with it when 
he pleases. These young men walk two abreast, and brandish their arms 
about continually. When the procession arrives at any place considered 
to be affected with sorcery or evil of any kind, it is sprinkled to purify il, 
and preserve it from harm; and when any fence or building is approached 
that is repugnant to the idol, a small part of it is removed, as a sign that it 
must be taken down ; and with this requirement the owner of it is obliged 
to comply. 

It was once thought that no human victims were slain, but this impres¬ 
sion is incorrect. Human sacrifices were offered in former times in the 
province of Vangardrano. An immolation took place every Friday, and 
chiefs and principal men were often slain as a more costly sacrifice to the 
blood-thirsty Moloch who presided. The victims were speared, and de¬ 
voured by dogs and birds. These sacrifices were not, strictly speaking, 
offered directly to the idol. The victims were slain before an enormous 
pole, on the top of which ody, or charms, were suspended, and the incan- 






























































MALAGASY. 


tation and sacrifices were, both together, expected to work wondrous 
effects. 

There are two ceremonies connected with the religious rites of Ankova, 
called Faditra and Afana. The first is any thing chosen by the sikidy for 
the removal of diseases: it may be ashes, a sheep, cut money, or a pump¬ 
kin. The priest reckons upon it all the evils that may be hurtful to the 
person for whom it is made, and charges the Faditra to take them away 
for ever. If the Faditra be ashes, the wind is allowed to blow it away , if 
money, it is cast into deep water; if a sheep, it is carried to a great distance 
on the shoulders of a man, who runs along, complaining all the while of 
the evils the Faditra is carrying away ; and if it be a pumpkin, it is carried 
to a distance, and dashed in pieces against the ground. 

The Afana is performed at the grave of a person lately buried, and con¬ 
sists of slaughtering cattle and feasting, accompanied with firing of muskets 
or cannon. The skulls of the slaughtered cattle are fixed on poles, at the 
head of the tomb. This is done to take evil from the dead, that he may 
repose in peace. The last kind act which can be performed for the dead 
is the ceremony of the Afana. 

The term Vazimba has three significations, but in its strictest sense it 
designates the aborigines of the interior of Madagascar. The graves of the 
Vazimba are numerous, and to violate them in the slightest degree is a very 
heavy crime. So terribly tenacious and revengeful are the ghosts of the 
Vazimba said to be, that an accidental stumble against one of their resting- 
places would bring down a terrible doom on the inadvertent offender. 

There are two characters attributed to the Vazimba: when a Vazimba 
grants what is asked of him, he is called masina—holy, forgiving, and 
effective: when he does not grant it, and occasions evil, he is called 
masiaka—fierce and implacable. 

To convince the Malagasy of the folly ot their fears respecting the 
Vazimba, the missionaries cut off a branch from a tree growing near the 
most popular Vazimba grave, and also carried away one of the stones. 
This absolutely terrified some young men who were present, and they 
doubted not that some terrible accident would avenge the impiety, or that 
the Vazimba would appear to resent the affront offered to the tomb. Day 
after day the missionaries inquired if the Vazimba had appeared, and the 
young men were convinced that their fears were groundless. When, how¬ 
ever, the missionaries asked them whether their parents were convinced 
that no danger was to be apprehended, they replied—“ No ! our parents say 
that you white people have some strong charms which the Vazimba are 
not able to resist.” 

Reports were circulated, after the death of king Radama, that he was 
seen one night in his garden, dressed in one of the uniforms buried with 
him in his silver coffin, and riding on one of his best horses. Old Andria- 










































































PAGAN NATIONS 


mamba, one of the principal ministers, was immediately sent by the queen, 
attended by many priests, to ask Radama why he came again to disturb 
them. The priests had with them the idols and sikidy, and they sacrificed 
a bullock on the occasion. The priests inquired of Radama whether they 
had not buried property enough in his tomb ? and whether he did not turn 
his back upon them of his own accord, for they had not driven him away 
It seems that this attention, in the opinion of the Malagasy, appeased the 
ghost of the old monarch, and it came again no more. It is not known 
what is the origin of the term sikidy. The word means, among the Mala- 
gasy, a certain kind of divination, to which they are devotedly attached. 
It is not astrology, nor is it necromancy. It has nothing to do with the 
flight of birds, the inspection of the entrails of slaughtered animals, nor the 
interpretation of dreams. It partakes neither of the nature of magic, leger¬ 
demain, nor ordinary incantation. It is the mode of working a particular 
process with beans, straw, rice, or sand. The rules for this are fixed and 
invariable, and the result is considered certain. 

Missionary efforts have been successfully made in Madagascar, schools 
have been formed, and a Malagasy Bible has been printed : but since the 
death of King Radama, the queen has prohibited the profession of the 
Christian faith by the natives; indeed the profession of Christianity and the 
observance of Christian ordinances are punishable with death. At the 
present time a strong persecution is carried on against the native Christian, 
and the missionaries have left the island. A young woman named Rasala- 
ma has been cruelly put to death. She was severely flogged for several 
days before her life was taken. Rafaralahy, a young man, has also been 
put to death for professing the Christian faith.—He died with great firm¬ 
ness and constancy. The reported death of Rafaravavy, who was accused 
to the government of possessing the Holy Scriptures, and reading them, is 
not correct. There is now but little prospect of the superstitious rites and 
ceremonies of Madagascar being soon exchanged for the Christian faith. 

SEC. XVI.—RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE 

POLYNESIANS. 

Polynesia is a name given by geographers to the great body of islands 
scattered over the Pacific ocean, between Australasia and the Philippines, 
and the American continent. It extends from lat. 35° N. to 

Polynesians. ^qo g. . an( j f rom } on . 170 0 to 230° E.; an extent of 5000 

miles from north to south, and 3600 from west to east. It includes, there¬ 
fore, the Sandwich islands, the Marquesas, Navigators, Society, Mulgrave, 
Friendly, Ladrone, and Pelew Isles, the Carolines, Pitcairn’s island, &c. 

A general similarity in respect to the objects of religious worship, as 
well as the forms of idolatrous and superstitious practices, obtains through¬ 
out the whole of Polynesia ; although some differences may be found be- 


m 

























































































798 


POLYNESIANS. 


Gods. 


Idols. 


tween groups of islands, and even between islands belonging to the same 
group. 

The supreme deity of Polynesia, who is generally regarded as the creator 
of the world, and the parent of gods and men, has different names in dif¬ 
ferent groups. By the Tahitians, he is called Taaroa; 
by the Hawaiians, Tanaroa; and by the inhabitants of the 
Western Isles, Tangaroa. According to one of the legends of the Tahi¬ 
tian mythology, Taaroa was born of Night, or proceeded from Chaos, 
as did his consort Ofeufeumaiterai. Oro, the great national idol of Raitea, 
Tahiti, Eimeo, and some other islands, was the son of the foregoing. Oro 
took a goddess to wife, who became the mother of two sons. These four 
male and two female deities constituted their divinities of the highest rank. 
This was the catalogue furnished the missionaries by the priests of Tahiti. 
Other gods of high and uncreated order, however, are mentioned, as 
Raa, Tane, &c. Besides the above, they had numerous other inferior 
deities. 

The image of Taaroa cannot well be described. It may be stated, how¬ 
ever, in respect to one, which was taken from the temple at Rurutu, that 
it bore some resemblance to the human figure. It was 
about four feet high, and twelve or fifteen inches broad, and 
was carved out of a solid piece of close, white, durable wood. On his 
face and body a great number of images were formed, denoting the number 
of gods which had proceeded from him ; the image was hollow, and within 
was found a number of small idols. 

In the Sandwich islands there is a resemblance among all their idols. 
The head has generally a horrid appearance, the mouth being large, and 
usually extended wide, exhibiting a row of large teeth, re¬ 
sembling the cogs in the wheel of an engine, and adapted to 
excite terror rather than inspire confidence. Some of these idols are of 
stone; others are composed of wicker work covered with red feathers. 

The Polynesian temples are of three classes—natural, local, and do¬ 
mestic. In the first are deposited their principal idols, and in and around 
them are held their great festivals : the second belong to the 
several districts ; the third are appropriated to the worship 
of their household gods. In the South Sea islands the name of their 
temples was Marae ; these were buildings of a rude construction, and 
resembled oratories more than temples. 

The worship of the Polynesians consists of prayers, offerings and sacri¬ 
fices. In their prayers, they address their gods either in a kneeling pos¬ 
ture, cross-legged, or crouching. Like the Pharisees in the 
days of our Saviour, they extend their supplications to a 
great length, and use many vain repetitions, thereby hoping to recommend 
themselves to the special notice of the deity. Their offerings consist of 


Sandwich 

Idols. 


Temples. 


Worship. 





































































































PAGAN NATIONS. 799 


fowls, fishes, beasts of the field, fruits of the earth, and manufactures 
of various kinds. When animals are offered, they are generally whole ; 
but fruits are commonly dressed. Portions of the offerings are considered 
sacred, and may not be eaten ; the remainder is monopolized by the priests, 
and other sacred persons, who are privileged to eat of the sacrifices. 
Human victims were formerly offered in great numbers, especially in 
seasons of war, at great national festivals, during the illness of their rulers, 
and on the erection of their temples. When an individual had been 
selected for sacrifice, the family to which he belonged was said to be tabu , 
i. e. devoted ; and, hence, if another victim was wanted, it was likely to be 
taken from such a family. When the person was about to be sacrificed, 
he was generally murdered at a moment when he was little expecting the 
stroke. As soon as dead, his body was placed in a long basket, and 
carried to the temple. Here it was offered, not by burning it, but by 
placing it before the idol. After a variety of ceremonies by the priest, 
among which one was to pluck out an eye of the victim, which being 
placed on a plantain leaf was handed to the king, who passed it to his 
mouth, as if he would eat it; the body was wrapped in a basket of cocoa- 
nut leaves, and frequently deposited on the branches of a neighbouring tree. 
Here having remained a considerable time, during which it became dry 
and shrivelled, it was taken down, and the bones were buried beneath the 
wide pavement of the Marae. 

When a person deceased, the first object was to ascertain the cause of 
his death, as the ceremonies which followed varied accordingly. These 

ceremonies being performed, the body was to be disposed of. 

Funcr&l Rites. » p • • p p « ■ j 

In case of a chief, or person of rank, the body was pre- 
served ; but all others were buried. When about to be interred, the corpse 
was placed in a sitting posture, with the knees elevated, the face pressed 
down between the knees, the hands fastened under the legs, and the whole 
body tied with a cord. The interment usually took place on the day the 
person deceased, or the day following. During the interval which elapsed 
between death and burial, the surviving friends watched the corpse, indulg¬ 
ing their grief in loud and bitter lamentations, and cutting themselves with 
a shark’s tooth. The bodies of their chiefs were embalmed, and after¬ 
wards preserved in houses erected for that purpose. 

The substance of the following account of the religion and religious ruea 
and customs of Polynesia, is obtained from J. Williams’s interesting parti¬ 
culars of the South Sea islands. 

The religious system of the Samoans differs essentially from that which 
obtained at the Tahitian, Society, and other islands. They have neither 
maraes, nor temples, nor altars, nor offerings; and, consequently, none of 
the barbarous and sanguinary rites observed at the other groups. On this 
account the Samoans were considered an impious race. When the people 



















































































POLYNESIANS 


of Rarotongo upbraided a person who had neglected the worship of the 
gods, they called him “a godless Samoan.” 

But, although the Samoans had no altars stained with human blood, no 
maraes strewed with the skulls and bones of its numerous victims, no 
sacred groves devoted to brutal and sensual rites, their religious system 
was as obviously marked as any other with absurdity, superstition, and 
vice. In order to furnish a sketch of the religion of the Polynesians, it 
will be necessary to describe their gods; the nature of their worship ; 
their ideas of a future state ; and the means they adopted to secure final 
happiness. 

The objects worshipped by them were of three kinds—their deified an¬ 
cestors, their idols, and their etus. Many of their ancestors were deified 
for conferring supposed benefits upon mankind. It was believed that the 
world was once in darkness ; but that one of their progenitors, by an absurd 
process, created the sun, moon, and stars. For this he was worshipped, 
until the light of Christianity dawned upon them. Another tradition stated 
that the heavens were originally so close to the earth, that men were com 
pelled to crawl, being unable to walk upright. An individual attempted to 
elevate the heavens to a more convenient height. For this purpose he put 
forth his utmost energy; and by the first effort, raised them to the top of a 
tender plant, called teve, about four feet high. There he left them until 
he was refreshed. By a second effort, he raised them to the height of a 
tree called kauariki, which is as large as the sycamore. His third effort 
lifted them to the summits of the mountains; and, after a long interval of 
repose, by a most prodigious effort, he elevated them to their present situa¬ 
tion. This vast undertaking was believed to have been facilitated by my¬ 
riads of dragon flies, which, with their wings, severed the cords that con¬ 
fined the heavens to the earth. This individual was deified, and the de¬ 
luded inhabitants worshipped him as “the elevator of the heavens.” They 
had, likewise, the god of the fisherman, of the husbandman, of the voyager, 
of the thief, and of the warrior. The chief of Aitutaki gave a short ac¬ 
count of the relics of idolatry. The following selection may give the reader 
a general idea of the whole: 

An idol named Te-rongo, one of the great deities, called a kai-tangata, 
or man-eater. The priests of this idol were supposed to be inspired by the 
shark. 

Tangaroa, the great national god of Aitutaki, and of almost all the 
adjacent islands. He holds the net with which he catches the spirits 
of men as they fly from their bodies, and a spear with which he kills 
them. 

A rod, with snares at the end, made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, 
with which the priest caught the spirit of the god. It was used in cases 
of pregnancy, when the female was ambitious that her child should be a 

88 3 N 









































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


801 


son, and become a famous warrior. It was also employed in war time to 
catch the god by the leg, to secure his influence on the side of the party 
performing the ceremony. 

Ruanuu; a chief from Raiatea, who, ages ago, sailed in a canoe from that 
island, and settled at Aitutaki. From him a genealogy is traced. He died 
at Aitutaki, and was deified, as Te atua taitai tere, or the conductor of fleets. 
The Raiateans have several interesting traditions connected with Ruanuu. 
To this idol was appended an old tattered silk handkerchief, and the foot 
of a wine-glass; both of which were obtained from Captain Cook’s vessel, 
and dedicated to Ruanuu, the “ god or guide of fleets,” for conducting that 
celebrated navigator to their shores. 

Taau, with his fan, &c., the god of thunder. When the thunder pealed, 
the natives said that this god was flying, and producing this sound by the 
flapping of his wings. 

The chief begged that the idols might be burned in cooking food, and 
not sent to England, as they would expose his folly. 

Many mothers dedicated their children to one of these deities, but prin¬ 
cipally to Hiro, the god of thieves, and to Oro, the god of war. If to the 
former, the mother while pregnant went with offerings to the marae, when 
the priest performed the ceremony of catching the spirit of the god with 
the snare previously described, and infusing it into the child even prior to 
its birth, that it may become a clever and desperate thief. 

The parents, however, were generally anxious that their children should 
become brave and renowned warriors. Numerous ceremonies were per¬ 
formed before the child was born ; and after its birth it was taken to the 
marae, and formally dedicated to Oro. The spirit of the god was then 
caught and imparted to the infant, and the ceremony was completed by 
numerous offerings and prayers. At New Zealand, they were accustomed 
to thrust stones down the throat of the babe, to give it a stony heart, and 
make it a desperate warrior. 

Idols formed the second class of objects regarded with religious venera¬ 
tion. These were different in almost every island and district. Some 
were large, and some were small; some were hideous, while others were 
beautiful. The makers of these idols seem to have followed no pattern, 
but to have shaped them according to their own fancy. 

The third object of worship was the etu. It consisted of some bird, fish, 
or reptile, in which the natives believed that a spirit resided. This form of 
idolatry prevailed more at the Samoas, than at any other islands. There, 
innumerable objects were regarded as etus. It was not uncommon to see 
an intelligent chief muttering some prayer to a fly, an ant, or a lizard. A 
vessel from New South Wales once touched at the Samoas, the captain of 
which had on board a cockatoo that talked. A chief was invited to the 
ship ; when he was m th,e cabin, the captain began a colloquy with the 


















































































802 


POLYNESIANS. 


bird. The chief was struck with amazement; he trembled exceedingly, 
and immediately sprang upon deck and leaped into the sea ; he called 
aloud to the people to follow him, and affirmed that the captain had on 
board his devolo, which he had both seen and heard. The natives dashed 
at once into the sea, and swam on shore with haste and consternation. It 
was with difficulty they were persuaded to revisit the ship, as they believed 
that the bird was the captain’s etu, and that the spirit of the devil was 
in it. 

On another occasion, a party landing upon an island, and exposing 
a dead sea-snake, which they had in their possession, it was seen by some 
heathen fishermen. They raised a terrific yell and rushed upon the party, 
threatening them with their clubs, and shouting, “ You have killed our 
god, you have killed our god !” 

Besides these objects of adoration, the islanders generally and the Sa¬ 
moans in particular had a vague idea of a Supreme Being, whom they re¬ 
garded as the creator of all things, and the author of their mercies. They 
called him Tangaloa. At their great feasts, before the distribution of the 
food, an orator arose, and after enumerating each article, exclaimed, “ Thank 
you, great Tangaloa, for this !” Their deities were worshipped with 
prayers, incantations, and offerings of pigs, fish, vegetable food, native 
cloth, canoes, and other valuable property. Human sacrifices, at some of 
the islands, were fearfully common. In addressing their gods, they inva¬ 
riably concluded with the following sentence. After presenting the gift, 
the priest would say, “ Now, if you are a god of mercy, come this way, and 
be propitious to this offering : but, if you are a god of anger, go outside the 
world, you shall neither have temples, offerings, nor worshippers here.” 

The infliction of injuries upon their persons, was another mode in which 
they worshipped their gods. The Sandwich islanders frequently struck 
out their front teeth, when performing some of their rites. The Friendly 
islanders often cut off one or two of the bones of their little fingers. This 
practice was so common, that scarcely an adult could be found who had 
not mutilated his hands. The young daughter of a chief was asked, why 
she had cut off her finger ? She replied, that her mother was ill, and 
that, fearful lest her parent should die, she had done it to induce the gods 
to save her. This, she said, was her offering, to persuade the gods to 
restore her mother. 

When, at a future period, another offering is required they sever the 
second joint of the same finger; and when a third or fourth is demanded, 
they amputate the same bones of the other little finger: and when they 
have no more joints which they can conveniently spare, they rub the 
stumps of their mutilated fingers with rough stones, until the blood streams 
from the wound. 

The system of presenting human victims did % not prevail at the Navi- 




















































































r* 


(iib). 


PAGAN NATIONS. 


803 


gators ; but at the Hervey group, and still more at the Tahitian and Society 
islands, it was carried on to an extent truly appalling. 

At a ceremony called Raumatavehi-raa, the feast of restoration, no less 
than seven human victims were always required. This festival was cele¬ 
brated after an invading army had driven the inhabitants to the mountains, 
and had desecrated the marae by cutting down the branches of the sacred 
trees, and cooking their food with them, and with the wooden altars and 
decorations of the sacred place. As soon as the retirement of the invaders 
allowed the refugees to leave their hiding-place, their first object was to 
celebrate this “ Feast of Restoration,” which was supposed to restore the 
marae to its previous sanctity, and to reinstate the god in his former glory. 

A few years ago a very sacred relic was sent to England, called Maro- 
ura, or the Red Sash. This was a piece of net-work about seven inches 
wide and six feet long, upon which the red feathers of the paroquet were 
neatly fastened. It was used at the inauguration of their greatest kings, 
and the most honourable appellation which a chief could receive was, Arii 
maro ura, “King of the Red Sash.” A new piece, about eighteen inches 
in length, was attached at the inauguration of every sovereign ; to accom¬ 
plish which several human victims were required. The first was for the 
mau raa titi, or the stretching it upon pegs, in order to attach to it the new 
piece. Another was necessary for the fatu raa, or attaching the new por¬ 
tion ; and a third for the piu raa, or twitching the sacred relics off the pegs. 
This not only invested the sash itself with a high measure of solemn im¬ 
portance, but also rendered the chiefs who wore it most noble in public 
estimation. 

Human victims were also invariably offered on the eve of war. The 
following is a brief relation of the circumstances under which the very last 
Tahitian victim was slain, and presented to the gods. Pomare was about 
to fight a battle which would confirm him in, or deprive him of, his do¬ 
minions. To propitiate the gods, therefore, by the most valuable offerings 
he could command, was with him an object of the highest concern. For 
this purpose, rolls of native cloth, pigs, fish, and immense quantities of 
other food were presented at the maraes ; but still a tabu, or sacrifice was 
demanded. Two messengers were sent by Pomare to the house of the 
victim, whom he had marked for the occasion. On reaching the place, 
they asked the wife where her husband was. She replied, that he was 
planting bananas. “ Well,” they continued, “ we are thirsty, give us some 
cocoa-nut water.” She told them that she had no nuts in the house, but 
that they were at liberty to climb the trees, and take as many as they 
desired. They then requested her to lend them the o, which is a piece of 
iron-wood, about four feet long, and an inch and a half in diameter, with 
which the natives open the cocoa-nut. She cheerfully complied with theif 
wishes, little imagining that she was giving them an instrument with 




























































































































Jmpgpc 


804 


O' 




POLYNESIANS. 


which they intended to destroy her husband. Upon receiving the o, the 
men left the house, and went in search of their victim. The woman 
having become rather suspicious, followed them shortly after, and reached 
them just in time to see her husband struck down. She rushed forward, 
but she was immediately seized and bound hand and foot, while the body 
of her husband was placed in a long basket made of cocoat-nut leaves, and 
borne from her sight. While the men were carrying their victim to the 
marae, he recovered from the stunning effect of the blow he had received. 
The men then laid him down on the ground, placed a stone under his head, 
and with another beat it to pieces. In this state they carried him to their 
“savage gods.” 

As soon as the priest announced that a human sacrifice was required, 
the king despatched messengers to the chiefs of the various districts; and 
upon entering a dwelling, they would inquire whether the chief had a 
broken calabash at hand, or a rotten cocoa-nut. These and similar terms 
were invariably used, and well understood, when such applications were 
made. It generally happened that the chief had some individual on his 
premises, whom he intended to devote to this horrid purpose. When, 
therefore, such a request was made, he would notify by a motion of the 
hand or head, the individual to be taken. The only weapon with which 
these procurers of sacrifices were armed, was a small round stone concealed 
in the hollow of their hand. With this they would strike their victim a 
stunning blow upon the back of the head, when others, who were in readi¬ 
ness, would rush and destroy the victim. 

At other times, the king’s gang of desperadoes would arm themselves 
with spears, surround the house of their victim, and enjoy the sport of 
spearing him through the apertures between the poles which encircled the 
house. There were various other occasions on which victims were pre¬ 
sented. At Rarotonga, two victims were invariably offered at the birth of 
the son of a principal chief. 

When one person had been selected from a family as a victim, all the 
other male members of it were looked upon as devoted to the same horrid 
purpose. It availed them nothing, if they removed to another island, for 
the reason of their removal was soon known there; and whenever a sacri¬ 
fice was required, it was sought among them. 

The Polynesians believed in the existence of a future state, but they were 
ignorant of the value and immortality of the soul, and knew not that eter¬ 
nity would be the measure of its sorrows or its joys. 

The Tahitians believed that there were two places for departed spirits : 
one called Roohutu noanoa, or the sweet-scented Roohutu, which in many 
; points resembled the paradise of the Rarotongans ; and the other was 
| Roohutu namunamua, or foul-scented Roohutu, their description of which 


is too disgusting to be inserted. 






























































































PAGAN NATIONS. 


805 




' -- 






The Rarotongans represented their paradise as a very long house, encir¬ 
cled with beautiful shrubs and flowers, which never lost their bloom or 
fragrance, and whose inmates enjoyed unwithering beauty and perpetual 
youth. These passed their days without weariness or alloy, in dancing, 
festivity, and merriment. The hell of the Rarotongans consisted in their 
being compelled to crawl round this house, observing the pleasures of its 
inmates, while racked with intense but vain desires of admittance and enjoy¬ 
ment. The heaven of the Samoa islanders seems to have nearly resem¬ 
bled that of the Rarotongans. 

In order to secure the admission of a departed spirit to future joys, the 
corpse was dressed in the best attire the relatives could provide; the head 
was wreathed with flowers, and other decorations were added. A pig was 
then baked whole, and placed upon the body of the deceased, surrounded 
by a pile of vegetable food. After this, the father would thus address the 
corpse :—“My son, when you were alive, I treated you with kindness, and 
when you were taken ill, I did my best to restore you to health ; and now 
you are dead, there’s your momoe o, or property of admission. Go, my 
son, and with that gain an entrance into the palace of Tiki, and do not 
come to this world again to disturb and alarm us.” The whole would 
then be buried ; and if they received no intimation to the contrary within 
a few days of the interment, the relatives believed that the pig and the 
other food had obtained for him the desired admittance. If, however, a 
cricket was heard on the premises, it was considered an ill omen. They 
would utter dismal howlings, and exclaim, “Oh, our brother! his spirit 
has not entered the paradise; he is suffering from hunger; he is shivering 
with cold!” Forthwith the grave would be opened, and the offering 
repeated. This was generally successful. 

The Tiji islanders present most costly sacrifices. Their chiefs have from 
twenty to a hundred wives, according to their rank. At the interment of a 
principal chief, the body is laid in state upon a spacious lawn, in the pre¬ 
sence of an immense concourse of spectators. The principal wife, after the 
utmost ingenuity of the natives has been exercised in adorning her person, 
then walks out, and takes her seat near the body of her husband. A rope 
is passed round her neck, which eight or ten powerful men pull with all 
their strength, until she is strangled, and dies. Her body is then laid by 
that of the chief. In this manner four wives are sacrificed, and ail of them 
are then interred in a common grave, one above, one below, and one on 
either side of the husband. This is done, that the spirit of the chief may 
not be lonely in its passage to the invisible world ; and that, by such an 
offering, its happiness may be at once secured. 

Infanticide is closely connected with the religion of Polynesia; the 
extent to which it once existed may be gathered from the following 

particulars:— 


















































































806 


POLYNESIANS 




5 


The practice of infanticide did not prevail either at the Navigators or 
Hervey Groups; but the extent to which it was carried at the Tahitian 
and Society Islands almost exceeds credibility. Prior to the introduction 
of Christianity, in the last-mentioned group, there were few females that 
had borne children who had not destroyed some of them, and frequently as 
many as from five to ten. 

On one occasion, three women, who had been converted to Christianity, 
were asked how many children they had destroyed. The first woman 
replied, with a faltering voice, “ I have destroyed ninethe second, with 
eyes suffused with tears, said, “I have destroyed seven;” and the third 
said that she had destroyed five. 

On another occasion, the wife of a chief was visited in dying circum¬ 
stances. She had professed Christianity for many years. She expressed 
great remorse on account of the crimes she had committed when in an 
unenlightened state, and exclaimed, “Oh, my children, my murdered 
children ! I am about to die, and I shall meet them all at the judgment 
seal of Christ.” Being asked how many children she had destroyed, she 
replied, “I have destroyed sixteen !” 

Affecting scenes were sometimes witnessed at the examination of the 
school children. One of these occurred at Raiatea. Upwards of six hun¬ 
dred children were present, and they walked through the settlement in 
procession. The children had prepared flags, with such mottoes as the 
following:—“What a blessing the Gospel is !”—“Had it not been for the 
Gospel, we should have been destroyed as soon as we were born.” On 
this occasion a venerable chieftain, gray with age, addressed those present. 
This chief was an arioi of the highest rank, and the laws of his class re¬ 
quired the destruction of all his children. He exclaimed, “ Oh, that I 
had known that the Gospel was coming, then I should have saved my chil¬ 
dren, and they would have been among this happy group; but, alas! 1 
destroyed them all; I have not one left.” This chieftain had been the 
father of nineteen children. 

One of the numerous modes of infanticide was, to put the babe in a hole 
covered with a plank to keep the earth from pressing it, and to leave it 
there to perish. 

Various reasons were assigned for the inhuman practice of infanticide. 
The first cause alleged was their wars. These were so frequent, sudden, 
and desolating, that to avoid the horrors and distress thus entailed on those 
who had families, they destroyed many of their children. 

A second cause was inequality of station. If a woman of rank was 
united to a man of inferior grade, the destruction of two, four, or six infants 
was required to raise him to an equality with her; and when this had been 
effected, the succeeding children were spared. 

A third adduced for the practice was, that nursing impaired the personal 


l®} 

i 







































































































/ 




PAGAN NATIONS 


attractions of the mother, and curtailed the period during which her beauty 
would continue to bloom. 

The modes by which they destroyed their children were truly affecting. 
Sometimes they put a wet cloth upon the infant’s mouth; at others they 
pinched their throats until they expired. A third method was, to bury 
them alive. And a fourth was, if possible, still more brutal. The moment 
the child was born, they broke the first joints of its fingers and toes, ana 
then the second. If the infant survived this agonizing process, they dis¬ 
located its ankles and wrists; and if the powers of endurance still conti¬ 
nued, the knee and elbow joints were then broken. This would generally 
terminate the tortures of the little sufferer; but if not, they would resort 
to the second method of strangulation. 







































































































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